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Close-knit clan
Brashton, Liko and Chanteal Satele
take after their athletic parents
There was a TIME when Landon Satele wasn't in the background, busy with his duties as a team manager for a girls volleyball team.
There was a time when he was in the spotlight, excelling on the football and baseball fields of his youth. State championships in both sports at a young age have a way of drawing attention and expectations.
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If the measure of a happy family is in the joy of its least famous member, the Satele ohana is bursting with satisfaction.
There isn't a University of Hawaii football fan who can forget the big-play production of outside linebacker Alvis Satele, via Castle High School. Nor can any self-respecting Wahine volleyball fan who truly bleeds green dismiss the early national championship teams, two of which include Mililani alum Leeann Pestana.
To Leeann, Alvis wasn't just a football talent. "He's good looking," she said.
"I tell them now, you are born champions because of her," Alvis said.
Alvis and Leeann married and have five children, three of whom are still in high school. And that's where the Sateles are just a wee bit different from the average Hawaii household.
Oldest son Everett is married, and No. 2 son Alvis Jr. plays baseball at Hawaii-Hilo.
Brashton, a senior linebacker for Pac-Five, has been a magnet for college recruiters. The baby of the bunch is Chanteal, an outside hitter for Word of Life Academy, who is one of the top freshmen in the state.
Landon, or as his mother prefers, Liko, was the one who showed great promise at a very young age. His Mililani PAL team won a state title, and so did his Mililani Trojans Pop Warner squad. But there's no football this fall for Liko.
There, at every WLA volleyball match, helping head coach Leeann Satele, is Landon. Being a team manager is often monotonous, tedious work.
He does it with a smile.
If Alvis Sr. had signed the birth certificate, son No. 3 would have been Cornelius Satele. Alvis admired another linebacker, Alabama's Cornelius Bennett.
Leeann waved the name off then, as she does today, with a roll of the eyes. "I wanted a strong name," she said. One of his middle names, Niolopua, translates to 'handsome' in Hawaiian.
Athletes of the Week» Danie Hout, Moanalua: 27 kills, eight digs vs. Kalani in OIA semifinal win; 15 kills, seven digs vs. Farrington in quarterfinal victory.» Mike Kopra, HPA: Playing with the flu, he rushed for 165 yards on 25 carries, with one touchdown and a 42-yard field goal in 24-14 win over previously unbeaten Hilo.
Honor RollFOOTBALL» Damien Torres, Kailua: 102 rushing yards on 13 attempts inan OIA quarterfinal loss to Mililani. » Maka Kahoano, Mililani: Passed for 177 yards and two touchdowns against Kailua. » Kekoa Perbera, Mililani: Ran for 85 yards and passed for a 40-yard touchdown vs. Kailua. » Mike Hirokawa, Iolani: Rushed for 120 yards and two touchdowns in a win vs. Damien. » Spencer Hafoka, Kahuku: Nine receptions, 171 yards, including four touchdowns in an OIA quarterfinal win over Aiea. » Royden Nabarro, Hilo: Rushed for 131 yards on 21 attempts and scored one touchdown at HPA.
VOLLEYBALL
WATER POLO
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Scholarship offers are on the table from Oregon State and Hawaii. Wisconsin and Utah also have been calling every week and Brashton said he will visit all four campuses.
The process has been all positive, he added. Coaches from the four schools have been highly communicative.
Hawaii is the only one of the four schools that may try him as a running back. Offensive line coach Mike Cavanaugh, only half-jokingly, has told Brashton that he's going to make a great lineman one day. "When I got hurt last year, I gained 15 pounds and he was smiling," Brashton said. "He said he likes my pass protection."
It doesn't hurt to come from a family that loves the game. Leeann is a volleyball animal through and through, but she knows her football.
Alvis never had to push his sons much when it came to sports. In fact, there is only one picture of Alvis and Leeann in their home. They rarely, if ever, talk about their playing days. For a long time, Alvis' children didn't even know about his football career.
"All he told me was that he was the waterboy for UH," Brashton said. "I didn't know he played for them until I was in sixth grade."
Brashton wears No. 13, like his dad. In many ways, he's a mirror image. He has a keen eye and a very good ear, especially when Liko--who has his comedic side--gets a bit kolohe. And boy, nobody watches over a baby sister like Brashton.
Chanteal doesn't seem to mind a bit.
Chanteal is long, lanky and powerful like her mother. She might someday be as creative.
"Teal is my favorite color, and 'chan' is 'beautiful' in French," Leeann explained.
Chanteal, who amassed 15 kills and four blocks in a season-ending playoff loss at Iolani on Saturday, almost didn't wear the black and baby blue uniform of WLA. She was accepted by Kamehameha Schools in the spring, setting off a time of discussion and prayer for the Sateles.
Brashton was one of the first to speak his mind. "I wanted her at Word of Life," he said.
Alvis Jr., a Kamehameha graduate, and Liko wanted Chanteal to attend Kamehameha. Even Alvis Sr. was excited.
Leeann wasn't sure what to think. "I was crying when we got the letter," Leeann said. "I had mixed feelings."
Chanteal had been attending WLA since fourth grade. Many of her closest friends were there. But even she wasn't 100 percent sure about where to go. One of her best friends, volleyball player Kanani Herrin, was accepted to KSBE and went there in the fall.
The family continued to discuss. "Each of the kids talked about their experience at their school," Leeann said.
In the end, mom and dad made the call. "Pastors Art and Kuna (Sepulveda) are our good friends," Alvis said.
"Word of Life was a better fit," Leeann added. "You're in a place where you're forming traditions."
Brashton's influence was a factor. "I wanted her to stay and make a difference for our school," he said. "She listens to me."
There may have been some broken-hearted Kamehameha fans, but it certainly was a relief for WLA fans. After all, the school had already lost its share of talented youths to bigger schools.
Alvis and Leeann credit a close friend, Kamehameha co-athletic director Blane Gaison, for a tremendous amount of help. "He's given us equipment when we didn't have any, our first basketballs," Alvis remembered.
Alvis has been astounded with the amount of help given by coaches and administrators, from Kamehameha football coach Kanani Souza to Interscholastic League of Honolulu executive director Don Botelho.
Gaison's encouragement regarding Chanteal's decision was a blessing, Leeann added.
"He said, people might say you're ridiculous for not sending her to Kamehameha," she said. "But be obedient."
WHEN THEY SIT down to watch video of Brashton's games, Liko doesn't waver in his astute analysis. "When they watch film, sometimes Brashton gets irritated," Leeann said.
It's true. "He's my little coach," Brashton added. He doesn't hesitate for a second when it's time to give his baby brother some props.
On a cloudy Sunday afternoon, over a warm meal, the family relaxes and weaves through times past and times present. Between his one-liners and quips, Liko's train of thought reveals his hopes.
"I don't want to be left behind. I want to be good like them," he said of Chanteal and Brashton.
Though defense is where he really gets his kicks, Brashton admits to having fun at running back. When he lines up on offense to play some running back for a thinning Pac-Five offensive unit, he thinks of one thing.
"When I run the ball, I imitate him," Brashton said of Liko.
Live and on tape, Liko--a defensive end and running back--had moves that work on any level.
Liko, who sat out of the football season to focus on academics, has grown physically and spiritually without the game he loves. But it never hurts to be reminded, especially from your all-state big brother, that you are an inspiration.
It's enough to make Leeann wipe a tear. Don't worry, though. It's just a football mom kind of thing.
