While Lori Castillo was becoming a legend in the 1970s, Stephen Bidne was still more than a decade away from being born.

But the retiring and incoming University of Hawaii women’s golf coaches have more in common than you might think.

Both had promising professional playing careers curtailed by injury. Both recently got married. And both emphasize the student part of student-athlete.

Castillo, who worked nine years building a foundation for the Rainbow Wahine, will now head to the Big Island to do the same on a house with her husband.

She said she doesn’t know exactly when and in what form golf will be part of her future.

“When we got married last November, the plan was to build the house. I like the pace (of the neighbor islands). My focus, for at least the next year or year-and-a-half, or more, is to build a house. I don’t know what plan God has for me.”

Forty years ago, her path and destiny became apparent quickly: golf stardom.

It helped that her father, Ron, was a pro — and that he and her four brothers insisted she hit from the back tees with them. There was no girls golf team at Kaiser High School when she graduated in 1978, so she played with the boys.

When she played with the girls, she dominated.

After Althea Tome won it in 1977, Castillo made it back-to-back U.S. Girls Junior Champions from Hawaii the next summer.

She was just getting started. In 1979 and 1980, Castillo won consecutive Women’s Amateur Public Links Championships. In 1980, she also played on the winning U.S. team in the Curtis Cup.

Prior to transferring to Stanford, from which she graduated, she was part of a loaded national championship team at Tulsa.

She seemed a lock for continued success on the LPGA Tour. But a freak accident around the time of her second and final attempt to qualify for a card did her in. Castillo was at a post office carrying boxes to send home to Hawaii when she didn’t see a ramp, took a misstep and broke her left tibia.

“I knew I belonged there. I also knew I had to get past this qualifying process. But that happened. It’s life,” she said. “I don’t really feel a lot of regret. It mended, I went to therapy, went back to the European tour, and made good money.”

Bidne, 28, played mostly on the PGA Tour Canada in 2012 and 2013 after graduation from Northern Colorado. But his pro career was cut short by a nagging turf toe injury … and a nagging thought that he’d rather coach, anyway.

“It was a tough decision, because when I made the move to play pro I had early success. But growing up in Minnesota, I hadn’t gotten used to playing and practicing every day, and I got the injury. I probably should’ve taken a break,” he said.

“It came down to where was my true passion. When I was growing up, that was always helping people. I got a call from Northern Colorado (his alma mater), and it was perfect timing.”

It seems he was born to lead; Bidne was captain at UNC all four seasons as a player.

Since his return to Greeley four years ago, the Northern Colorado women have improved in GolfWeek’s rankings from 224th upon his arrival to 80th in the just-completed season.

Likewise, Castillo has the UH women on an upward arc upon her retirement.

“It took a little longer than I thought it would, but we really kind of elevated the program in terms of quality of players and student-athletes,” Castillo said. “It was always a dream of mine to work with this age group, college.”

Hawaii had 13 rounds as a team under 300 this season, after just six last year. Four of the eight players on the Wahine on the 2016-17 roster were seniors, so there is rebuilding to do.

“The players have worked well together. We didn’t inherit that atmosphere, but the last four years it’s been very strong. It’s satisfying to me to take an unknown entity and bring it up to high standards,” Castillo said. “It’s been fun. These kids make you laugh and smile, and sometimes they make you scratch your head, too. … Golf is my gift. That’s what I’m good at, but I don’t know what is in store now.

“It’s exciting, because it’s a new chapter.”

As it is for Stephen Bidne and the Rainbow Wahine.

“She’s leaving the program in great shape, and UH hosts wonderful, top-notch events. It’s exciting for me, I’m just a young guy trying to fill the shoes of a local legend,” he said.