WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama Tuesday welcomed Navy's football team — which is coached by former Radford High and University of Hawai'i athlete Ken Niumatalolo — to the White House and presented the Midshipmen the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy, awarded yearly to the winner of the competition among the three major service academies.

It was Navy's sixth straight trophy.

Obama talked up Niumatalolo and another local product who plays for Navy.

"Coach Ken, thank you. We were just talking — he's another local boy from Hawai'i. He's four years younger than me, but apparently we've got some mutual friends.

"I want to congratulate Coach Ken, as I said, from my original home state, also the first Samoan American head coach in the history of Division I-A, just the third Navy coach since World War II to have a winning record in his first season.

"Your starting quarterback is also Hawaiian —where is he? Kaipo (Kaipo-Noa Kaheaku-Enhada) — where is he? ... I hear Kaipo is a pretty easygoing guy. He doesn't get rattled easily, performs under pressure. That's the Hawaiian spirit. That's how we roll."

Obama also joked that the team's unofficial motto — "no excuses; nobody cares" — is similar to first lady Michelle Obama's directions to the president.