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After 42 years, including 32 years as a head coach, Wendell Say's heart hasn't changed.
The longtime Aiea football coach told the Star-Advertiser that he is retiring with a legacy of inspiring thousands of young people who played for Na Ali'i. Mr. Say will step down from his position as counselor and coach at the end of this month.
It was more than just a job for Say, who graduated from Leilehua University, played at Linfield and then worked as a federal employee for 10 years. However, he ignored his father's entreaties and changed his course.
“At that time, I was already coaching. My parents were retired federal employees. My father was upset. 'You're leaving a well-paying job. From now on, you're going to teach. “I thought I made you smarter,'' Sei recalled. “I told him you raised me to think for myself. I enjoyed coaching kids. After all, I can't imagine working for the federal government for 20 years before retiring. did not.”
Say went back to school and earned a master's degree in counseling and a teaching license. Aeaea became home.
“I was very lucky. The principal and the AD at the time were all supportive of me,” he said. “My income is half what it was before, but you compensate me like any other teacher.”
That meant taking on extra work.
“I worked at the airline at night with Les Parrilla, Jose Geraba, Nolan Maeda, Mike Pavich, Gary Clark. All these guys. All the teachers seemed to work at the airport. , we all coached. I think it was a trade-off,” Say said.
Sai's first year as Aiea's head coach was in 1992. He compiled a 140-152-2 record in 32 seasons, including winning the school's only state Division II football championship in 2003.
After decades of coaching, Cei and Iolani coach Wendell Look received the award at a banquet one year.
“It was at the Royal Hawaiian (Hotel). I stood up and was the first to speak,” Look recalled. “Then he came over and said, 'Okay, now all we need is a 'listen' from Wendell and that's it.' That's his humor. ”
Aiea is one of the teams that introduced a run-and-shoot offense to prep football. Certainly not the first, but certainly instilling a four-wide passing attack as a core part of their identity. Sei led Aiea to the OIA Division I Championship twice, in 2002 and 2021. It's a truly ingrained program that makes the most of local playmakers and trenchmen.
“A lot of these kids were probably wayward kids, but he did a great job with them. They graduated high school knowing they were going to be adults. ,” former Radford football coach Kelly Sarr said. “He has a rather laid-back personality, not a rough guy, but he trains coaches. He has a solid staff and that was the number one thing. He came from Halawa Housing He works with the children who come in. The first thing to work on is the discipline part. He doesn't yell much, but he yells for a reason. His teaching style suited the Aiea kids well. .”
Sei hugged the school's young student-athletes.
“These kids, some of them didn't have the structure they needed. Hopefully, we brought it. The kids love being together. Unfortunately, You can't keep them 24 hours a day, because sometimes they don't want to go home. They just wanted to hang out in the locker room,” Cey said. “They're very committed to community service and they ask, 'When's the next one?' They enjoyed being with their friends and things like that. We want people to We are growing up in an era of being takers. We have to learn to give back. We have to be givers and spread it.”
Suhr added that Aiea's team was tough, hard-hitting, skilled and disciplined.
“They weren't the kind of team that committed a lot of personal fouls. They teach the basics and teach the kids the importance of competing, not fighting. Competing. For me, that was very impressive. ” said Sarr, now the longtime athletic director at Radford University. “He's the godfather of (OIA) coaches. He'll be sorely missed. I hope it's the same in terms of discipline. He has a kind heart and he listens and does his job well. He's not a complainer, but if something isn't being done right, he makes sure people know about it. He got a lot of respect from that.”
Sei grew up in Wahiawa and played for legendary coach Hugh Yoshida at Leilehua. He was also strongly influenced by Linfield coach Ad Rutschman.
Say, who is being examined by Latchman at Nike's coaching clinic, said, “Coach Ad is a person who is particular about saying please and thank you.''
Nolan Tokuda followed a similar path, only flip-flopping from the path Sei ventured down. Tokuda graduated from Aiea University, coached soccer at Leilehua University, and currently serves as the Mule's athletic director. He played under Sei in high school.
“The first time I met him was in 1988. He was already coaching defensive backs on the national team. He has a heart for helping kids succeed. Very on the field. “Off the field, when I came back from college, he helped me find a part-time job coaching elementary school students,” Tokuda said. “He is very friendly. Kind-hearted. Patient. Always positive and smiling. He will be missed. He is one of the true deans and a great figure in high school football coaching. It taught me more about my character.”
Longtime coach Darren Johnson has known Say since 1990.
“He has commitment, passion, dedication. His attitude has always influenced his players. His heart, his choice to give,” Coach Campbell said.
Radford coach Fred Salanoa played in the HUB Goodwill All-Star Game in 1995 when Cey was on the coaching staff.
“Our jersey color was green because he was the head coach,” Salanoa recalled. “When you think of a coach, you think of a big guy, but what stands out even more than his height is his heart. No one saw what he was doing behind the scenes. That's also true of a lot of coaches. They obviously don't do it for fame or some kind of paycheck. They want to help young men and share their knowledge. For me , that's what makes him so special. To do it for 42 years. I looked at that number and said, “Holy Smoke.” For him to be able to do it at such a high level for so long and get his kids to come to practice every day and put together a product on the field speaks volumes about his eloquence. His heart shows who he is. ”
What Sei can't miss is lining up alone on a grassy soccer field.
“We had a good laugh about that on the phone this afternoon. It's just one of the many things we do as coaches,” Salanoa said. “People don't know what coaches do. Aiea is definitely missing out on a great player. That's about as faithful as you get.”
The 1992 football season was a great season for current Leilehua coach Mark Criss, but also a bit of a heartbreak.
“He coached against me when I was playing. My senior year we had one of the top teams in the state and they upset us. “It was my first meeting with Coach. We are both Linfield Wildcats,” Kurisu said.
“Consistency and integrity, that's what I always think about when I think of a coach. He was always teaching boys how to be men, and he taught that every day on the soccer field.” said Kurisu. “He always put the kids first. He didn't ask for respect, but he always got respect because of the way he treated the kids. He always put the kids first every day. I’ll be there to support the kids and help them prepare for college.”
Retirement doesn't mean Sei will have free time. He will be very busy in his new role as Kamehameha's assistant athletic director.
Kurisu added, “I'm glad he thought about himself and his family.'' “His heart is too big to stay home (in retirement).”
