Samoa News feature on Ikaika Malloe's recruiting trip to Samoa

SN = Samoa News

SN Note: "Fans came in numbers over the weekend to watch the powerhouses of local high school football take on one another with Samoana facing off against Tafuna and the Lions playing in a repeat of the last two title games against the Vikings last Saturday. Among those fans was Ikaika Malloe, a University of Hawaii defensive tackles coach, special teams coordinator and also football recruiter, arriving in American Samoa last Thursday for his first ever visit expressly for last Saturday's games."

About the perfect timing for his recruiting visit (which came during UH's bye week), Malloe said:
"I couldn't have come on a better weekend. This is the reason why I came this weekend and I will probably leave here with 10 to 15 players to evaluate of each perspective position." (SN)

SN note: "He left the territory last night and will be back for possibly two more trips within the current school year."

SN Note: "Because he is of Tahitian and Hawaiian lineage Malloe was naturally selected by his former employers - UTEP for four years and Western Illinois for two - and Hawaii to recruit from "any areas that are heavily populated with Polynesians." Some of these areas include Sacramento and Fresno, California, Samoa, New Zealand, American Samoa and his home state of Hawaii."

About recruiting, Malloe said:
"There's no secret to recruiting. I'm the reflection of the program so it's my job to sell the school to them and create a good relationship with the player and their coach." (SN)

About the benefit of him being a Polynesian coach, Malloe said:
"For the most part parents are always excited when a Polynesian coach is recruiting, that's one of the advantages." (SN)

SN Note: "Malloe said that "over 85%" of their players are of Polynesian descent and there are five coaches on the University of Hawaii football staff."

About Polynesian players, Malloe said:
"The one thing about Polynesian players is their toughness and playing with a lot of heart. I believe that comes from their upbringing, you never have to question their toughness. Size for us is huge, especially for the offensive linemen and linebackers. This is what (American) Samoa can provide for us." (SN)

SN Note: "The UH coach said he plans on keeping tabs with the coaches for updates on the players of interest to UH, and on his next trip he said he will be doing "some home visits with the families.""

SN Note: "Malloe said that he was supposed to have come with the UH group of coaches that were part of the June Jones Football Camp held in the territory this past June. However, he had just returned to Hawaii from a long recruiting trip to the mainland and begged off of it so that he could spend some time with his wife Tara, also from Hawaii, and their three children - daughter Taylor, 8, and sons Jordan, 7, and Isaiah, 4. He went on to say that he felt at home here in the territory in this first visit of his and on his next one he plans on bringing his wife Tara."

About how they want recruits from Samoa, Malloe said:
"The last time someone from here came up was Larry Sauafea and we have to come out here and keep the tradition going. The coaches have been very welcoming and the reception here has been awesome. I feel very much at home here." (SN)

Malloe said that he's not limited to recruiting only football players, but also to give:
"opportunities for other sports. We will be working with the Purcells (Melila & Moana) in that area." (SN)

About how UH can use its networking to send players to other places such as JCs, Malloe said:
"That's one of the advantages with this because we have a lot of friends in other programs and for me, I would love to spread the word or whatever the case may be." (SN)