Chris Leonard was on the phone Tuesday with Hawaii County Civil Defense performing his job duties as president of New West Broadcasting Corp. when he received another call.
This was one was from the Tribune-Herald, which wanted to speak to Leonard about his other full-time gig: UH-Hilo women’s volleyball coach.
The status quo remains – Leonard still will be busy but with one less word on one of those titles after UHH removed his interim label. Athletic director Pat Guillen not only was persuaded by the Vulcans’ breakthrough run to their first NCAA regional appearance since 2011, but he also became convinced along the way that Leonard was the right man for two jobs.
“He proved to me 100 percent that he could do both,” Guillen said. “I don’t know how he does it. I don’t know when he sleeps.”
Not even two months from the beginning of the 2019 season, UHH nixed its search for a full-time replacement for Gene Krieger, who surprisingly stepped down a few months earlier. It turned to Leonard, a pillar of the volleyball community in Hilo for more than 20 years through his work in the high school and club ranks, as well as being a five-year Vulcans assistant coach.
“Halfway through the (2019) season, I thought we were on to something special,” Leonard said. “To me, I felt I was a great fit for the program, and that it was a great fit for me.”
All coaches in the athletic department work on one-year contracts, so in some ways not much has changed for Leonard, though he’s now got a year’s worth of coaching experience under his belt, a horizon to plan for and stabler footing to recruit.
“It is such a storied-program with a long history of success that is memorialized by the banners that hang from our rafters and a mural in our gym that features so many great Vulcans from the past,” Leonard said. “It’s a constant reminder to me of what this program has been and what it can be again.”
Leonard remains as the program’s seventh coach, and he will continue to try to live up to the legacy left by Sharon Peterson. Vulcans volleyball claimed six national titles under Peterson between 1978 and 1984 before moving up to Division II. UHH began to see a potential of a return to the glory days during a 23-8 campaign last season that ended in the first round of the NCAA West Regional.
The Vuls are scheduled to return four players who have all-Pacific West Conference honors on their resume: Bria Beale, Emily Wade, Kendall Kott and Ashton Jessee (2018).
The head coaching position was reopened in January, and Guillen guesstimated there were some 50 applicants. Along with Leonard, he interviewed two other final candidates last week.
“We had a strong pool, but Chris’ experience as an assistant coach in our program followed by leading our team to the NCAA playoffs this past season really set him apart from the others,” Guillen said.
He said the department would continue to work with Leonard to help him meet all of his scheduling requirements. Last season, for example, Leonard missed the first match of a California road trip to attend the annual KWXX Hoolaulea, a musical festival in Hilo that he oversees.
“For a long time, volleyball was just an outlet, it was a stress reliever,” Leonard said. “Obviously, at this level there is a whole lot more responsibility.”
There is also a fair amount of uncertainty with the COVID-19 pandemic prompting a nationwide shutdown of collegiate spring sports seasons. If the virus threat lingers just a few more months, Guillen said the seasons for teams in fall sports, such as volleyball, could be jeopardized as well.
The NCAA has instituted a dead period for in-person recruiting through at least April 15. Leonard, an Oahu native, said his recruiting process has been ongoing since the end of last season.
“Living here for 28 years, having my wife (Kathy) and kids be from here, this is just a tremendous opportunity,” Leonard said. “Kathy is very supportive, and I think I do a good job balancing work and family.”
