When George Nueku was in high school, he passed on sports because he was turned off by daily practice after class.

He tried out for baseball at Farrington High School once, but was the last player to be cut and sent to the junior varsity team.

“;My pride was hurt and I didn't go to the JV team,”; Nueku recalls. So Nueku has spent most of his adult life off courts and fields, on the sidelines as a coach.

The 70-year-old has coached three of his six children in Hawaii Kai youth leagues, including basketball, softball and baseball. Nueku's kids have also become coaches, as well as his wife, Joan, who serves as an official scorekeeper.

The coaching family had its roots in 1981, when Nueku's son Brad joined the youth league's basketball squad. Nueku began attending the games and was soon giving instructions as an assistant coach.

A year later, Nueku was head coach for his son's baseball team.

“;It was rough,”; Brad Nueku, 35, said about playing by his dad's rules. “;It was old school. It was about discipline.”;

His sister, Deanedra Kahunahana, was 5 years old when she joined baseball and basketball teams at Koko Head District Park, also under Nueku's watch. She said he father “;was always tough on us.”;

“;A couple of times I had to walk home because I wasn't playing hard or performing,”; she laughed. “;He was really rough. But I guess it was all for the better.”;

When Kahunahana turned 9, her mother Joan coached her in baseball for two years.

“;I wanted to coach her because, you know, she is a girl,”; Joan Nueku said with a chuckle as her husband and children organized basketball drills for about 15 players on a recent night. “;I knew they were not going to give her a chance. But she is pretty good.”;

Besides the youth league, Kahunahana also coaches softball and baseball teams at Kaiser High School, her alma mater.

For the Nuekus, coaching became a way for them to spend more time with their children and give back to the community.

“;Before athletics, it's about becoming a better person,”; Brad Nueku said.

“;You want to be competitive but at the same time be humble.”;

George Nueku Jr., who started as an assistant coach to older brother Brad and now coaches his 10-year-old son, Kaalouahi, said he wants to pass on to children on his team the same values and morals he received from his father.

“;That's what I try to instill on the kids too,”; he said. “;Not only how to become better ballplayers but better individuals.”;

After George Nueku was assigned to the JV team at Farrington High School, he would leave the campus after school to play pickup games at parks in Kalihi, mostly evenings on Fridays and Saturdays. There were football, baseball and basketball matches with teams from Kalihi Kai, Kalihi Uka, Palama and Lanakila. Practice happened once a week, “;if we were lucky,”; Nueku pointed out with a smile.

“;The reason why I never got involved in sports in high school was because of practice. It was just too much, and I couldn't stand that. I wanted to go to the beach or play with my friends,”; he said. “;But here, because my children are involved, I want to be part of it.”;

Following his graduation in 1956, Nueku joined the Marines and later spent 27 years as a communications officer at the Honolulu Fire Department, retiring in 1989. Today, he works as a contractor delivering the Honolulu Star-Bulletin to Waimanalo and Hawaii Kai and holds practices after his shifts.

He plans on coaching at least for another year.

“;Then I'll just leave everything to the children,”; he said with a pause.

“;But I guess I'll still be involved. Probably as a coach-consultant to my children.”;