For Thomas Sheffield, living the dream means there is no time to rest.

“It’s beautiful,” Sheffield said of his multiple duties as a first-year member of the University of Hawaii football team’s coaching staff.

As associate head coach, Sheffield is hierarchically second in command to head coach Timmy Chang. Sheffield also is special teams coordinator and tight ends coach — a dual role that requires shuttling between the grass practice field and Ching Complex to oversee separate workouts during spring practices.

Sheffield has tweeted ZOA Energy is his fuel, but acknowledges the drive mostly comes from self-motivation to lead football players.

Sheffield had a humble upbringing in Waco, Texas. “I grew up in a trailer park,” Sheffield said. “I had a single mother who did everything she could to keep a roof over our head. Me and my sister and my grandmother and my mother. We just made it a home. I tell people all the time, I’m not afraid of where I come from. I’m not afraid to tell people about the journey.”

He began his coaching career at Sam Houston State, his alma mater, as a quality control coach. He then worked as tight ends coach/recruiting coordinator at Mary Hardin-Baylor; graduate assistant in charge of special teams at North Texas, and special teams coordinator at Arkansas-Pine Bluff and then Nevada.

“I’ve worked for free,” Sheffield said. “I’ve slept in the office. I’ve eaten peanut butter and jelly (sandwiches) and ramen for a whole month straight for every meal. I’ve been on food stamps. I’ll tell people, it’s part of the story, part of the journey. I don’t have any regrets about it.”

At Nevada, Sheffield bonded with Chang, who coached tight ends for three seasons and receivers last year. Both joined head coach Jay Norvell in his move from Nevada to Colorado State. When Chang was offered the head coach’s job at UH, where he was a star quarterback in the 2000s, he reached out to Sheffield.

“The (UH job) is personal for him,” Sheffield said of Chang’s homecoming. “It’s personal. It’s home. It’s his island. These are his people. He takes that to heart. He’s not going to let this place down.”

Sheffield said Chang has been helpful in offering suggestions on using the tight ends, as well as overseeing all aspects of the program. Sheffield said Chang taught an equipment manager the proper grip of the football.

“It makes us want to take our level to the next level,” Sheffield said of his coaching cohorts. “We want to take it from here and we want to go meet (Chang) at the top right here. And anybody’s who’s down here is going to get left behind.”

On special teams, Sheffield is imploring an attacking style in coverages and returns. While Matthew Shipley is viewed as the leader as point-scoring kicker and punter, the other specialists will get equal opportunities this spring.

Sheffield said Caleb Phillips and Missouri State transfer Jordan Murray have separated from the other tight ends. But Sheffield said three others are on the cusp of expanded playing time, and there are sub-packages for some tight ends, H-backs and fullbacks.

Off the field, Chang is hiring an instructor to teach the assistant coaches and staff about Hawaiian language and culture. The coaches also will be taught the ha‘a, with the hope instruction will spread to the players.

“I can’t fight for an island, I can’t fight for the name of Hawaii if I don’t understand what that means,” said Sheffield, praising the value of cultural lessons. “The history of it, understanding the language, understanding the people, that’s what makes you invest in this thing more. That’s what I love about it. It’s a beautiful thing.”