Island People
Coach's fitness regimen reignites body and spirit

By Katherine Nichols
Advertiser Staff Writer

Vantz Singletary's life could easily have taken a much different path. Raised in a Houston ghetto, Singletary remembers growing up near the town dump, between two liquor stores in a house he shared with his mother and grandmother, uncle and aunt. Every weekend they heard gunshots, fights, police helicopters, "gang banging." Over the years friends and relatives often ended up incarcerated or dead.

Vantz Singletary, a UH defensive line coach, works out and watches his weight these days. He's trimmed down considerably in the past year. Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser

It's little wonder that Singletary, now the defensive line coach for the University of Hawai'i football team, never turned away food as an adult. The meal supply on UH road trips amounts to "food around the clock," he said. "I was kind of a garbage disposal. I thought, 'This can't go to waste; I gotta eat this stuff.' But now I know what's good and what's not."

With a new lifestyle and altered eating habits, the 35-year-old Singletary has rediscovered himself and reignited his spirit. But losing 90 pounds is only part of the story. Singletary's positive attitude inspires people as much as his kindness touches them.

At Kansas State, where he played defensive end/linebacker, Singletary's 6-foot-1 frame was a muscular 250 pounds. It stayed that way through his one year as an NFL free agent for the Philadelphia Eagles. The problem began when the Eagles released him.

"I became depressed in many ways," he said. "I felt I had let my family down. I let myself down." Eating fast food and his wife's soul food brought comfort. His weight soared to 385 pounds.

A talk from head coach June Jones after the season ended last year convinced Singletary to take action. "I was concerned about him," recalled Jones. "I knew he loved his children and wanted to see them grow up."

Said Singletary: "He presented it, and I just took it and ran with it. This was something I needed. I took it personal. That lit my fire."

Singletary could claim any excuse. But he uses none. Both players and colleagues take note of the example he sets.

"What he's done is a real testimony," said Jones. "It takes a lot of mental discipline to do that."

From the weight room where he was beginning a workout, 57-year old wide receivers coach Ron Lee added, "He's been a real inspiration." Lee, who started walking and lifting weights after his surgery, said he is committed to maintaining his program.

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Vantz Singletary Occupation: Defensive line coach for University of Hawai'i Warrior football Age: 35 What you might not know: His natural ebullience on television comes from experience. He used to co-host a prime-time syndicated sports show out of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, when he coached at Southern University. Mentor: Uncle and NFL star Mike Singletary Favorite Biblical passage: "I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me." — Philippians 4:13 Quote: "I just try to be a good person and a man of integrity."

In his office at the UH athletic department — stacked to the ceiling with football videotapes ("you can never watch enough films!" he said) — Singletary wears a San Diego Chargers shirt with the sleeves cut off, University of Hawai'i shorts, leather sandals, and a Subway visor. The latter advertises the sandwich store that helped him change his eating habits. Now he fills up on fruit and water and avoids the much-loved soda he once drank continuously.

Exercise also plays an essential role. With his sunglasses and headset in place, he walks — grooves, really — to rap, gospel, country or R&B CDs. At various gyms, he uses the Stairmaster and stationary bicycle, and lifts weights.

He grins when he describes tucking in the 2X shirt instead of leaving the 5X hanging out as he used to, or shopping anywhere for size 42 pants instead of searching specialty stores for size 50. He said, "I love getting on the airplane and not having to ask for an extension for the seatbelt!"

Singletary credits his uncle, Mike Singletary, with getting them both out of the ghetto. Mike Singletary, a 14-year star middle linebacker with the Chicago Bears and a veteran of 12 Pro Bowls, was the youngest of 10 children and only seven years older than his nephew. They grew up in the same home after Vantz's mother and father divorced, in a neighborhood where ominous influence lurked around every corner.

"People were always trying to steer you the wrong way," Singletary said of his childhood. But Mike Singletary convinced Vantz that a better life awaited them. When gang members chided their hopes, Mike refused to listen. He recited scripture. He told the younger Singletary to have faith. And they prepared for the life they could only dream about.

"We used hairbrushes as microphones, and we would practice interviewing each other," said Singletary. "He told me, 'You're going to be doing a lot of this some day.'

In fact, the elder Singletary is one of the reasons Vantz is now working at UH. Jones was inundated with calls from prospective coaches. But after conversations with Mike Singletary, Chicago Bears head coach Mike Ditka, Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Tony Dungy and San Diego Chargers general manager Bobby Beathard, Jones was convinced. When Jones called with the offer, Singletary recalled Jones saying, "You know, Vantz, God works in mysterious ways."

So Singletary took the job and moved to Hawai'i — sight unseen. Uncle Mike told him the opportunity was too good to miss. "When he speaks, I listen to everything."

Doors continue to open. Singletary leaves for Arizona tomorrow and a prestigious three-week summer NFL coaching internship beside "Mean" Joe Green and the Arizona Cardinals. Of the 300 applications each team receives annually, only two interns are chosen.

His mission? "To be a better technician," he said. "You always want to improve your craft."

With Shawndra, his high school sweetheart and wife of 12 years, he has four daughters, ranging in age from 4 to 14. He tries to get home for dinner every night.

Singletary's understanding about the difficulty associated with balancing many responsibilities in life — and the background from which he emerged — allows him to help players who need guidance. "So many of them are parents," he said. "They have struggles. I try to be real with them, and they can appreciate that honesty."

Yet sometimes his life is filled with too much reality. When Singletary talks of his father, now homeless and living in a junkyard, he fights tears. "We're all trying to help him," he said quietly. "But unless a person really wants to help himself, there's not a lot you can do."