Janeen Waialae, Class of 2001

Janeen was chosen as this year’s KSSK OIA Female Coach of the Year of ALL girls sports in the OIA. Not just volleyball. Wow.

Janeen graduated from ULS in 2001, a four year varsity volleyball and basketball student-athlete, she was our 2001 Female Athlete of the Year. She attended Chaminade University on both an academic and athletic scholarship where she majored in Biology.

At Chaminade, she was the starting setter beginning in her freshmen year and ended the season with 912 assists (10.02 per game). In 2002 she was ranked third in Chaminade’s volleyball record book with 1796 assists (10.44 per game), and was also ranked third for assists in a single season.  She was also named to the Pacific West Academic All-Conference team.

While attending Chaminade she volunteered at ULS with the varsity program and was the head coach of the summer league team. After playing four years at Chaminade, she was hired as the assistant coach at ULS, where I coached for a year before becoming the junior varsity head coach at Kalani in the fall of 2006.

After coaching a year at the junior varsity level, she became head coach of the Kalani program at the varsity level. She was named KSSK Coach of the Week in 2011 and 2012.

In her own words: Thank you to KSSK for the award. It is definitely a village award . . . from all those I’ve learned from, to those I’ve coached with, and to all the players I’ve coached. I could not do what I do without any of them.

Thank you to the Kalani AD Greg VanCantfort and Principal Mitch Otani. A very special thanks to the my current staff: Krysta Kobayashi, Courtney Taum, Tania Li, Kane Anguay, and my sister Dara Campbell. Last, but most importantly my family. My dad, my sister, Dara,  who coaches with me and is my right hand man on the court. She keeps me in check and tells me what I need to hear not what I want to hear.

Last but definitely not least, my mom who has and continues to be my number-one fan and support. She was at every practice and game when I was a student-athlete, and she is STILL at every practice and game to support me as a coach. She is the reason I am who I am today. She is the real recipient of this award. Again, thanks you to everyone for this award.