Light rain fell during Hawaii’s football practice on Friday, but that did not dampen Jamie Martinez’s mood.

"The rain here is nice," Martinez said. "We rarely get rain where I’m from."

Martinez, 17, arrived in Honolulu from Apple Valley, Calif., having battled a rare form of cancer — acute myeloid leukemia — for the past two years. In March 2011, he underwent a bone-marrow transplant. The cancer is in remission.

During intensive treatments, he set a goal of traveling to Hawaii, where his uncle resides, and meeting the Warrior football and Rainbow Wahine volleyball teams. The Make-A-Wish Foundation answered his request.

On Friday, he attended the Warriors’ practice. He received an autographed hat and shirt, as well as a rousing three-clap ovation from the team.

After that, the rugged week of practices had lost its sting.

Meeting Martinez "really puts things into perspective," quarterback Sean Schroeder said. "You come out and you might think you’re sore with little aches and pains. To see the real fighters in the world go through real challenges, it puts things into perspective and reminds you how fortunate we are. There are millions of people who want to trade places with us. If you’re having a tough day, that’s something to remember."

Martinez, who had aspired to play football, found motivation from the practice. The Warriors, in turn, found inspiration from Martinez.

"You definitely forget about the little problems you think are overwhelming," right guard Dave Lefotu said. "You look at him and you stop being selfish. When you see someone go through something worse than what you’re going through, it makes you thankful for your own blessings."

Martinez watched practice from a golf cart. Afterward, he walked with the help of a cane.

"He could have done anything he wanted to do here, but he wanted to see a volleyball team and a football team," coach Norm Chow said. "It’s humbling."

With a bye this weekend, the Warriors will not have meetings or practices today and Sunday. They resume workouts on Monday in preparation for next Saturday’s nonconference game against Lamar.

The Warriors used this past week to rest ailing players, improve technical problems with the offensive line, and give work to the younger players.

"We scrimmaged for three days, and we practiced hard with the young guys," Chow said. "It all went well."

Corey Paclebar, who moved from slotback, continued to impress as a contender for single-side receiver. The job was vacated when Billy Ray Stutzmann suffered a fractured left hand. Stutzmann attended Friday’s practice, with his surgically repaired hand in a cast.

Chow said he would like to give some playing time to offensive lineman Mike Milovale, running back Sterling Jackson and linebacker Benny Fonua. They were not used in the Warriors’ 49-10 loss to Southern California.

"This has been a good week," Chow said. "It’s like we were in training camp again. Hopefully, we’ll get back to the basics. Monday, we’ll start working on Lamar. We’ll get the game plan in by Tuesday, and off we’ll go."