Perseverance pays off for Hawai'i middle blocker

By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

Think your day was a bummer?

Think about University of Hawai'i volleyball player Geronimo "JoJo" Chala, whose streak of bad days can be calculated in months.

An academic snafu forced Chala to redshirt last season. In September, he suffered a double fracture just above his right ankle. During the Thanksgiving weekend, burglars seized his laptop computer and specially crafted $12,000 flute.

"It was a rough year," said Chala, a 6-foot-6 sophomore.

But whenever life appears to be scrambled, Chala always seems to emerge sunny-side up. The redshirt year served as an apprenticeship. His injury has healed, and Chala is expected to be part of the rotation at middle blocker when the Warriors open their season against Loyola-Chicago Tuesday.

Chala also said the stolen flute was covered under a homeowner's insurance policy, "and I get to upgrade." But the new flute, which also will be made of sterling silver with a 14-karat head joint, will not be ready for a couple of months — a difficult hiatus for Chala, who had practiced three hours each day.

"I'm pretty sad about that," said Chala, who will focus on volleyball. The Warriors opened training camp Wednesday.

"He's a great kid," UH coach Mike Wilton said. "He's very athletic and he works really hard. I'd like to see him string together a season without injury."

Then again, Chala always has persevered.

He was born in Cuba, where he lived for eight years. Back then, he recalled, "it was pretty bad, to the point where you have no toilet paper and electricity gets shut off for 13, 14 hours a day, if you have electricity in your house. Everyone fights for the food. You have to be careful with your actions due to political purposes."

In 1988, Chala's family emigrated to the United States. Although his mother, Hortensia, was a U.S. citizen, the family was forced to travel to Miami in an old boat that was not equipped with radar. Then they were detained in a camp while U.S. Custom officials screened their family history.

"You're not used to that type of environment where you're stuck with thousands of people living under tents," Chala said. "It didn't really matter that much because we were so happy we were able to start a new life."

In Miami, his mother, a former ballerina, and his father, a musician, encouraged him to pursue the arts. In a sixth-grade music class, "I wanted to be a drummer, but I didn't have the coordination for it," Chala recalled. "I wanted to play the sax because of jazz. Basically, there were only a few instruments left. My sisters convinced me to take the flute."

Years of practice helped develop Chala into a world-class flautist. As a senior at Miami's New World School of the Arts, Chala's quintet performed at a recital attended by President Bill Clinton.

"It was kind of scary," Chala said, "and (Clinton) plays the saxophone, which is actually very relevant to the flute. I was quite nervous."

A year later, Chala was accepted into a New York conservatory. One of the concerts was in Carnegie Hall.

"It was amazing to play at a level like that," he said. "People really appreciate your music."

After returning to Miami, Chala pursued his other passion. UH assistant coach Tino Reyes recommended signing Chala, who did not need much prodding. In 1996, Chala had watched a telecast of a UH volleyball match.

"Those guys were in Hawai'i and the crowd was going crazy and I said, 'I've got to go there,'" Chala recalled.

And, yes, sometimes good things happen first.

"I'm lucky to be here," he said.