Eteuati Salanoa always wanted be a soccer coach.
But when administrators at the Church College of Vaiola, where Eteuati teaches seminary, asked him to coach rugby instead, he promised himself he would exercise faith and trust in God. The school is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
In April, nearly three years later, he helped lead his team from the tiny school on the island of Savai’i to a Samoan national high school championship.
But that’s only part of the story.
Just two weeks before the championship match, his wife, who teaches English at the school, also coached her girls’ netball team to its second consecutive national high school championship.
And the morning of the rugby final, Tagiilima gave birth to their second daughter, whom the couple named “Neruch.” The name combines the letters “ne” for netball, “ru” for rugby, and “ch” for champions, she said. Team members just call her “baby champ.”
The coaching duo are both members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In fact, Eteuati grew up just down the road from the school.
So how does a small school of 400 produce two national championship teams in the same year? It turns out that it has a lot to do with faith.
“Last year we talked to the boys about honouring their priesthood,” Eteuati explained, noting that 22 of the 23 rugby players are members of the LDS Church. “We talked about discipline and obedience on the field and off the field.”
The team rules were strict. Being late or missing a practice, for example, meant being kicked off the team. The only exceptions were for Church-sponsored activities and to finish important school work. The night before a match, the players were required to hand their mobile phones over to the coaches. No distractions.
It worked. The rugby team went undefeated.
Eteuati likes to call the boys his “stripling warriors,” a name taken from a Book of Mormon story about a group of young men who fought valiantly to defend their families. They’ve adopted it as their team name.
“I’ve seen a lot of change in the boys since I started coaching,” Eteuati said. “They now show respect. No more fighting. When there’s a problem, we all gather together and talk.”
Even more remarkable is the fact that five of his players are members of the Samoan U18 team which won the Gold Medal at the Commonwealth Youth Games, held this past week in the Bahamas. That’s nearly half of the 12-member Samoan U18 Sevens team.
As for the girls’ netball team, the same focus on faith, discipline and commitment is the driving force behind their success, Tagiilima said.
“We teach our players that ‘obedience brings blessings and that exact obedience brings miracles,’” she added.