Nick Rolovich knows that if you saw him shoot that air ball when he was introduced at a University of Hawaii basketball game you might have a hard time believing what comes next here.
“I thought about playing basketball, after the 2001 season,” said Rolovich, who had just finished his senior season as a UH quarterback and is now the Rainbow Warriors football coach. “(Coach) Riley Wallace was walking through the gym when I hit four 3-pointers in a row. Riley says, ‘You wanna play basketball?’ “
Rolovich, who said he wasn’t good enough to play basketball at his high school, ended up thinking better of going out for the Rainbows hoops squad.
But he encourages all athletes to keep playing as many different sports as possible for as long as possible.
If Rolovich were to have been a two-sport player at UH, I would’ve figured baseball to be more likely. He started at third base in high school. He still plays intramural softball.
“You gotta fight (specialization) as long as you can,” Rolovich said. “Some day you may be 40 and want to play in a pick-up basketball game. You need to know how to play.”
While it was common decades ago, it is now very difficult and increasingly rare for athletes to play multiple competitive sports in college. It is exponentially harder than in high school.
That’s only part of why what Larry Tuileta started doing this week is noteworthy.
Tuileta is a starter on the UH volleyball team who formally practiced with the football team for the first time Tuesday. The former Punahou standout is a quarterback who led the Buffanblu to a state championship in football and three in volleyball.
“He’s got two years of football left. Let’s see what develops,” Rolovich said.
The current starter, Dru Brown, is just a junior. Tuileta, a transfer from USC, hasn’t played football in two years, so he’s got to shake off some rust. He realizes he might not have enough time to climb the depth chart quickly enough to get meaningful playing time. Or any at all.
But talk to him for a minute, and you want him as a teammate. Doesn’t matter what sport, or even what endeavor. If I were his classmate I’d want him in my project group. I’d want him on my squad at trivia night.
“I can’t expect to start just coming in,” he said. “There are lots of ways to help a team, including pushing the starting guys. You always try to beat the guy in front of you, and you help the team even if you don’t by making him better.”
A different position where there isn’t just one starting spot and so many guys vying for it could be a potentially faster route to game action. But quarterback is where he thinks he can help the team most even if he’s not between the lines at Aloha Stadium.
“A lot of people get caught up in (who is playing),” Tuileta said. “But they don’t realize there are so many other ways to contribute to a team.”
We always hear that kind of stuff from athletes. It sounds a lot more genuine from Tuileta than it does from most others.
If you think this hurts the volleyball program, where Tuileta is the starting libero, think again. Tuileta is now taking one of the 85 available football scholarships. Men’s volleyball, which he joined as a walk-on, only allows 41/2.
Sure, spring football practice likely will overlap with some key parts of volleyball season — and you especially don’t want quarterbacks missing spring practice. But Rolovich and volleyball coach Charlie Wade have clear lines of communication, or this couldn’t have happened in the first place.
“He’ll be in season,” Rolovich said. “I wouldn’t ask him to abandon his team.”
It takes a special athlete who is good at managing time to play even one sport in college. All the attention Tuileta is getting for playing two might help parents realize their kids don’t have to play the same sport year-round to compete at a high level. For most youngsters, it’s healthier, too.
“My parents were always real supportive of whatever I did. It’s just what I love to do, as long as I’m having fun and helping the team,” Tuileta said. “Thankfully I’ve never gotten pulled one way or the other (by coaches).
“I’d say don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do something. If you have the chance (to play more than one sport) and enjoy it, go for it.”