Page 5 - MidWeek Kauai - Aug 31, 2022

Chang Brings Winning Mindset To Football Program
days. Additionally, Chang has been helping to create a sense of unity among exist- ing players, fans and the gen- eral public. This is clear from the team’s oft-repeated man- tra of “Da Braddahhood,” a pidginized reference to the players growing sense of family and lifelong commit- ment.
defensive back “because it looked like an athletic po- sition.” However, his PE coach, who also served as the intermediate team’s of- fensive coordinator, thought otherwise and convinced him that he could put his baseball arm to better use by operating behind center. Chang credits that teacher and coach, Doug Frias, as well as the tutelage received under passing guru Vinny Passas, with his devel- opment into a bona fide quar- terback.
Almost immediately, Chang’s performances on the field were nothing short of sensational. In his eighth- and ninth-grade seasons, he led his teams to titles. The same thing happened during his sophomore and junior years as he capped off those campaigns with Prep Bowl victories. Finally in his se- nior season, Chang put an exclamation point on a ster- ling prep career by marching the Crusaders to the first-ev- er Hawai‘i High School Ath- letic Association State Foot- ball Championship. Along
the way, he threw for just over 8,000 yards and a staggering 113 touch- down passes — 64 of which came during
“Da Braddahhood is not just a short-term thing, it’s a forever thing,” says Chang when asked to explain the concept that was developed by players and the school’s athletic department. “But it also includes everybody in the state. We want them to grasp it, rally behind it and come be a part of it.
His outstanding
play only contin-
ued at UH, where
in five seasons,
Chang passed
for an astonish-
ing 17,072 yards
and 117 touchdown strikes — the former
total placing him sec- ond to Houston’s Case Keenum in NCAA Divi- sion I history, while the latter leaving him in the 11th spot all-time for most TD tosses. More importantly, his pass- ing heroics produced wins for his team — highlighted by the Rainbow Warriors’ victories in the 2003 and 2004 Hawai‘i Bowl games, in which Chang was named MVP and co-MVP, respec- tively.
his final campaign. Those TD num- bers remain state records to this day.
AUGUST 31, 2022
KAUA‘I MIDWEEK 5
FROM PAGE 4
“We’re all in this togeth- er,” he adds. “The whole thing that I’ ve been doing is trying to make sure that everybody feels like a Apart of this team.
That’s the big-
gest thing.”
Among Timmy Chang’s biggest and proudest supporters are wife Sherry and their five children.
s
of nat-
But Chang’s studious mind and determined make- up were also critical in his development. After all, oth- ers have played for and been tutored by these same coach- es and more, but not many have come close to enjoying the type of success Chang had on the field as a player.
keep having that work ethic so that you’re not outworked by anybody, that’s the kind of mentality that I had.”
ent
enas Chang is
ural
at ere the sport, it’s important
Ever humble, Chang is quick to credit others with his success on the gridiron. They include everyone from “the Good Man Upstairs who put me on the path with really good people around and I got to learn to play football at a very high level early on,” to studying under and playing for a few of the game’s very best coaches.
to note that he didn’t begin o- playing organized football is until his early teens. Up un- es til then, his focus in athlet- ’m ics was primarily twofold p- — basketball and baseball ike — despite spending much erof his youth serving as a ball g,” boy for his father, Levi, a school principal and basket- ad ball coach who also worked x- football games as an Inter- rts scholastic League of Hono-
“You can always tell when you got really good coaches because the future coaches of the profession fall from their trees,” he observes. “I was under June, I was under
“One of the things that my dad used to talk about is mental toughness — just outworking people, always being diligent, always being smart, always using your mind. That’s what carries you further,” he explains.
It’s the type of mental toughness that Chang hopes will be on display among his players. For his part, he vows to be with them every step of the way while watching them coalesce into a mean, lean fighting machine that hopefully produces magic on and off the field — just like he once did as a player in Mānoa.
ies lulu official.
or- But all that changed once
“I wasn’t the biggest quar- terback, I wasn’t the fastest quarterback, and I probably didn’t have the strongest arm,” he continues, “but by just being smart about things, to keep coming, to
“I work for those guys every day,” says Chang in closing. “I want to give them everything they will need to be successful on the field on Saturday, and be successful when they leave here for the rest of their life.
in- the Waipi‘o Gentry native heentered Saint Louis as a dsseventh-grader and Levi ng green-lighted his gridiron
Cal and Ron Lee, and I was under Vinny Passas, and that’s kind of what grew me into what I am today.”
participation. At first, the youngster wanted to play
“That’s my job.”
In Chang’s five seasons at the helm of the Rainbow Warrior offense, he passed for 17,072 yards and 117 touchdowns while leading the team to victory in both the 2003 and 2004 Hawai‘i Bowl games.
e e
h d n I
e h
e e o
n i