Decades after their football careers ended, former players still are following the lessons from “Mr. Waianae.”
Larry Ginoza, one of the most successful coaches in Hawaii high school football history, died this past Saturday. He was 89.
As Waianae High School’s head coach for 20 seasons through 1984, Ginoza won 189 games, third most on Oahu behind Cal Lee and Wendell Look. The Seariders won four Oahu Prep Bowls, including the inaugural championship in 1973, and nine OIA titles.
“Everyone knew how good he was as a coach,” said Kurt Gouveia, who had a dual role as quarterback and free safety for the Seasiders. “But he also was a great man. The man’s going to be missed a lot. He was stern but fair. He understood we were teenagers and we were going to make mistakes. But he taught us how to work hard and learn from our mistakes. And he was important to our community. He was Mr. Waianae.”
Ginoza relied on a wishbone offense, attacking defense, and a code of conduct and style.
The Seariders sat in silence on the bus rides to Honolulu Stadium or Aloha Stadium.
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The players wore black cleats and white socks.
“If you score a touchdown, you give the ball to the referee,” former quarterback Michael Beazley said. “If the ref’s not around, you put the ball on the ground. You celebrate with your teammates on the sideline and you leave the other team alone. You don’t piss them off.”
Win a game, shake hands with the opposing team. Lose a game, the Seariders congratulated the victors.
“But,” Beazley said, “we didn’t experience too many losses.”
With every successful season, the next generation hungered for its turn.
“When we were in elementary school, we all wanted to play for Waianae,” former lineman Tom Tuinei said. “We all wanted to be Levi Stanley and Tui Ala. They were the guys who came before us. They showed us the way.”
Entering his freshman year, Tuinei said the focus was to earn playing time. Ginoza offered a long-range plan.
“In actuality, he was setting us up for later in life,” Tuinei said. “He taught us to be humble. When things go hard, you have to keep pushing. He built up your character. I was in trouble, but you push through, and that becomes part of your character. Work hard, try your best, don’t give up. He really cared for the young men of Waianae. He taught us well. He was so good at saying a lot in a little.”
And Ginoza made sure his players did their best in all areas. Deficient grades kept players in study hall instead of practice.
“If you don’t practice, you don’t play,” Beazley said. “You’ve got to get it right in the classroom. Coach said there’s no way you can be a good teammate and be productive if you’re a knucklehead in the classroom. By the time (a player joins the team), you know what to expect.”
Back in the 1960s, there was a hardscrabble side to Waianae.
“One way in, one way out,” former All-State safety Nathan Palakiko Fletcher said.
But from his first Waianae season in 1965, Ginoza established a culture that would illuminate the best of the Leeward community.
“We got more than football from him,” Beazley said. “The whole community was winning when football was winning. The school was winning.”
More than 100 players showed up for training camp. Ginoza was pained to make cuts, believing that after-school energy was best spent in a structured activity.
Ginoza also tried to make sure the roster was composed of 96792 residents.
“There was no recruiting,” Beazley said. “You just take in the backyard guys and put it together. We were just kids playing and enjoying football and loving it.”
Ginoza’s program did not go unnoticed. The top OIA coaches at the time — Leilehua’s Hugh Yoshida, Kaiser’s Ron Lee, Radford’s John Velasco, and Castle’s Don Mahi — bonded with Ginoza. Despite Kaiser and Waianae being rivals — they met three years in a row in the OIA title game — Lee borrowed Ginoza’s pre-game routine.
“I really watched how Larry coached,” Lee said. “I learned a lot on how he ran his program. Larry was way ahead of his time. The discipline, the preparation. We tried to simulate his style.”
The Seariders might have been the original social influencers.
As Beazley related, “I have good friends from Waimanalo tell me, ‘Mike, they used to pack us up and take us to Waianae football games. They loved the brand.’ And they didn’t even know anybody in Waianae at the time.”
Beazley added: “It was special to be on that team. When you go around outside Waianae, you can’t wait to meet new people. You’re waiting for people to ask you: ‘where are you guys from?’ We were proud to be from Waianae. It’s like that cheer: ‘We’re from Waianae, everywhere we go, people want to know, who we are, so we tell them …’ Those were special times. Coach G was a special coach.”
Retired sports editor Clyde Mizumoto had a front-row view of Ginoza in the 1970s.
“Beneath that gruff, and somewhat intimidating exterior, was a warm and welcoming man,” Mizumoto recalled. “I was warned by a veteran sports staffer before going to a practice for a summer all-star game in 1974. ‘Good luck trying to get anything out of him.’ I was somewhat anxious as this was my first assignment as a part-time staffer for the Advertiser.
“I introduced myself, and Coach patted the stands next to him indicating to sit. And we talked, while he offered comments on the players. It was the beginning of a great relationship with this coaching legend. I once asked Coach how he was able to motivate the players — making sure they stayed out of trouble, did well in the classroom, played hard on the field. He had a simple answer: “We (coaches) have what they really want … and that’s to play football for Waianae. That’s plenty (motivation).”