Vavae Tata, a former All-State player at Saint Louis and an assistant at Vanderbilt University, will be named the new Kahuku football coach, according to sources close to the school.
The sources said the school administration picked Tata over four other finalists recommended by a selection committee. Although he did not confirm Tata as the selection, vice principal Ikaika Plunkett said Kahuku will announce the new coach Tuesday morning.
Tata was an All-State defensive lineman for the Crusaders in 1992 and ’93. He will leave his post as an assistant in player development for the Commodores. He previously held assistant coaching positions at UCLA, Stanford and San Jose State, as well as McKinley High School.
He was a defensive lineman for UCLA from the 1994 to ’98 seasons, capping his career in the 1999 Rose Bowl.
Among the other finalists were Kamehameha assistant David Te’o, a former Kahuku assistant; Kahuku assistant Sterling Carvalho; and Asai Gilman, executive director of Education 1st.
About 30 applied for the job, including Siuaki Livai, who won four state titles as Kahuku head coach; Kahuku assistant Tommy Heffernan Sr.; Kamehameha assistant and former Kahuku assistant Byron Beatty; Kapolei assistant, former Kailua coach and former Kahuku assistant Darren Johnson; and Kahuku junior varsity head coach James Kammerer; and former Dixie State head coach Greg Croshaw.
Kahuku selected Tata despite a troubled past that includes two drunk driving arrests, most recently in Tennessee in February 2014.
According to a 2014 Associated Press article, Tata’s penalty was the loss of his license for a year, 48 hours in jail and a suspended sentence.
Also, in 1997, while still a student at UCLA, Tata was charged with felony DUI after an accident in which he and two others were injured.
Tata will replace Lee Leslie, who coached the Red Raiders last season before returning to Idaho to spend more time with his family. The team went 10-3 and made it to the state semifinals.
