For Bhonapha, Hawaii Represents Ohana
By Mason Kelley
GoHuskies.com
When Keith Bhonapha thinks about his time as a player and graduate assistant at the University of Hawaii, one word sums up the experience: Ohana.
The word means family in Hawaiian culture, and Washington’s recruiting coordinator and running backs coach will never forget the feeling of home fostered by those who welcomed a kid from Oakland, Calif.
“My overall memory of being on Oahu and the islands is the people,” he said. “The culture is great. Everyone is loving and caring.”
When the Huskies travel to Hawaii for their Aug. 30 season opener, it will be a homecoming of sorts, even though Bhonapha made several trips during his time working for coach Chris Petersen at Boise State.
“It’s definitely exciting,” he said. “There are some people there I still know. It’s always good to get back over to the islands.”
Bhonapha graduated from Hawaii in 2003. During his time as a player for the Rainbow Warriors, he didn’t plan on being a coach. But, as graduation approached, he started to think about his future. June Jones asked Bhonapha if he was interested in working with the program, so he moved from player to graduate assistant, helping defensive backs coach Rich Miano.
“I wouldn’t say I had an ‘aha’ moment where I decided to become a coach,” Bhonapha said. “I finished up my undergrad and I was going into that spring semester trying to figure out what I was going to do. I kind of started to like it.”
He started to think he “might have a chance to do some good things in this capacity.” After a few seasons at Hawaii and eight years at Boise State, Bhonapha was right.
“There’s definitely been a lot of enjoyment,” he said. “The past eight years, I’ve been able to be around the game, grow as a coach and as a person, especially with coach Petersen. I’ve been blessed to have some great mentors along the way, and I just hope to keep my head down and keep working.”
When he thinks back on his time at Hawaii, he doesn’t remember the plays. Over time, some of the wins and losses start to fade. But he will never forget the people.
“The guys on the team, some of them are lifetime friends, because you come in as young guys and then grow up as men together,” he said.