Post by saints31 on Sept 14, 2006 19:03:22 GMT -5
FOR ANY INTERESTED OR SOUTH PACIFIC ISLANDERS WHO MISSED OUT ON THIS ESPN BROADCAST FROM EARLY LAST YEAR LIKE I DID...
Aloha, Talofa everyone!
Good news! - The film "Polynesian Power: Islanders in Pro Football"
(narrated by "The Rock") has been licensed from ESPN for the national PBS schedule. This recently completed PBS version features a new 10 minute update section with Pisa Tinoisamoa and Isaac Sopoaga as NFL Pros and a new riveting montage of action shots from NFL Films.
The window for PBS licensing is a one year term - which means that it is up to each regional PBS Station to program the show as they see fit during the course of the next year. So please keep up with your regional PBS programming by going to www.pbs.org to find out if the show is scheduled for broadcast in your area.
Please email this postcard info to all those who may be interested.
Also for the folks in Hawaii-nei:
***** HAWAII PBS BROADCAST PREMIERE IS SLATED FOR SEPTEMBER 28th at 8 PM on KHET (Channel 10)!!! *****
Please mark your calendars and DVD/VHS Recorders!
Also - I know this info is very late, but tomorrow night (Saturday - September 9th) at Waimanalo Sunset On The Beach "Polynesian Power" will screen at 7:00pm before the Disney Sports film "Glory Road".
There is also a tentative screening at Waikiki Sunset On The Beach in December. I'll keep you posted!
Thank you all for your support in making this film happen!
Aloha,
Jeremy Spear
Shortstop Films Inc.
3030 Pualei Circle #320
Honolulu, HI 96815
ph:808-922-2037
fax: 808-922-0530
shortstopfilms@earthlink.net
Let's see if anyone recognizes an NWFL name in here....
The Polynesian Powerhouse
University of Hawaii Football Counts On Its Samoan Connection
By David K. Choo
Here’s a little bit of Hawaii sports trivia that’s hard to believe: In 1998, the University of Hawaii football team (the American variety) had only three Samoan players on its roster. Three. This is the school of Falaniko, Al and Pete Noga; Jesse Sapolu; Mark Tuinei and David Toloumu, just to name a few.
Maybe, on second thought, it isn’t so unbelievable since that nearly Samoan-less team was a hapless 0 - 12 that year. The previous year, the team went 2 - 10. Under former coach Fred vonAppen, whose staff had little success recruiting local blue-chip talent, the Rainbow Warriors had a combined record of 5 - 31.
“When coach June Jones took over the program in 1999, one of the first things he said was that we’re going to have to be able to recruit successfully in our own backyard,” says current Hawaii assistant coach Rich Miano. “We would get our talent primarily from Hawaii and the Pacific and we would get whatever else we needed from California and the rest of the Mainland.”
Hawaii has the largest backyard on the planet. Jones proposed sending Miano to one of that yard’s furthest corners, American Samoa, some 2,300 miles away from the Manoa Valley Campus. At first glance, Miano seems like an unlikely candidate to be the school’s ambassador to Samoa. The 39-years-old defensive backs coach, grew up in East Honolulu’s Hawaii Kai, hardly a Samoan enclave. However, the former all-conference University of Hawaii strong safety played in the National Football League for 11 seasons, forging lasting friendships with many Polynesian players along the way.
“While I was playing football at Hawaii in the ‘80s, maybe 30 to 40 percent of the roster was Polynesian. When I was with the New York Jets, Nuu Faaola (former UH running back) was my roommate. I’ve always had a lot of Polynesian friends,” says Miano. “When I joined the football staff, Coach Jones recognized my ties to that community. Even though I’m white, he thought I’d be able to go down to American Samoa and established some connections quickly.”
Samoan talent for football has hardly been a secret over the years. The first Samoan to play in the NFL, Al Lolotai, suited up for the Washington Redskins back in 1945. But it wasn’t until the 1970s when players like Mosi Tatupu, Manu Tuiasosopo and Jack Thompson hit the gridiron that Samoans started to make a significant impact in the college and pro game. Today, more than 200 Samoans play Division I college ball. Last year, Samoan representation in the NFL reached an all-time high when 28 players signed on with different squads.
By and large, these athletes were either American-born or transplanted Samoans, who settled in Hawaii or the mainland West Coast. However, more than a decade ago, college football coaches started going to the source, American Samoa, to recruit players.
So when Miano stepped off the plane in Pago Pago, he was competing with some of the biggest programs in college football: The University of Utah, San Diego State, the University of Arizona as well as the perennial favorite of Polynesians, Brigham Young University. This is in addition to powerhouses such as Nebraska, Penn State and Tennessee, which have had recent successes with Samoan players. To compound matters, Miano was also starting from scratch (no UH recruiter had been in American Samoa in more than seven years) in a place where long-term relationships are valued. Miano figured that it would take several years for his efforts to pay off. He was right.
During his first two years of recruiting on the island, Miano lost prized recruits to the University of Arizona, which was helmed by former UH head coach Mr. Tomey, who had a great appreciation for Samoan talent. Arizona also had three assistant coaches on staff with Hawaii ties, including another former UH head coach, Bob Wagner. Arizona recruiters flew down three or four times a year.
“Basically, we have 25 scholarships every year. There are maybe two or three kids who we want from Samoa,” says Miano. “Arizona had established a pipeline. They had the relationships. During recruiting we’d bring in 10 to 15 athletes a week, and we didn’t even have enough Samoan players on our roster to host the other Samoan kids.”
But the tide quickly turned. As it happens, Miano had played with or against coaches on staff of all six of American Samoa’s high school football teams. More importantly, he forged close ties to community leaders.
After two years of near misses, Miano hit pay dirt, signing Isaak Sapoaga, a 6’2” 310-pound defensive lineman. Miano had seen Sapoaga playing volleyball on the beach during his first trip to Samoa and was impressed with the youngster’s size, speed and leaping ability. With all that athletic talent, learning the game of football would be a mere formality, reasoned Miano. But Sapoaga ended up playing football for College of the Canyons, a junior college in California. Two years later, Sapoaga, who can dunk a basketball after doing a 360-degree turn in the air, finished his eligibility at Canyons, where he was a two-time All-American. Sapoaga began showing up on everyone’s recruiting lists.
“I got calls from guys who told me that Isaak wouldn’t meet with representatives from USC, Texas A & M and Nebraska,” says Miano. “‘If he’s not meeting with those guys, what makes you think that UH has a chance?’ they asked. I knew that if I could talk to him, I could convince him that Hawaii was the best choice.”
Miano got to speak with Sapoaga and convinced him to take a recruiting trip to Honolulu. Shortly thereafter, the lineman committed to playing for the Warriors. The following year, Miano signed Mel Purcell, a highly touted 6’5” 227-pound lineman. Last year, 6’3” 260-pound Larry Sauafea agreed to join the team.
“When we signed Isaak, Nebraska football coach Frank Solich said: ‘I’ve lost players to Notre Dame, Texas and Penn State, but never to Hawaii,” says Miano. “That was sweet.” Sapoaga is now a contender for the Outland Trophy this year. It is awarded to the top collegiate interior lineman in the U.S.
“Coaches Jones and Miano have made a big commitment to Samoa and the kids and their parents realize that,” says Doris Sullivan, director of Student Services of the Hawaii Sports Network’s non-profit Prep Academy. (Hawaii Sports Network is a sister company of PacificBasin Communications, parent company of Pacific Magazine.)
Sullivan helps prep football players prepare for college admission tests, identify schools and secure financial aid and scholarships. She currently is working with 16 student athletes from American Samoa, eight of whom she believes can play Division I football. All 16 of them want to play for the University of Hawaii. “They view Hawaii as their team, Polynesia’s team,” says Sullivan.
“We have a lot of pride on our team. We want to represent Hawaii, Samoa and the rest of Polynesia well,” says Miano. “Look down our roster, look at our mascot, even our uniforms have a distinctive Polynesian look. This is our niche.”
Last season, the team filled its niche well. Sixty percent of the 110-member Warrior football, including both offensive and defensive lines, was Samoan or part-Samoan. While only a handful of these players actually hail from American Samoa, Miano believes that Hawaii could end up dominating the area soon since two of his closest competitors, Arizona and Utah, both have new coaches and have lost their Samoan connections. But Miano isn’t resting on his laurels. Last year, he paid a visit to Samoa, as well as Tonga, Australia, New Zealand and Japan.
“For years, people have been saying that Hawaii is over-recruited. Now, they’re saying the same things about American Samoa,” says Miano. “Samoa, Tonga and Australia are the new frontier for American football. There are some great athletes out there. It’s just a matter of finding them.”
Three names in this article was or is associated with the NWFL:
FALANIKO NOGA aka NIKO NOGA - Present Defensive Coach for the Renton Ravens.
NU'U FA'AOLA - Played for the Eastside Chiefs in the mid-90s.
JACK THOMPSON aka The Throwin Samoan - Father of Jack Thompson III who plays DE for the Snohomish Co Vikings.
Aloha, Talofa everyone!
Good news! - The film "Polynesian Power: Islanders in Pro Football"
(narrated by "The Rock") has been licensed from ESPN for the national PBS schedule. This recently completed PBS version features a new 10 minute update section with Pisa Tinoisamoa and Isaac Sopoaga as NFL Pros and a new riveting montage of action shots from NFL Films.
The window for PBS licensing is a one year term - which means that it is up to each regional PBS Station to program the show as they see fit during the course of the next year. So please keep up with your regional PBS programming by going to www.pbs.org to find out if the show is scheduled for broadcast in your area.
Please email this postcard info to all those who may be interested.
Also for the folks in Hawaii-nei:
***** HAWAII PBS BROADCAST PREMIERE IS SLATED FOR SEPTEMBER 28th at 8 PM on KHET (Channel 10)!!! *****
Please mark your calendars and DVD/VHS Recorders!
Also - I know this info is very late, but tomorrow night (Saturday - September 9th) at Waimanalo Sunset On The Beach "Polynesian Power" will screen at 7:00pm before the Disney Sports film "Glory Road".
There is also a tentative screening at Waikiki Sunset On The Beach in December. I'll keep you posted!
Thank you all for your support in making this film happen!
Aloha,
Jeremy Spear
Shortstop Films Inc.
3030 Pualei Circle #320
Honolulu, HI 96815
ph:808-922-2037
fax: 808-922-0530
shortstopfilms@earthlink.net
Let's see if anyone recognizes an NWFL name in here....
The Polynesian Powerhouse
University of Hawaii Football Counts On Its Samoan Connection
By David K. Choo
Here’s a little bit of Hawaii sports trivia that’s hard to believe: In 1998, the University of Hawaii football team (the American variety) had only three Samoan players on its roster. Three. This is the school of Falaniko, Al and Pete Noga; Jesse Sapolu; Mark Tuinei and David Toloumu, just to name a few.
Maybe, on second thought, it isn’t so unbelievable since that nearly Samoan-less team was a hapless 0 - 12 that year. The previous year, the team went 2 - 10. Under former coach Fred vonAppen, whose staff had little success recruiting local blue-chip talent, the Rainbow Warriors had a combined record of 5 - 31.
“When coach June Jones took over the program in 1999, one of the first things he said was that we’re going to have to be able to recruit successfully in our own backyard,” says current Hawaii assistant coach Rich Miano. “We would get our talent primarily from Hawaii and the Pacific and we would get whatever else we needed from California and the rest of the Mainland.”
Hawaii has the largest backyard on the planet. Jones proposed sending Miano to one of that yard’s furthest corners, American Samoa, some 2,300 miles away from the Manoa Valley Campus. At first glance, Miano seems like an unlikely candidate to be the school’s ambassador to Samoa. The 39-years-old defensive backs coach, grew up in East Honolulu’s Hawaii Kai, hardly a Samoan enclave. However, the former all-conference University of Hawaii strong safety played in the National Football League for 11 seasons, forging lasting friendships with many Polynesian players along the way.
“While I was playing football at Hawaii in the ‘80s, maybe 30 to 40 percent of the roster was Polynesian. When I was with the New York Jets, Nuu Faaola (former UH running back) was my roommate. I’ve always had a lot of Polynesian friends,” says Miano. “When I joined the football staff, Coach Jones recognized my ties to that community. Even though I’m white, he thought I’d be able to go down to American Samoa and established some connections quickly.”
Samoan talent for football has hardly been a secret over the years. The first Samoan to play in the NFL, Al Lolotai, suited up for the Washington Redskins back in 1945. But it wasn’t until the 1970s when players like Mosi Tatupu, Manu Tuiasosopo and Jack Thompson hit the gridiron that Samoans started to make a significant impact in the college and pro game. Today, more than 200 Samoans play Division I college ball. Last year, Samoan representation in the NFL reached an all-time high when 28 players signed on with different squads.
By and large, these athletes were either American-born or transplanted Samoans, who settled in Hawaii or the mainland West Coast. However, more than a decade ago, college football coaches started going to the source, American Samoa, to recruit players.
So when Miano stepped off the plane in Pago Pago, he was competing with some of the biggest programs in college football: The University of Utah, San Diego State, the University of Arizona as well as the perennial favorite of Polynesians, Brigham Young University. This is in addition to powerhouses such as Nebraska, Penn State and Tennessee, which have had recent successes with Samoan players. To compound matters, Miano was also starting from scratch (no UH recruiter had been in American Samoa in more than seven years) in a place where long-term relationships are valued. Miano figured that it would take several years for his efforts to pay off. He was right.
During his first two years of recruiting on the island, Miano lost prized recruits to the University of Arizona, which was helmed by former UH head coach Mr. Tomey, who had a great appreciation for Samoan talent. Arizona also had three assistant coaches on staff with Hawaii ties, including another former UH head coach, Bob Wagner. Arizona recruiters flew down three or four times a year.
“Basically, we have 25 scholarships every year. There are maybe two or three kids who we want from Samoa,” says Miano. “Arizona had established a pipeline. They had the relationships. During recruiting we’d bring in 10 to 15 athletes a week, and we didn’t even have enough Samoan players on our roster to host the other Samoan kids.”
But the tide quickly turned. As it happens, Miano had played with or against coaches on staff of all six of American Samoa’s high school football teams. More importantly, he forged close ties to community leaders.
After two years of near misses, Miano hit pay dirt, signing Isaak Sapoaga, a 6’2” 310-pound defensive lineman. Miano had seen Sapoaga playing volleyball on the beach during his first trip to Samoa and was impressed with the youngster’s size, speed and leaping ability. With all that athletic talent, learning the game of football would be a mere formality, reasoned Miano. But Sapoaga ended up playing football for College of the Canyons, a junior college in California. Two years later, Sapoaga, who can dunk a basketball after doing a 360-degree turn in the air, finished his eligibility at Canyons, where he was a two-time All-American. Sapoaga began showing up on everyone’s recruiting lists.
“I got calls from guys who told me that Isaak wouldn’t meet with representatives from USC, Texas A & M and Nebraska,” says Miano. “‘If he’s not meeting with those guys, what makes you think that UH has a chance?’ they asked. I knew that if I could talk to him, I could convince him that Hawaii was the best choice.”
Miano got to speak with Sapoaga and convinced him to take a recruiting trip to Honolulu. Shortly thereafter, the lineman committed to playing for the Warriors. The following year, Miano signed Mel Purcell, a highly touted 6’5” 227-pound lineman. Last year, 6’3” 260-pound Larry Sauafea agreed to join the team.
“When we signed Isaak, Nebraska football coach Frank Solich said: ‘I’ve lost players to Notre Dame, Texas and Penn State, but never to Hawaii,” says Miano. “That was sweet.” Sapoaga is now a contender for the Outland Trophy this year. It is awarded to the top collegiate interior lineman in the U.S.
“Coaches Jones and Miano have made a big commitment to Samoa and the kids and their parents realize that,” says Doris Sullivan, director of Student Services of the Hawaii Sports Network’s non-profit Prep Academy. (Hawaii Sports Network is a sister company of PacificBasin Communications, parent company of Pacific Magazine.)
Sullivan helps prep football players prepare for college admission tests, identify schools and secure financial aid and scholarships. She currently is working with 16 student athletes from American Samoa, eight of whom she believes can play Division I football. All 16 of them want to play for the University of Hawaii. “They view Hawaii as their team, Polynesia’s team,” says Sullivan.
“We have a lot of pride on our team. We want to represent Hawaii, Samoa and the rest of Polynesia well,” says Miano. “Look down our roster, look at our mascot, even our uniforms have a distinctive Polynesian look. This is our niche.”
Last season, the team filled its niche well. Sixty percent of the 110-member Warrior football, including both offensive and defensive lines, was Samoan or part-Samoan. While only a handful of these players actually hail from American Samoa, Miano believes that Hawaii could end up dominating the area soon since two of his closest competitors, Arizona and Utah, both have new coaches and have lost their Samoan connections. But Miano isn’t resting on his laurels. Last year, he paid a visit to Samoa, as well as Tonga, Australia, New Zealand and Japan.
“For years, people have been saying that Hawaii is over-recruited. Now, they’re saying the same things about American Samoa,” says Miano. “Samoa, Tonga and Australia are the new frontier for American football. There are some great athletes out there. It’s just a matter of finding them.”
Three names in this article was or is associated with the NWFL:
FALANIKO NOGA aka NIKO NOGA - Present Defensive Coach for the Renton Ravens.
NU'U FA'AOLA - Played for the Eastside Chiefs in the mid-90s.
JACK THOMPSON aka The Throwin Samoan - Father of Jack Thompson III who plays DE for the Snohomish Co Vikings.