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FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM Hawaii's Mike Wilton is entering his 12th season as the Warriors coach.

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Retirement last thing
on Wilton’s mind

Hawaii men's volleyball coach Mike Wilton opens his 12th season tonight when the Warriors take on Lewis in the Outrigger Hotels Invitational. Wilton answered questions from Star-Bulletin reporter Cindy Luis about the program, the upcoming season and issues that range from the 2002 NCAA title being stripped to his son-in-law's arrest on federal drug charges.

Question: How good is this year's team?

Answer: I think it's real good. Maybe someone who watched Saturday's match with Alberta would have a different opinion, but we're still dealing with injuries. I don't want to make excuses, but we were pretty banged up, with a significant amount of players hurt. I like this team. It has a lot of heart collectively, a great work ethic collectively. I think they inspire each other. There's a lot of little intangible things that I like. It may be a rocky road for a while as we get all of our pieces in there.

Q: What keeps you going as a volleyball coach?

A: I love being in the gym with the guys. I love coaching. I love coaching volleyball. I learn from them every day and I hope they learn something from me. It's not just about volleyball. It's about life. And the lessons you learn in volleyball are the lessons you learn about life.

Q: The training regimen for the team is pretty rigorous, but you are right in there with them. How do you keep in shape?

A: I'm usually out running about 4:15 in the morning, run 5-6 miles. Or I'll alternate with bike riding for about an hour and 15 minutes. If it's not raining, I like running and riding in Manoa Valley. And I have other routes to Diamond Head, Kahala, McCully and Kaimuki. I'm usually back by 6 (a.m.) and in the weight room with buddies and others who work on campus, from high-level administration to folks who do maintenance.

Q: What about the surfboard in your office? It's getting a little dusty.

A: As I look at it, I think you'll have to toss in a mud factor the first time I get back out. I used to ride a lot here and at Cal Poly (San Luis Obispo). I've gotten into such a rut with my fitness routine that I don't surf. And I've accumulated more than my fair share of skin cancer removals so maybe that's why I've backed off. Maybe surfing again will be a retirement deal and that's why I'm hanging onto the board.

Q: You're 60. How long would you like to stay here as coach? Would you go anywhere else?

A: I want to keeping coaching here for a long time. I'm in good health, reasonably. This energizes me and I'll keep doing it as long as I think I have something to offer. When it doesn't feel like I'm doing that, then it would be time to go.

I don't envision being unhappy here. I like our athletic management team. They're good people and they need to be given time to realize their vision. It's a professional working environment here and they have the best interests of the athletes in mind.

Q: What would you do when you retire?

A: Granddad stuff, father stuff, church stuff.

I have six grandchildren. What a blessing. Yes, it's enough for a volleyball team, except we still need a libero.

But I think I can hang with my guys for a few more years.

Q: You've been doing this for a long time. Can you pick a favorite team?

A: Every team is different and presents a different environment. I can't differentiate. I like different things about each team.

But I will say that I have never experienced a team that, from top to bottom, loved performing in front of people than the guys on the 1995-96 teams. I have never experienced that in any sport that compares to the adulation that the 1995-96 teams received.

I was here in the 1970s with the Fab Five (UH's basketball teams that went 47-8 from 1970 to 1972). And what we experienced blew the Fab Five out of the water. There were autograph signings with over 7,000 people in line. We had people spending 2 to 3 nights in a row to get tickets. It was unbelievable.

For those teams, it was more than their ability to play. The mere fact that every guy on that team loved performing and loved playing together. That is pretty special.

Q: Your son Aaron was on those teams. What do you like about having him as your assistant?

A: Aaron has an unbelievable ability to coach, and I'm not saying that because I'm his father. He has tremendous insights into players. He is going to be a superstar volleyball coach.

And so is Tino (associate head coach Reyes). He is as gifted a coach as anyone out there.

Q: Can you choose a favorite player?

A: I can't name anyone, but I can tell you that it's not about how good a player they were. It's how they embodied what it means to be a player, their character, being a team player, have the willingness to dive over tables and into stands to save balls. I'll let the people who read this fill in the blanks with the names.

Q: You've coached both women and men. Is there a difference?

A: There's a different approach and there are differences, good differences, that I've enjoyed. But the girls want to work as hard and win just as much as the guys.

Q: What first attracted you to the sport?

A: I was playing basketball at Santa Barbara City College and came down with a rebound one day and landed wrong. I severed the lateral ligaments in my foot and they had to be repaired. A friend suggested I take up beach volleyball for rehab since it had a soft surface. There were some great people on the beach and I learned to play volleyball from them. I fell in love with it.

Q: How did you end up in the Marines?

A: I didn't like school and was always getting into trouble. A judge suggested that going into the service wouldn't be a bad thing for me and that it would commute some of the things they wanted to do to me.

Q: Were you really a bad boy?

A: Unequivocally, yes.

Q: How did you get to Hawaii?

A: It was an adventure. I'd always had a dream of coming to Hawaii. I was sick of school and the father of my sister's good friend was building his dream home in Kaneohe.

I was a construction guy and worked lots of hours. I played some beach and found out that they played volleyball at Church College of Hawaii (now Brigham Young-Hawaii). I called the coach (John Lowell) and he said they practiced late on some nights and I worked out with them on Wednesday nights. They offered me a work-study deal and that's how I ended up playing for them.

That would have been 1969 and I got to play with some great players, Pete Velasco and Eddie Kalima. We played at the USVBA level and they held the nationals here that year. We probably did the best of any collegiate team in the state.

Q: Other Hawaii schools have had men's volleyball but dropped the program. What is the future of men's volleyball?

A: There's an 11-year contract with ESPN to present the final four. It's popular on television and gets good ratings.

It's a struggle to grow at the Division I level and I don't see that changing. The Division III (non-scholarship) level is growing and my understanding is their objective to have a national championship of their own. It's a shame that the sport can't grow. There are over 300 colleges that sponsor it as a club sport.

Q: How hard is it to recruit to Hawaii?

A: It's a harder process these days. We have to launder every bit of paperwork through the NCAA and that extends the length of time to get someone cleared.

Q: Will it stop you from going after foreign athletes?

A: We're not going to isolate where we recruit. It just means more paperwork on someone like Lauri (Hakala, of Finland).

Q: What about local recruits?

A: We want to recruit as much as possible in Hawaii. But we also recognize that there's a certain number who want to experience the continent.

The talent here varies from year to year. What would increase the chances is for the high schools to play best-of-5 instead of best-of-3. They've been doing best-of-5 in California since 1978. And I'd like to see boys volleyball played in the spring. It would attract a different population of athlete, such as football, to play the game. I don't know if it will ever happen.

Q: It's been a tough year for you. Have you been able to put the NCAA taking the title way behind you?

A: It's been hard because I never thought it was a fair decision. And it seemed they threw the baby out with the bath water. But it's done with. I'll never wear the ring. It's in a drawer, hidden away.

The accomplishment will never be taken away. What the boys accomplished was something pretty special. We got beat by Pepperdine four times that year and then to beat them for the title ... a kind of magic happened with that team.

They took the flag and the trophy. Good for them, let them flex their muscle. Every season is a journey and that was part of the journey for that team.

Q: You haven't wanted to talk about your son-in-law (police officer Harold Cabbab, who has been charged in federal court with conspiring to steal a shipment from drug dealers and then sell the drugs). Do you have a comment?

A: It's a big-time challenge dealing with the situation. I will say that my son-in-law is a wonderful human being and it appears he made a tragic mistake. I won't judge him. I love him. I love my daughter (Jenny) and I will do anything I can within my power to help my extended family.