Page 5 - Hawaii Island MidWeek - Aug 31, 2022

s natural as Chang is at the sport, it’s important to note
But Chang’s studious mind and determined makeup were also critical in his development. After all, others have played for and been tutored by these same coaches and more, but not many have come close to enjoy-
that he didn’t begin playing organized football until his early teens. Up until then, his focus in athletics was primarily twofold — basket- ball and baseball — despite spending much of his youth serving as a ball boy for his father, Levi, a school princi- pal and basketball coach who also worked football games as an Interscholastic League of Honolulu official.
ing the type of success Chang had on the field as a player.
But all that changed once the Waipi‘o Gentry native entered Saint Louis as a seventh-grader and Levi green-lighted his gridiron participation. At first, the youngster wanted to play
Ever humble, Chang is quick to credit others with his success on the gridiron. They include everyone from “the Good Man Upstairs who put me on the path with real- ly good people around and I got to learn to play football at a very high level early on,” to studying under and playing for a few of the game’s very best coaches.
“One of the things that my dad used to talk about is mental toughness — just outworking people, always being diligent, always being smart, always using your mind. That’s what carries you further,” he explains.
ds defensive back “because it ng looked like an athletic po- ngsition.” However, his PE
“You can always tell when you got really good coaches because the future coaches of the profession fall from their trees,” he observes. “I was under June, I was under Cal and Ron Lee, and I was un- der Vinny Passas, and that’s
“I wasn’t the biggest quar- terback, I wasn’t the fastest quarterback, and I probably didn’t have the strongest arm,” he continues, “but by just being smart about things, to keep coming, to keep having that work ethic so that you’ re not outworked by anybody, that’s the kind of mentality that I had.”
Among Timmy
Chang’s biggest and
proudest supporters are
wife Sherry and their five children.
players. For his part, he vows to be with them every step of the way while watching them coalesce into a mean, lean fighting machine that hopefully produces magic on and off the field — just like he once did as a player in Mānoa.
“I work for those guys every day,” says Chang in closing. “I want to give them everything they will need to be successful on the field on Saturday, and be successful when they leave here for the rest of their life.
te coach, who also served as x- the intermediate team’s of- he fensive coordinator, thought arotherwise and convinced at- him that he could put his d- baseball arm to better use
It’s the type of mental toughness that Chang hopes will be on display among his
“That’s my job.”
er- g g
ot ’s g e d ’s it in to d
h- le g
AUGUST 31, 2022
HAWAI‘I ISLAND MIDWEEK 5
Chang Brings Winning Mindset To Football Program
FROM PAGE 4
is trying to make sure that Aeverybody feels like a part of this team. That’s the biggest thing.”
by operating behind center. Chang credits that teacher and coach, Doug Frias, as well as the tutelage received under passing guru Vinny Passas, with his development into a bona fide quarterback.
Almost immediately, Chang’s performances on the field were nothing short of sensational. In his eighth- and ninth-grade seasons, he led his teams to titles. The same thing happened during his sophomore and junior years as he capped off those campaigns with Prep Bowl victories. Finally in his se- nior season, Chang put an exclamation point on a ster- ling prep career by marching the Crusaders to the first-ev- er Hawai‘i High School Athletic Association State Football Championship. Along the way, he threw for just over 8,000 yards and a staggering 113 touchdown passes — 64 of which came during his final campaign. Those TD numbers remain state records to this day.
His outstanding play only continued at UH, where in five seasons, Chang passed for an astonishing 17,072
yards and 117 touchdown strikes — the former to- tal placing him second to Houston’s Case Keenum in NCAA Division I history, while the latter leaving him in the 11th spot all-time for most TD tosses. More im- portantly, his passing hero- ics produced wins for his team — highlighted by the Rainbow Warriors’ victories in the 2003 and 2004 Ha- wai‘i Bowl games, in which Chang was named MVP and co-MVP, respectively.
kind of what grew me into what I am today.”
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Denise S. Nakanishi
RB-17031, ABR, CRS, GRI, SRS
“Major Mom is a Major Difference”
cell 808-936-5100 majormom@ilhawaii.net
When we heard that we could order personalized super hero models from Hasbro, we knew just the candidate. By all accounts, Ash (Ashley) Tsuji was at the center of everything that happened with Team Nakanishi. If you follow us on social media, it’s Ash who would constantly post fun entries
of not only our listings but competing o
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OUR HERO, ASH TSUJI!
One of his responsibilities with them was to assist with staging. When his stepdad passed at the end of May, Ash was ready to take the lead with staging for Team Nakanishi. As I went through my chemo and surgery, Ash was always there to help even with the “grunt” work. He never complained a bit. We could always count on him for comic relief with a huge smile. When a fund-raising opportunity presented itself, Ash jumped in to spearhead the Team efforts. His responsibilities were many and varied. Outside our Team, he constantly contributed to our community. In fact, Ash recently raised the most money for “Real Men Wear Pink” a breast cancer fundraiser for American Cancer Society. Those who recently attended the “Walk For A Cure”
might have participated in the “Zumbathon” that Ash spearheaded. It added great levity to what could have been a somber event. He and Nui were especially close...of course they were, they are both very silly and love to eat. The bond was a natural but it was his ability to prop us all up and keep us moving forward with his infectious personality, his expressive face and his can do attitude that made him our superhero! He was such a nice person. We were so privileged to know him. And though we don’t understand why he was taken so young, his memory will forever remain in our hearts and as part of our team. We will miss him always. Dear Ash, say Hi to Mealoha and you guys try to stay out of trouble...or maybe not. Love you Ashley Tsuji!
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istings, fun events, great desserts, i
and, of course Zumba. A cancer
survivor, Ash was always active,
eaching at the YMCA, working out at e
Spencer’s and hosting “Ash Kicking” on Na Leo (our local TV station). He returned from Honolulu about 4 years ago to help his Mom with his step-dad who had Parkinson’s. On Oahu, he worked for several large developers.
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