DEAN SENSUI / DSENSUI@STARBULLETIN.COM
Former St. Louis School coach Cal Lee brings a record of success with him to the Hawaiian Islanders.
Islanders past A six-month process ended yesterday as the Hawaiian Islanders made the highly anticipated official announcement of Cal Lee as their new head coach.
‘survival mode’
with hire of Lee
The former St. Louis coach
brings a winning presence to
the second-year af2 franchiseBy Nick Abramo
nabramo@starbulletin.comIslanders owner Kimberly Wang first contacted Lee about the position in April, and now he has an office on the 25th floor of the team's new downtown headquarters.
The gold nameplate on his office door reads: "Cal Lee, Head Coach." Behind his desk is a view overlooking the Pacific Ocean. He can look down at Aloha Tower or up at blue sky and fluffy clouds.
"I've been very fortunate in my life," Lee said. "I believe things happen for a reason and so far things have fallen into place for me. So I always count my blessings, and I believe being hired by Kimberly to coach the Hawaiian Islanders is one of those blessings."
Lee said his first order of business yesterday --the first day of his first job as a professional football coach --would be to make some calls and talk to people he knows about hiring a coaching staff.
Wang, Lee and general manager Chris Dey all expressed relief that the big announcement is over and that the arenafootball2 team's new era has begun.
"Now we're beyond survival mode," Dey said. "Now we can begin to focus on other things than just trying to survive."
Dey was partially referring to last year, when the first-year team made a head coaching change and other front-office shakeups in midseason and many of the office staff members were virtually training on the job.
Wang and Dey both said Lee's decision was a lot tougher than the coach is letting on.
Lee said he discussed his options at length with his family and friends, and most thought the time was right to take this opportunity.
But the overriding factor in his decision was Wang, whom he has come to love as a friend.
"When I first met Kimberly, I was attracted to her right away," Lee said lightheartedly. "And when you get to know her, you see what kind of person she is inside and you fall in love with her.
"She's the kind of person you can feel comfortable around and is genuine and honest, and I felt that when I first met her.
"And whenever you go into a new 'arena,' you look around, open your eyes, and take a look at where you're going and who you're going to be working with. So if it hadn't been for Kimberly, I don't think I would have been as excited about taking this job."
Lee, the winningest coach in Hawaii high school football history, will continue as St. Louis School athletic director and will continue to run the St. Louis Clubhouse. He'll also finish this season as the Crusaders' special-teams coach.
Lee said he interviewed with Robert Banks of the league office and the hiring was approved yesterday afternoon.
"It's great to be back with Coach Cal," said Islanders quarterback Darnell Arceneaux, who played for Lee at St. Louis before going on to play for Utah. "He provided me with the motivation and confidence to further myself. It'll be an honor to be coached by him again. He puts players in situations to not fail. He emphasizes a player's strengths, not weaknesses, and he'll be able to communicate easily with local players."
Arceneaux helped the Islanders win four of their last six games last season en route to a 5-11 record.
Arceneaux believes Lee will have a large impact on the Islanders' defense, which was spotty last year, especially in the backfield.
"People say this is an offensive-minded game, and it is, but Coach Lee has the knowledge to put people in the right positions to stop the opponents in the various situations."
There is a chance Arceneaux might not be back with the Islanders. He has a workout with the Los Angeles Avengers of the Arena Football League scheduled for Dec. 5, and he's in the process of setting up a tryout with the AFL's San Jose SaberCats.
"If it doesn't work out with an AFL team, I'll definitely be back," he said.
Arceneaux also said he's heard that two Islanders will play in the AFL next year -- receiver/defensive back Nian Taylor with the New York Dragons and running back/fullback Josh White with the Detroit Fury. Those transactions could not be confirmed yesterday.
Arceneaux, Taylor and White, along with lineman Olen Rosehill and receiver Darrick Branch, have been invited to the Dragons' preseason training camp, according to Thomas Yoshida of the Islanders' public relations staff.
Outgoing head coach Chad Carlson has been offered the position of director of player personnel, according to Dey, who added that Carlson has interviewed for several other af2 head coaching positions.
Lee is the third coach in Islanders history. Guy Benjamin, the team's first coach, was replaced five games into last season by Carlson on May 7. Benjamin went 1-4, but missed his last game due to a heart condition. Carlson went 4-7 as interim coach after that, as the team finished 5-11.
Wang originally approached Lee because he was the "one person who embodies the values" of the Islanders.
"He has a gift for developing character and moral fiber," Wang said. "It's a very proud day for us, and I'm thrilled that he is a part of our team."
Lee is looking forward to the challenge of building a winner, something he knows more than a little about.
In 21 years as the St. Louis head coach, his teams went 241-32-5 with 14 Oahu Prep Bowl titles and the 1999 state championship. He was also an assistant with his brother Ron Lee at Kaiser High School, helping the Cougars win the 1979 Prep Bowl.
"I haven't been this excited about a new challenge in 30 years," Lee said. "It was exciting to see a program go from the bottom to the top (Kaiser). It was a little different when I started at St. Louis, where it was more about maintaining a high standard."
Lee signed the league maximum one-year, $40,000 contract for first-year coaches. The contract has incentives built in that could bring the total up, based on the team's victories.
But Lee said it's not about the money.
"I consider myself a rich person already, and I don't mean monetarily. I mean that I feel fortunate to have my family and my job and my chance to do what I've been doing in helping build character in young men.
"I am just a piece of the puzzle and I'm happy to try to make this thing go the way it's supposed to go."
Both Wang and Dey made clear their goals for the Islanders: building a championship team and adding value to the lives of their fans at the games and at outreach programs for youth and community groups.
They've super-sized their chances by hiring Cal Lee.
Hawaiian Islanders
