Cal Lee is officially the Defensive Coordinator

Crediting his Dad (91-year-old Thomas Lee Sr.) for his success, Cal Lee said:
"The best coach I've had is my dad. You know how you hear parents, after a game, saying you have to do this or that? He wasn't like that. He never raised his voice. He wouldn't be critical of the coach or the plays. I think I enjoyed football when I was young because he made it fun. After the game, you never thought about whether you won or lost. He made sure we were all upbeat." (HA)

HA Note: "Lee said his father taught him an approach that he now shares with his UH players. Thomas Lee emphasized visualizing every scenario before every play. A baseball right-fielder, for instance, needed to think about where he would throw the ball in specific situations."

About how the visualization technique helps, Cal said:
"It really helped. What do we tell the kids now? 'Know the down and the distance.' We always tell them to think ahead about what to do when the play comes to them." (HA)

HA Note: "It was Thomas Lee's calming advice that helped his son deal with the agony of victory. Cal Lee was the head coach of a Saint Louis team that had the most dominant run in Hawai'i high school football history. He led the Crusaders to 15 O'ahu Prep Bowl or state tournament championships. He retired as Saint Louis' head coach to join the Warriors as linebacker coach in 2003."

About the pressure he had at St. Louis, Cal said:
"I'd be lying if I said there wasn't any pressure (at Saint Louis). There was. When you win, so many people expect you to win. And when I say 'expect you to win,' I don't mean five, six, seven games. They expect you to go to undefeated. At any level, that's hard." (HA)

About how people weren't satisfied when they won, Cal said:
"Somebody would say, 'What happened? It was only 20-10.' And when you lose, it's like the end of the world for some people." (HA)

About how the pressure motivated him, Cal said:
"What happens is it makes you continue to try to get better. If you don't, you will lose, or you won't have a chance, I should say. Because we were winning, we would keep striving to improve. Tweak this. Tweak that. We couldn't sit back and say, 'Let's do it again.' It doesn't work that way. Pressure makes you work even harder than the year before." (HA)

About another lesson he learned from his Dad, Cal said:
"No matter what is happening, you try to be calm and come across to the players that everything is copasetic." (HA)