He never considered it an official mission, but over the course of two decades, Greg Taguchi gave his life to Kalani High School athletics.
Four years as a baseball varsity coach in the 1990s, 15 seasons (in three separate stints) as varsity football coach, and a multitude of stretches as an assistant coach — it was simply a way of life. Taguchi, 47, recently stepped down as head football coach, content and optimistic.
“It’s the right time to step down. The program is in a good place for the future coach. It’s a positive thing. It gives me time to focus on doing other things. It frees up some time to just relax, sit back a little bit, collect yourself and try and be normal for once,” said Taguchi, who continues to teach physical education at the school.
“The kids have been working out hard in the offseason,” he added. “We’ve got some talented athletes who are coming up. Hopefully, some people on my staff will step up.”
His dreams for the Kalani football program led him to mentors at the next level. He sought knowledge from then-UH assistant coaches Ron Lee and Cal Lee. Later, for a few seasons, they became assistant coaches in the Falcons program, mentors-turned-high-school gurus once again. In the past two seasons, more former UH coaches leaped into the circle at Kalani: George Lumpkin and Kanani Souza.
Because Taguchi was in a constant drive to get the most out of his players, fellow coaches and himself, Kalani rose to playoff-contender status. This, despite being in a district that loses elite student-athletes to the ILH every year.
Last season’s Kalani squad went 4-4 in OIA Division II play (4-5 overall). The 2014 team was also 4-4 (4-5).
In the ’13 season, the Falcons went 6-2 (6-4 overall) and averaged more than 39 points per game. Quarterback Noah Brum, a transfer from Saint Louis, set school records with 2,796 passing yards and 38 touchdown strikes with just nine picks.
It was a clear indication of what Taguchi and his program were capable of given just enough talent and opportunity.
“The memories that you have are the relationships you built, whether it’s with coaches on your staff, of other schools, relationships with players. Those are important memories you have and you built,” Taguchi said. “Those are what I’m going to miss the most.”
He doesn’t necessarily think of his time as a bridge from Kalani’s immense struggles on the gridiron — with low numbers and forfeitures nearly a decade ago — to its highly competitive level today.
“I don’t know if there’s a legacy. I just enjoyed the relationships and trying to build, using football as a tool to help our students grow as people,” he said. “I don’t think I did anything special or any different from anyone else.”
