A Local Hero
at HPU

by Bruce Bottorff

Sports trivia question: Which of Hawaii’s prominent collegiate coaches threw the game-winning touchdown bomb that lifted Tantalus AC over Kuhio Park Terrace in a Police Activity League matchup 20 years ago? Hint: As a 12-year-old all-star pitcher, the same athlete tossed a no-hitter against Mexico City in an international baseball tournament hosted by Hawaii. Only after the game did embarrassed opponents find out the pitcher wasn’t a boy – when she declined to take part in the traditional post-game exchange of jerseys. The answer is Reydan "Tita" Ahuna, head coach of Hawaii Pacific University’s women’s volleyball team. As a youngster she broke gender barriers by competing with – and routinely beating – the boys at their own game. As a young woman she led The Kamehameha Schools and University of Hawaii Rainbow Wahine volleyball teams to championship titles. Last year she guided the Lady Sea Warriors to a national championship in only her third year as head coach. Today she laughs at the suggestion, but it’s hard to argue with the performance of a lifetime. At 32 years old, Tita Ahuna – celebrated athlete and championship volleyball coach – is probably the greatest all-around sportswoman Hawaii has ever seen. With all the successes and the individual and team achievements that have brought fame to the full-time special education teacher, she remains a hard-working, down-to-earth, family-oriented person from Papakolea. "I really don’t feel like a celebrity," says Ahuna with characteristic modesty. "I know it’s been like that ever since UH. The parents know my name and now the kids are getting to know me more and more." Strong family ties and a desire to push herself to the limits of her physical ability have been the key ingredients of her success. Ahuna credits her grandmother and her mother, Reynette, with encouraging her to get involved in sports at an early age. It was Reynette who convinced her to take up volleyball in the seventh grade. Up to that time she had rejected the hardwood for the rough-and-tumble, male-dominated sports of football and baseball. She was not raised to believe that girls were physically inferior to boys. And her exploits on the field of play never suggested otherwise. "I didn’t like playing with girls," says Ahuna, reflecting on her younger days. "I always thought boys had more fire, more spirit, and more competitiveness than the girls." As the emotional leader of the Rainbow Wahine team of 1987 – the last UH team to win an NCAA Division I national championship – she proved once and for all that women could approach team athletics with as much fire and spirit as men. Indeed, she admits that it was her competitive drive and her athleticism that won her a spot on Dave Shoji’s team. "When I went to UH I wasn’t a volleyball player," she says. "Dave gave me the opportunity to play volleyball at the highest level possible, and everything fell into place. I learned to keep setting higher expectations for myself." The years since then do not appear to have slowed her down. "I can still go with the best of them for at least a couple of sets – then I’m done for the year," she says with a laugh. It is precisely this combination of humor and determination that sustains Ahuna in her full-time career as special-education teacher and department chair at Kalakaua Intermediate School. She didn’t set out to devote her life to helping students with special needs. But with the support and encouragement of mentors at the school, Ahuna developed her ability to motivate students to reach their fullest potential. Occasionally, she is reminded of the lingering stereotypes about people with disabilities. "When you tell people you’re in special ed you can see them raise their eyebrows. When you say special ed in Kalihi they go off the deep end. There’s a tendency for people to say, ‘Rough, eh?’ but that’s wrong. We have really loving kids at our school." Ahuna says she came to the conclusion that the skills necessary to educate physically and emotionally challenged children are similar to those used to motivate highly conditioned athletes. Indeed, one of the secrets of her success as a coach she learned through personal experience in the classroom: Attention to detail is vital in order for teams, and individuals, to make great strides. "You win championships by doing the little things correctly," she says of her part-time job at HPU. "Like making sure you’re prepared, that you’re in condition, and that you have the right equipment. You cannot expect to win with talent alone, you have to pay attention to the details and by raising your players’ expectations of themselves." As the 1999 campaign began for the No. 1-ranked Sea Warriors, Ahuna’s players were not the only ones whose expectations were raised. HPU fans, encouraged by some savvy recruiting efforts, are hoping for a repeat of last year’s championship performance. The prospects for a continuation of the team’s winning ways improved earlier this month when HPU won the Hawaiian Style Classic Tournament in Hilo, sweeping rival Brigham Young University-Hawaii for the first time ever in straight sets. Cautiously optimistic about the team’s chances of living up to its No. 1-ranking going into the fall campaign, Ahuna put the team’s success into perspective. "I’m careful about what I say so early in the season," she says. "BYU is at a point where we were last year – they are ranked No. 2 – and have lost some key players, but they still manage to be very competitive. That’s the situation we were in last year and it kind of scares me to think about it." If there’s any fear in Ahuna it doesn’t show. She appeared relaxed and confident during an afternoon match at St. Andrew’s Priory Gym over the Labor Day weekend, as her squad make short work of the young women from Bethel College. The family atmosphere at St. Andrew’s may be an important intangible reason for HPU’s early success. The relatively small but raucous group of supporters who turn out to support their school clearly energizes the team, and Ahuna herself draws on the fans and her family for support. In her first year as coach she admits that she tried to do too much by herself, from washing the players’ uniforms to ordering shoes, and equipment and setting up the gym for each match. Now she delegates more of the details so she can concentrate on preparing her players emotionally. Ahuna’s family members are an important source of her own emotional support, as they have been throughout her career. On this particular Sunday, Auntie Darnell Zablan has washed a mountain of towels for the team, Uncle Sam Matthews is on hand to wipe balls, and Ahuna’s brother, Daniel Kamuela Ahuna, a former UH running back, has brought his daughter Dandi and son Dustin to help set up the gym. Reynette has organized a group of volunteers who arrive laden with food and drink. Since Ahuna’s days in the Police Activity League, her mother has attended every game and every practice. As is her custom, Reynette feeds the players on both teams, including the families and friends of the opposition who have traveled from Minnesota. At the end of the day expectations are raised just a little higher. Says HPU sports information director Trey Garman: "Tita is like a rock to this team. Everybody can hang their hopes and their dreams on her. She has a tremendous track record." And she’s not done yet.

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