Estimated read time: 5-6 minutes
- Va'a Niumatalolo, Navy's defensive line coach, credits his coaching philosophies to lessons learned from his father, Ken Niumatalolo, and BYU's Kalani Sitake.
- His father's ability to balance multiple life roles taught him consistency and authenticity, while Sitake emphasized prioritizing athletes' well-being over winning.
- These principles guide his approach to coaching Navy's undefeated, nationally ranked team, which is garnering attention in the college football playoff conversations.
SALT LAKE CITY — Long before Va'a Niumatalolo was coaching-up Navy's defensive lineman, he was locking-in on a couple of other college football coaches.
The first, no surprise, was his father Ken Niumatalolo — Navy's all-time winningest coach who's now at the helm of the San Jose State football program.
The second? BYU's Kalani Sitake.
For four seasons (2014-2017) the younger Niumatalolo was part of the Cougars linebacker corps.
"I wasn't that good at football," he notes, wryly.
But his tenure in Provo offered him daily reps alongside several BYU heavyweights such as Taysom Hill, Jamaal Williams and Fred Warner. There were also priceless opportunities to observe Sitake ply his coaching trade.
Navy has been one of the surprise stories of the 2024 college football season. The Midshipmen are undefeated (5-0), nationally ranked in the top-25, and are even being included in the way-too-early College Football Playoff chatter. (Rival and fellow service academy Army, meanwhile, is also unbeaten.)
But even amid the ongoing excitement in Annapolis, Niumatalolo finds moments to draw upon coaching/life lessons he's gleaned from a pair of fellow Polynesian Latter-day Saint mentors — his football-coaching dad and his college football coach.
From "Coach Ken," Niumatalolo has learned there's no need to compartmentalize one's life. Wear many hats comfortably.
There was a time when Ken Niumatalolo was, simultaneously, the head football coach at a history-rich service academy, the president of the Maryland Annapolis Stake, a husband, a father and a grandfather.
"But he always remains the same person — he's consistent," said Va'a Niumatalolo. "Now my dad might be a bit more intense in the locker room than he is when teaching a Sunday School lesson. But he's always the same guy. He doesn't change."
From Sitake, Va'a Niumatalolo learned to always regard his athletes as "people" first — and "football players" second. That's a tough challenge in college football's "win now" pressure cooker.
"Kalani always said that he would never put winning a game above a player's health. He would tell us, 'I would rather lose a game than have something horrible happen to you that ruins the rest of your life'," remembered Niumatalolo.
A hometown Annapolis kid
Va'a Niumatalolo spent most of his youth in Maryland's "Crabtown" while his dad Ken was coaching at Navy, first as an assistant and then as the Midshipmen's head coach for 15 seasons.
He remembers, year after year, donning his Navy blue-and-gold gear and cheering from the stands at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
"And now to be back (as a coach) is a blessing," he said. "I still get chills whenever I run out of the tunnel with the team and watch the flyovers. They play "Danger Zone" from "Top Gun" before kickoff and it doesn't matter how many times I've heard it before — it still gets me pumped up."
Niumatalolo's now in his fifth season at Navy. He worked initially as an analyst on both sides of the ball before moving to his current role as a defensive line coach.
After graduating from Maryland's Broadneck High School, Niumatalolo joined the Cougar squad but interrupted his gridiron play for full-time missionary service. He was hoping to serve a foreign assignment and learn another language.
Then the call arrived in the Niumatalolo family mailbox: The Utah St. George Mission.
"I cried like a baby," he recalled, laughing. "But after serving in the St. George mission, I know it was the best thing for me."
While a young elder, Niumatalolo discovered that he loved teaching — a skill now serving him well developing college athletes.
Even while laboring in predominantly Latter-day Saint communities, "I had a ton of opportunities to teach — it was a huge blessing," he said. "I was able to spend much of my time helping people grow in their faith, grow closer to the Savior and prepare to make covenants through baptism or going to the temple."
Niumatalolo spent the final six months of his mission serving on the Southern Utah University campus in Cedar City. He and his companion had an "unofficial office" in one of the empty classrooms at the local Latter-day Saint Institute building.
"We would spend all day just teaching — and that's where I developed a love for helping people progress and to be their best selves," he said.
Niumatalolo's full-time missionary days are now memories. He's a BYU graduate, a husband (Kenzie) and the father of three daughters. But he remains a teacher — imparting his smarts with college defensive linemen on the finer points of exploding out their stances and neutralizing ornery offensive linemen.
But the young coach also recognizes he's working with future Navy and Marine Corps officers. He hopes his charges are learning lessons valued far from the gridiron.
And, of course, he's having fun coaching an undefeated, nationally-ranked squad.
"The results have been awesome — but that's not what drives our guys," he said. "The guys are always looking to get better. They're always looking to push themselves to new heights."
For coaches like Niumatalolo, the college football season is a perpetual time-deficit. There are never enough hours to fully prepare for the next opponent or recruit the next guy who can help the team snag another win or two.
But Niumatalolo still finds time each week to keep up with his Provo alma mater and Utah Tech University's football team, where his young brother, Ali'i Niumatalolo, (a former University of Utah player) is an assistant coach.
