Melody Toth is the Wahine trainer, but she's also an inspiration
and spiritual leader for the team.
By Kathryn Bender, Star-Bulletin

Consider the value of keeping an Angelica Ljungquist healthy. Or a Brooke Wilkins. Or a Nani Cockett.

Try to count the hours of rehabilitation it took to put Tania Brunton and Jenny Wilton back on the court in prime condition.

Think about where the University of Hawaii teams would be if the Wahine athletes were unable to perform even after a minor injury.

Only then does one begin to realize what Toth, the head trainer of the UH women's training staff, means to the Wahine athletic programs. For the 45-year-old Toth, it's been a labor of love for the past 20 years.

She came to the job in 1977 with three goals in mind: to work with Division I athletes, teach at a university and go to the Olympics as a trainer. Toth has done all three as well as gain the respect of dozens of colleagues and two decades of players.

"When you start a job, you don't really think about how long you might stay in one place," Toth said. "God's been good to me and I've been able to do everything I've ever wanted to do through my move to Hawaii. Teach, go to the Olympics, work with great athletes.

"One of the best parts of the job is working with the kids. It keeps you young. I don't feel 45. It's really exciting to watch the teams grow and the players grow up."

And when the players grow up and go away, they don't forget "Mel." For instance, when Teee Williams visited Honolulu before the Olympics, she called Toth, seeking help with her aching back.

Toth oversees all seven Wahine sports as well as sailing and men's tennis and golf. She is most visible during volleyball season, being introduced along with the rest of the Hawaii coaching staff, and sitting next to coach Dave Shoji.

"Mel does a lot of other things she doesn't have to do," said Shoji, the Wahine coach since 1975. "She's on the bench, keeps track of substitutions and serving rotation. Most trainers don't do that.

"She wanted to be involved with the game instead of sitting there and watching. She's first and foremost our trainer but she does so many other things. She's a cheerleader, a spiritual leader and always has ways to fire up the team."

Toth is seemingly always on-call, opening doors for early morning or late-evening rehab. Her apartment has become a focal point for those involved with Bible study and home fellowship.

She believes God may work in mysterious ways but always with a purpose. The day she learned she wasn't rehired at San Jose State was the day she saw that there was only one ad in the National Athletic Trainers Association newsletter for a full-time trainer: at Hawaii.

When the Wahine defeated defending national champion Nebraska on Aug. 24 for the NACWAA Tournament title, Toth felt it was a personal present. Twenty years ago, to the day, she had arrived in Hawaii to begin her job on the Manoa campus.

Toth has been instrumental in setting up the sports medicine training program at UH as well as developing the preventative and rehabilitation programs for women's sports. She credits Dr. Ralph Hale, currently a vice president with the U.S. Olympic Committee and longtime Wahine team doctor, with helping establish one of the top programs in the country.

"I'm proud of the program we've developed," said Toth, who holds two degrees from Indiana University. "I can get a referral for any specialist we need. Our athletes get some of the best care in the world."

It was an injury while playing for the Hoosiers that first opened Toth's eyes to the career of athletic training. She was looking to go into physical therapy, but when she got hurt playing field hockey, "I saw what a trainer does and thought it was great," she said.

The love affair has lasted since she earned her master's in sports medicine at Indiana. It's not a career that one stays in for the money, not when trainers put in a work week of 60 to 80 hours.

"I give all trainers credit because financially they aren't rewarded as much as they are worth," Shoji said. "Being a trainer means being there whenever the coach wants you to be there. Like Mel, you're always in season."

Toth said she hopes to stay at UH another 10 years and then retire after 30 years of service. She loves camping and would like to buy a Winnebago and travel around the country.

Until then, "I'll be here," she said. "Doing what I do has allowed me to travel to 21 countries, go to Europe with the U.S. men's water polo team and treat some of the world's best athletes. I'm happy where I'm at."

What: Aston's Imua Challenge
Where: UH Special Events Arena
Thursday: Santa Clara vs. CSU-Sacramento, 5:30 p.m.; Rhode Island vs. Hawaii, 7:30 p.m.
Friday: Santa Clara vs. Rhode Island, 5:30 p.m.; CSU-Sacramento vs. Hawaii, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday: CSU-Sacramento vs. Rhode Island, 11 a.m.
Sunday: Santa Clara vs. Hawaii, 6 p.m.
Broadcasts: All Hawaii matches live on KFVE (Channel 5) and KCCN (1420-AM)
Tickets: Available at Special Events Arena