 I'm Rusty Kamori, and this is Beyond the Lines on Think Tech, Hawaii. I was the head coach of the Punahou School Boys Varsity tennis team for 22 years, and we were fortunate to win 22 consecutive state championships. This show is based on my books Beyond the Lines and Beyond the Game, and it's about leadership, overcoming adversities, and creating a superior culture of excellence. My special guest today is the two-time NCA national champion and the captain of our Hawaii men's volleyball team. He is Speedos Hakkas, and today we are going beyond national championships. Hey, Speedos, welcome to Beyond the Lines. Aloha. Thank you for having me. I really appreciate it. Speedos, can you take us back to when you were deciding about colleges and why you ended up choosing the University of Hawaii? Yeah, when I started the recruiting process, coming to Hawaii was my number one goal. So I had said that even though I would get offers, and I had offers from other colleges and universities, as soon as I got the offer, and they called from coach Charlie and coach Milan, it was my instinct. My instinct spoke, and I said that I'm going to Hawaii. I left everything behind in Greece, friends, family, people that I loved, and just came here. Because I knew that it was going to be a great combination of school and a great level of volleyball that wants to compete and win championships. But at the end, it was my main reason, a chance to compete at a high level and also get a degree at something that I love. So what's the biggest thing that you admire about coach Charlie Wade? Yeah, I think Charlie and his coaching staff in general, they've all done a fantastic job of creating a college program that is different than many other in the country. I think that comparing our program to other programs in the country, you see a higher level of competition within the team. You see results that have been speaking for the effort that our coaching staff has been putting in. We have appeared in four or five national championship games over the last five or five years. So that shows you the hard work that goes in the gym, and it shows you the dedication that the coaching staff has to us and the players have to our coaching staff. So I think it's just creating a mutual respect from the coaches to the players and from the players to the coaches. Speedos, I want to ask you about the injury that you suffered recently. It's a season ending injury. Can you tell us about what happened at that moment and how did the surgery go? Yeah, it was an unfortunate moment for sure. But when you play sports, you expect unfortunate moments to happen. You can't really control that. All you can control is getting back up and doing whatever you want to do and need to do in order to get back in the court as soon as possible. So it was just an unfortunate moment. I fell down as soon as I fell. I felt my knee kind of popping and stretching way harder than it's ever been before. And when I fell down, I kind of knew that the injury was serious because I hadn't really heard like that before. I've been injured before. As a volleyball player, you get injured here and there. That was a little more than usually. So I just embraced it from the very beginning that I couldn't walk. I had to be carried off the court. But thankfully, I've been so lucky to be around people that helped me during my injury, during the first couple. The first week was rough because we were waiting to see the results. And then I was waiting to get in surgery. And then thankfully, surgery went well. I'm almost more than a week now of surgery. My rehab has been going really well already, according to the doctors. So it's just little steps every day. From now, it gets a little better. And I just have to be patient and think day to day. So low process, but getting there. Speedos, you are the heart and soul of our team. I mean, I know all of Hawaii will agree with me when I say that. It's just amazing what you have done to really help our Hawaii men's volleyball team. And I want to ask you about spiking. I mean, when you go up there, I mean, you get up so high. I mean, I love when you're getting up to spike the ball. Now, why do you love spiking so much? I feel like it's one of the main principles of the game, a volleyball. It's your impossible. You got to shoot the ball to put it in the basket. And so you got to kick the ball to score it. Involvable, you got to spike the ball in order to get your point. So from a young age, it was what I wanted to do. I tried playing setter, but hitting the ball, I think what was ultimately won me, I wanted to be the one that scores the points. And thankfully, from a young age, I was blessed enough to be able to jump high. So I think that helped me to be able to get up, get stronger, and then be the one that gets the kill. So I think it was just my interest in being the one of the players that gets the points for my team. Well, I love when you're getting up there to spike. I mean, it's just a great thing to see. And I got to say, Speedos, I mean, you're such an incredible all-court player. I mean, your digs, your sets, your spikes, I mean, the blocks. Let's talk about blocking. I mean, how do you get up so high, I mean, for the blocks? And you know when you hear the whole arena just say roof? I mean, how does that make you feel? It's a great feeling. Being in a stand-in is an amazing feeling. And talking about blocking and talking about volleyball, staff in general, you know, from a young age, I was fortunate enough to be able to play different positions. So playing as a setter helped me grow my mindset as a volleyball player and my volleyball IQ. And then I also played middle when I was younger. So I think that helped with my blocking abilities. I still need to get better at blocking. I wouldn't say that I'm the best out there. It's one of the parts of my game that needs more work. But getting a block, solo block or double block in the stand and then, you know, here in the arena, go roof is a really good feeling. And I enjoy it for sure. Well, I mean, it's so fun to be in that arena when the entire crowd says roof after one of those incredible blocks. And Speedos, you play with such incredible passion. I mean, when you're on the court, I mean, all of us can see your passion. We can feel your passion. Were you always an emotional, passionate guy growing up? Yes, it's something definitely that I've been growing since I was very young playing competing at a higher level. Whether it would be in my club team or the national team of Greece, I would always be the guy that would yell a little more, scream a little more, just celebrate a little harder. It's kind of a blessing and a curse at the same time. When I was younger, there was times that it would take over and I wouldn't be able to control myself so much. You know, I would get pissed more easily. I would get frustrated way more. But I think that growing up, I've learned to control that a lot. And now I think that if anything, it helps me in my game. It doesn't bring me down. It only motivates me and helps me, you know, feed off my energy when I'm not feeling great or even when I'm feeling great, just, you know, to keep providing energy to my teammates. It helps me, both me and my teammates. I like that you said, you know, how you have to control that. I mean, because it is a double-edged sword. I mean, but how do you, I mean, you need to have awareness, first of all, in order to control it. And then how does your passion really translate or transfers to your teammates when you guys are on the court together? Yeah, I think that one of the most important lessons that I had to learn, like I said, is to control that. For example, I think that a situation where our team is very pressured, you know, we're down, we're trying to come back, then if I'm there and I'm screaming and yelling and just being crazy, we'll probably get my teammates stressed. You know, it's not a thing that will really help. So in this situation, I got to be, I got to have my awareness and just be more calm, you know, be the person that calms everyone down, make the stress go away. And then on a different situation, you know, where we're doing great, we're playing good, the team is rolling. That's when I can be more passionate, you know, scream more, motivate my teammates and just keep the momentum going. So I just got to be aware of the situation. Like Coach Charlie likes to say, situational awareness. So I think that I haven't mastered it yet, but I'm getting there. Yeah, you're definitely getting there. And your teammates aren't the only ones that get motivated when we see the passion. I mean, everyone in the arena and on TV gets motivated seeing you do that as well. And Speedos, I want to ask you about the winning the two NCAA national championships. I mean, you guys have been in the NCA championship finals. You won the back-to-back NCA national championships. You won the big West championships. Tell me how special it is to be winning a lot of these championships. Yeah, it's an amazing feeling, really. I came here as a freshman. I was 17 years old. I ended up winning. We ended up winning a national championship my first year. And then going back the second year that I was here, we ended up winning another one. So it is an amazing feeling. I think that at the end of the day, what it shows is the hard work you put in. You know, when we work that hard throughout the year with double practices, weights, and then we practice on our own, I think that it will pay off. And the first two years, we were fortunate enough and blessed enough and good enough, honestly. We had some amazing teams, some amazing players. And I think that with the team efforts, you know, and the coaching staff and everyone in the team included, we gave it our all. And we were blessed enough to be able to win two championships in a row. Yeah, so a great experience and great feeling. Well, Speedos, I have to say that you've achieved greatness. I mean, winning a national championship in college, I mean, you can't get any better than that. And greatness can be defined in many ways. How would you define greatness? I wouldn't define greatness by winning championships, necessarily, I think, like I said, this is a recognition of hard work. And my definition of greatness would be and what I would want to leave behind is first being a great teammate, to my teammates and to the guys that I'm here with on the team. And then being a great leader, I think these are the two, two of the components that define greatness for me. So I think that, you know, championships will come, individual awards will come, but what everyone remembers is how good of a teammate you are and how good of a leader you are in the team. I love hearing that, Speedos. And I was there just the other night for senior night. And when you got introduced, I mean, the entire arena went nuts. I mean, the just the outpouring of love, the outpouring of support, just it was an opportunity, I think, for everyone there and on TV to really say thank you to you, the impact that you've had, how special of a night was that? It was very special from many different perspectives. First of all, it was special because I got a ceremony with some amazing friends of mine, not only teammates, people like Kevin, Guillermo, Chaz, Alakay, everyone that was there graduating and being on the senior night, it's people that, you know, I've created memories with, we've been here with some for a little time, with some others for a long time, but nonetheless, we have created so many memories that, you know, will be with me for a lifetime. So that was special from this perspective. And then it was also special for me to have my parents here, you know, that had made it all the way out in Greece and were here for my senior night. I would love to be playing for them to see that, but under the circumstances, I wasn't able, but I was still happy. And then it was just the third reason why it was special to be in front of the crowd. You know, I hadn't been next to the team or in the stand since I got injured. So coming back, you know, it was an opportunity for me to say thank you to everybody. I was kind of sad and disappointed that, you know, I couldn't go around. And I say hi to all the people after the ceremony, but you know, as I understand, I had a crunch back and carry all my leg. So it was a little bittersweet, you know, I would have loved for me to be able to just go around and say hi to everyone and take in all the emotions, but due to my situation, you know, I had a kind of short. Well, it was extremely special. I mean, just the feeling of it was indescribable, actually. And Speedos, I want to ask you about my books. Ryan Tanaka did a book donation to your entire coaching staff, all of the players, both of my books. What are some things that stood out to you in the books? Yeah, first of all, thank you for the books. I think it was a good opportunity for us to read and learn things as a team. And I think that for me, I took away two main points. One of them was leadership and how to be a leader. You know, when I was reading the book, it was last year when, you know, I knew that a big senior class was going to leave and I would have to step up. Me and the older guys would have to step up as leader the following year. So, you know, it was a period where I started preparing mentally for this challenge and this opportunity. So I think that reading about leadership and how a good leader is created was very helpful. And like you said, in the book, you know, good leaders create good leaders. So I think that for me, it was important to set high standards in the team. So when I leave, there will be people that can follow the footsteps and the footprint to become good leaders as well. And the other part was the growth, mindset growth. You know, in Hawaii over the last four years that I've been here, you know, my goal was to evolve every year as a person and as a vulnerable player. So I think that, you know, keeping that spiritual, mental and sports growth was really good. Well, Speedos, I like that you mentioned about the leadership and then the growth, the mental growth, the mindset. I mean, especially now, I mean, there's that part in my book where I talk about setbacks or opportunities for comebacks. And that's directly a situation that you're dealing with right now to really choose to have the right mindset and move forward. Speedos, I want to ask you about some of your teammates. If you can share some insights, share some funny moments. I mean, tell us about things that we might not know about them. But I want to start with some of the graduates from last year. If you can speak about your fellow friend from Greece, Demetris Muklius. Yeah, Demi, you know, a guy that we spend a lot of time practicing together, playing together. Whether that was back when we were 15, 16 years old with the junior national teams or the last three years that were together in Hawaii. You know, we got to play together, win a national championship, play another final and just have so many moments that were great within our roommates for two years. So just a great guy, you know, that really helped me even get here. And after I got here, the one that, you know, was there for me, you know, to speak in our native language when we needed to. And just, you know, a guy that really supported me and I supported him. So I think it's a friend for life, like many of the other guys I will talk about. And just an amazing, amazing guy. Well, we all love Demi. I mean, and he's doing extremely well on the pro volleyball tour now. And I want to ask you next about one of your other fellow graduates, Jakob Tella. What are some things that you appreciate about Jakob and your friendship with him through the years? Yeah, Jakob first as a volleyball player. He was one of the most athletic setters that I've played with. And one of the smartest setters to play with. Gary Guy with the great volleyball IQ. And then off the court, just the umbrella that you can always go to and talk. Just speak your mind. He was a guy that I would always listen to. And as a setter, you kind of have to do that. You got to listen to your players, your teammates. So he was a great guy and great leader. He was the one that also said really high standards that we were able to follow. He was very inspiring to see him play through injuries last year. He struggled a lot with his knees. So seeing him, how he overcame that and was able to compete at the highest level was very, very inspiring. So yeah, I miss him too. He was great in the pro volleyball scene and very, very popular. Yeah, no, he's doing incredible on the volleyball, the pro tour. And I got to ask you this about Jakob as well. I mean, I know that he loved Poké. I mean, did he get you on the Poké train as well? He wasn't the one that got me on it, but he was definitely one of the guys that I would go with to Poké. We'd go to the beach and then just stop by Foodland or some other place and just get some Poké. So yeah, he had a lot of Poké adventures for Jakob. Now, Speedos, let's talk about some of your fellow seniors now. I mean, I know that you're super, super close with Chaz Galloway. And Chaz has been, had an incredible career at UH as well. What are some things that you appreciate and really love about Chaz? Yeah, Chaz, another, another lifetime friend, lifelong friend, I think. One of the guys that I've been the closest with in the team, you know, and this year, it's last year with me, him and D-Mean just kind of doing our own thing in the court, in off the court. And then this year, it was me and Chaz, you know, some really, really good times. We were roommates in the trips when we go and play in California or whatever it is. We room together. So a lot of stories. And then on the court, Chaz has been, I think Chaz has had one of the most steady careers that I've seen in college volleyball. You know, he started strong and he finished strong. And he's maintained that throughout his career. He's a very good passer, very high volleyball IQ. And just the guy who's the, one of the, you know, the strongest foundation of the team. He'll always be there. He'll make it work no matter what. So a guy that I've learned a lot from volleyball about life and about everything on and off the court. I really appreciate him and whatever he's taught me. And just a guy, you know, that I'll be friends with for a very long time after that. So Speedos, we all know how high Chaz can jump. I mean, who can jump higher? You or Chaz? Chaz, by a lot. By a lot. He can jump there and stay out there. I jump and I get down, but he gets up and stays there. He's like floating up there for a while, huh? Yeah. Yeah. Now I want to ask you about another senior, um, Guillermé Voss. I mean, we all love Guillermé. I, and we love hearing when he does one of those kills, you know, the whole crowd goes, Voss. I mean, tell us about what makes Guillermé super special. He's an insanely talented player. Um, ever since I got here, I haven't got used to how good he is at times in practice. Um, you know, there'll be moments where he'll just bounce five balls in a row and we'll just look at him like, whoa, it's, he's really impressive on the court and an amazing guy off the court. You know, he's always the guy that you're around and he's good vibes. He'll cook for you. Um, he'll sit down with you, have a conversation. This is a really chill guy that likes to be around the team and be, you know, an older guy who's there to provide knowledge. He's played a lot of volleyball on the international scene, um, with his national team. And he's just, just a guy that has a lot of knowledge about the sport of volleyball and life in general. So definitely enjoyed being around G. I'm going to miss him. Um, but I'm sure that I'll see him somewhere in the pro scene who play against each other with each other. You never know. Um, so yeah, really good guy. We're going to be friends for a while too. Um, and just proud to, you know, to have been around him and to know him. Yeah, no, that's, that's awesome. And, and I want to ask you about another senior, Alakai Todd. I mean, he, he finally had, I mean, was able to really be on, be a starter and be on, on like, um, on the show. I mean, on the court right now. I mean, this year, um, after being kind of maybe on the second team, I mean, tell me about that and his perseverance and just being resilient and as a team player about Alakai. Yeah. For someone to be in the team for, you know, six years, the way to get your shot. Um, shows how much of a fighter you are. And that's something that I really respect from him. Um, and you know, especially when that was combined with the way that he's playing this year, you know, he was, from the start of the year, you could see that he came out firing. Um, and he didn't stop changing them. Um, I'm very proud of him, you know, for putting the work, really hard-working guy, um, who receives feedback and just wants to get better. Um, I'm really, really amazed and proud of how he's been playing this year. Great guy, you know, he always, he always takes care of the team. He's there, um, another leader that we've had over the last two, you know, really helped to maintain the level of playing, the level of playing. Um, so yeah, great guy, great player and another friend. It's, he's very inspirational, I have to say, because there's, I mean, talk about being a team player. I mean, he's a team player. I mean, he's coming to practice. He's trying his hardest. He finally gets his shot his last year. And then he's really making a huge impact, right? Yeah. I think that's going back to what I was talking about earlier, about what the coaching staff has created. You know, players that might not get their shot in their first or second year, but we'll stick around with the team because they love the culture, they love the people of Hawaii and just love everything that comes with the program. And then when they eventually get their shot, they're ready, they've practiced enough and it shows how much of a good job has been going on within the program. So, Speedos, I want to ask you about some of the younger or newer players. Can you tell us about Tread Rosenthal? Yeah. Tread is a guy with very, very, very high potential. You know, he comes in as a 17 year old in a team that's filled with seniors and upperclassmen. He's able to get the starting position and just preserve that throughout the year. There's a lot of things he needs to get better on and he knows, you know, he's 17 years old, like I said, he's a kid still, but he's learning to act like a man. He's behaving as a man and he's drawing day by day. So, very proud of him and the way he works, you know, he always asks me what he can do, what he can get better on, and I try to provide him with as much feedback as I can. So, I think that just having that trait as a player, as a young player, you know, wanting to get better, wanting to get better and improve every day will get him a far and long way. I like hearing that he's, you know, asking your advice and the other seniors' advice. What do you think is his potential like? Like I said, he's the one that will define that and will reach whatever potential he can reach, but, you know, being a 6, 7, 6, 8 senior, sorry, setter just gives you an extra little boost and just being able to utilize that, your height and your strength as a setter will get him a long way. You know, we have the best people here. Josh Elms will get him right. The coaches that will do an amazing job with him and he'll get up there for sure. Now, we have a new player from Paris, Louis Sakanoko, and he's seems to be in the starting lineup right now and making a big positive impact as well. Tell us about Louis. Yeah, another guy who came from overseas, you know, something that the coaches have established, the overseas connections for the last year, and he's the guy that has, you know, volleyball scenes from a higher level. So he brought in his experience, and I think that's important for a freshman to have an overseas experience with his national team and his pro club. So he brought in a lot of experience, and even though he's a freshman, he's played some really high level volleyball and he continues to show, you know, that he can be there and step up as a volleyball player and as a leader and just provide and give good things to him, great kid, and he's going to have a lot of things to provide the coming years. Yeah, I completely agree and Speedos, I want to ask you one more thing before we wrap up. Looking back on your short life so far, what's a valuable lesson you've learned? Yeah, for me, one of the most important things that I've learned is to not stress so much about things that I cannot control. An example with that is that I can't control my injury, I couldn't control what happened, but what I really can control is getting back on my feet, getting back up, getting stronger and just being ready for whatever challenges will come through, right? So I think that's a big lesson that I learned in Hawaii. There was a lot of things that I couldn't control that would out of my reach. So I try to, you know, take care of the things that I can control, whether that's cool, volleyball or personal life and then I think that as long as I do that, you know, with extra care and it's important for me and then the rest of the things that I can control will be in order as well. So yeah, just being extra mindful about the things that are in my reach I think is one of the most important lessons that I've learned over the last few years. I'm so happy that you said that because when I do executive coaching, that's something that I really try to emphasize on my clients as well and Speedos, I want to really say thank you for being such a great role model on our Hawaii men's volleyball team. The impact that you've made, I mean, people are going to have to fill in some big shoes not just playing, but like you said in terms of leadership and being a team player and I really want to thank you for taking time to be on the show today. Yeah, I appreciate it. Thank you for having me over. It was a great conversation and like you said if I can leave anything behind, I just want to remember as a good teammate a good leader and just a good person overall. Thank you Speedos and thank you for watching Beyond the Lines on Think Tech Hawaii. For more information, please visit RustyKamori.com and my books are available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. I hope that Speedos and I will inspire you to create your own superior culture of excellence and to find your greatness and help others find theirs. Aloha. Aloha. We want to announce that Think Tech Hawaii is moving into a new phase and will not be producing regular talk shows after April 30th. 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