Football
Q&A with Saint Louis football coach, Cal Lee




Saint Louis got their man in Cal Lee Monday. Tuesday, the Crusaders' head football coach took some time to chat with ScoringLive about his "new" gig up at Kalaepohaku — a place he knows all too well.

ScoringLive: Congratulations on your hiring. What are your initial thoughts on returning to Saint Louis?
Cal Lee: "I'm very excited to return to a place that I began my coaching career at. It's been a little crazy the past 24 hours or so, but I'm really looking forward to working with the kids at Saint Louis. We've got a lot of work to do, that's for sure."

SL: What made you decide to pursue this job opening?
CL: "Honestly, I was happy where I was at Kalani. I was enjoying coaching football and then the (Saint Louis) job opened up and honestly, it had to be Saint Louis — I didn't want to go to any other school. I felt better going to a school that I started with and it was just that the opportunity opened up. I love this school. I started at Saint Louis and maybe this is where I will end. It just opened up and after talking with my family — you know, coaches' wives sacrifice a lot and my wife is no different. She said you should apply, it's your calling, and that's why i did it."

SL: It has been nearly 13 years since last coached at Saint Louis. How different do you anticipate things will be?
CL: "It's really not that different, I don't think, but (Tuesday) was my first day back at the school. These are kids that want to be the best — best football player, best baseball, whatever it is — they want to be best they can possibly be and I'm not here just to coach football, honestly. I'm here to make sure that they get an education. I was here 20 years and everyone that went to college — Notre Dame, Wisconsin, UCLA, Oregon, wherever they went — they were qualifiers. The last thing you want to do is have someone who has these full rides — tuition, books, room and board paid for — and not be able to go. It would be a crime. So it's football, but also education and not just football."

SL: The enrollment at Saint Louis has dropped drastically in recent years and it is financially strained. How will that affect what you try to do on the football field?
CL: "I looked at their roster and they had like 70 kids or around that number and to me, it's just whatever you got, you've got to go with that. If kids come in later on, it'll build the enrollment up and that's fine, but we've got to go with what we got. If enrollment is down, hopefully we'll have more kids come kid and build up the numbers. My guess right now is just about 200 kids are playing football here, so there's a lot of kids to choose from, but the more the merrier. There's no harm in that and I think the school would like that as well."

SL: What do you say to those who immediately expect a return to the glory years for Saint Louis?
CL: "Lots of alumni think that all you've got to do is show up. I'm not a magician — I like magic — but I'm not a magician. Seriously though, it's never been about winning championships. Winning, to me, is about doing what's important right now and what I mean by that is what are you doing now? Of course, you want to win, but what's important now? Getting in the weight room, doing things to get bigger, faster, stronger. You can't wait until August to get ready to play the game. It's about preparation and this what we want to make sure the kids understand. That's all you can do and if you do the things that we ask, I think you've got a chance. If you do that, that's all you can ask, but you never know. You just can't go in there thinking that you're going to win every game. It's how you prepare and that's basically what we're trying to do — prepare them for the season. It's a tough season, the league is tough in itself, but if you prepare, you give yourself a chance."

SL: What did you learn in your time away from Saint Louis with the Hawaiian Islanders, the University of Hawaii and the Kalani Falcons?
CL: "You learn a lot. What has been really fortunate for me is wherever I went — Kalani, UH, even arena — they all would listen, they came to play and I feel they were all committed. Of course, there were a couple kids at the start that thought they could show up and play, but that wasn't going to work. You've got to have commitment in the program. I have to trust them and they have to trust me that we're going to do everything we can to be the best possible team that we can be. Even at Kalani — God bless them — these kids did everything you told them to do as best as they could possibly do it."

SL: What are the challenges of competing in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu and how do you think Saint Louis stacks up against fellow Division I teams Punahou and Kamehameha?
CL: "I haven't watched too many (ILH) games the last few years, because I've been busy with Kalani, but I know that Punahou has a great team. No question. They have Division I players left, right, on offense, defense. Kale (Ane) is doing a great job and his staff is doing a great job. They've got confidence and it happens when you win. It's not about let's try to win, these kids have got to know how to win and they've been there, they know how to win and this is something that our kids have to feel and they only can do the right things and win games and then we get confidence and confidence to me is 80 percent of it. (If) they feel confident in what they can do, then they go out and do it."

SL: How many phone calls, text messages and e-mails have you received since Monday's announcement?
CL: "It's unbelievable. I haven't returned so many calls and texts yet — and these are my friends, so I feel bad. I'll be talking on the phone and somebody's calling. My main concern is getting back to them and thanking them for their well wishes. I've had text messages, voice messages and it's all good, but it's like the honeymoon right now and the honeymoon will end probably after today. Then it'll calm down and we can get back to business. They've been calling from New York, Sin City, Tennessee — I mean up and down the West coast. I still have a lot of good relationships with former players — one is at Tennessee coaching there, one is coaching at Jack State — and they call me and I feel very honored that they take the time to call and congratulate me. If it wasn't for them, nobody would bother with me, so it's really humbling."



Reach Kalani Takase at [email protected].




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