Hawaii Grown Report: College Athletics
Billy Hull
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Turbin’s passion turns to coaching
Like many college athletes at the end of their careers,
Derek Turbin was struggling to take that next step in life.
"After my football career was done, I was kind of just trying to figure it all out," the '02 Punahou graduate said. "Coaching in the meantime seemed like a great thing to do to satisfy my passions."
The competitive fire that helped Turbin become a two-sport athlete at Occidental still burned inside him.
After serving as an assistant in the fall, he became the youngest NCAA coach in the country at 23 years old when he was announced as the interim head track and field coach at Occidental College on Nov. 16.
"Coach (Rob Bartlett) said early in the year he was going to have to take a leave of absence for the upcoming track season," Turbin said. "Right then and there I was pretty certain I'd be the guy asked."
Turbin earned All-Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference honors three times in both football and track, and capped his senior season by playing in the Hula Bowl in Hawaii.
The transition from player to coach hasn't been as difficult as he imagined, but he does feel a lot more pressure.
"I guess the biggest thing being a coach is that the weight of the whole team is on your shoulders," Turbin said. "I have the responsibility of putting all 70 or so athletes in the right position to succeed."
Coaching has always been in the back of his mind, but it didn't become a real possibility until recently.
He understands he's still just the interim coach and Bartlett is expected to return the following year. But he also knows it'll be a great experience to hopefully propel him to bigger and better things.
"It's a great takeoff point for a lot of coaching careers," he said. "I'm ready to do it full-time now and am really committing myself to it."
Football
» West Texas A&M senior tight end
Kolo Kapanui (Kamehameha '01) was selected to the 2007 Daktronics All-America team. Kapanui caught 39 passes for 481 yards and seven touchdowns this season and will play in the 2008 Hula Bowl.
Women's Basketball
» Utah sophomore guard
Hennasea Tokumura (Iolani '06) played 9 minutes and finished with two points and three assists in Utah's blowout victory over Saint Mary's (Calif.).
» Gonzaga senior Rachel Kane (Punahou '03) started and had 11 points and three assists in Wednesday's 64-61 loss to Purdue. Kane came off the bench and was held scoreless, but grabbed four rebounds, in a 96-73 loss to No. 1 Tennessee last Sunday.
» Washington University junior Shanna-Lei Dacanay dished out a game-high seven assists and added five points and five rebounds in 25 minutes to help the Bears defeat Maryville University 77-48.
» Menlo College junior Kelci Fushikoshi (Lahainaluna '05) nailed a season-high five 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 24 points as the Lady Oaks dominated Cal State Maritime Academy 71-30. Senior Kepua Lee (Moanalua '04) added eight points and tied a season high with 13 rebounds as Menlo won its fifth straight game.
Women's Volleyball
» Washington sophomore libero
Tamari Miyashiro (Kalani '05) was named to the AVCA All-America third team. She finished second in the Pac-10 by averaging 5.65 digs per game and helped the Huskies to a 27-4 record and sixth straight NCAA tournament berth.
Men's Soccer
» Washington freshman goalkeeper
Stephen Fung (Iolani '06) was named the team's rookie of the year at their year-end awards banquet. Fung made 55 saves and recorded six shutouts.