Singletary not one to sit back and coach

By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

•	WARRIORS FOOTBALL WHEN: Hawai'i at San Jose State WHEN: Saturday, 10 a.m., Hawai'i time TV: Live on K5, Channel 5

"If you're a star or a backup," UH defensive tackle Abu Ma'afala said, "he treats you as an equal."

Singletary, who coaches the defensive linemen, tries to spend quality time with each of his players. He ate summer lunches with defensive end Travis LaBoy, who was struggling with injuries and personal problems, and consoled Nkeruwem "Tony" Akpan, whose father died last month.

Last spring, when defensive tackle Isa'ako "Isaac" Sopoaga needed to pass an English class to remain eligible, Singletary signed up for the course.

"The first day, it was embarrassing," said Sopoaga, who sat in the seat in front of Singletary. "After a while, I had no choice but to go to class with Coach Vantz Singletary the whole semester. He helped me focus and understand what the teacher was saying."

Singletary said: "I wanted to help him, and I hope one day he will help someone else."

Before every game, Singletary implores the linemen to "be the hammer, not the nail." Once, he brought a hammer to practice as a visual aid.

After important victories, he will lead the defense in the gyrating "Vantz Dance."

Other times, he is Barry White. "The one word I use a lot is 'love,' " Singletary said. "I tell them I love them. I feel their pain. If they make a mistake, I made a mistake."

Sometimes he will apply tough love. In last week's 31-15 victory over Texas-El Paso, Singletary benched LaBoy for a defensive series. LaBoy had misread his assignments and, Singletary recalled, "I had to sit him down to get his attention."

The next day, Singletary left this message on LaBoy's cellular telephone: "I want you to know I love you and appreciate you. You mean a lot to us here."

"He definitely connects with you on the friendship level," LaBoy said. "He definitely gives you the father-son relationship. He does a lot of things other coaches wouldn't do."

For instance, each week Singletary will send a note or two to each player's parents.

"I want them to know I really appreciate their sons," Singletary said. "As coaches, we're raising someone's children. These guys are like my own kids."

Singletary, who has four daughters, credits his wife, Shawndra.

"She understands what my role is with the players," Singletary said. "My wife and I have mutual respect for each other. That's how a relationship is supposed to work. I want to do that with the players. I want them to know we can communicate, and that what they have to say is important."

Ma'afala said: "He's straight up with us. He doesn't sugarcoat anything. That's the cool thing. He treats us like we're equals. We call him 'Homeboy.' He's cool."

Singletary said his pay-it-forward philosophy came from his relationship with Kevin Ramsey, his position coach at Kansas State.

"He really listened to me," Singletary said. "We had a great relationship then and we still have a great relationship today. I try to take what I learned from him and apply it to my job here."

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8051.