Laie, HI - Brigham Young University Hawaii has named former Hawaii State HighSchool "Coach of the Year" Wendy Anae as the new head coach for its fledgling women's basketball team. Anae will have the task of building a program from the ground up as BYU-Hawaii adds women's basketball to its athletic program for the 2006-07academic year.
Anae coached this past season at Timpview High School in Provo, Utah, where she took her young team to the Final Four in the Utah State High School Girl'sTournament. However, she is no stranger to Laie and the North Shore, having coached the KahukuRed Raiders for three years from 2003-05 after serving as an assistant coach at Kahuku for four years previous to being named head coach.
At Kahuku, Anae led the Red Raiders to the elite eight of the state tournament all three years, including two appearances in the state championship game. She was named Hawaii State Coach of the Year in 2003. Kahuku won back-to-back OahuInterscholastic League championships under her tutelage in 2004 and 2005.
Anae also coached and played on the Samoan National Women's team that won the gold medal in the South Pacific games in 2003. She also spent three years on the coaching staff at nationally acclaimed Peninsula High School in Palos Verdes, California.
BYU-Hawaii Athletic Director Ken Wagner said Anae will be a great addition to the BYU-Hawaii athletic department.
"We're excited to have her," he said. "She's proven herself to be an excellent coach. She's from here and knows the state and the area and we think she'll do really well."
Anae says she is happy to be able to return to Hawaii and coach the Seasiders.
"I've always hoped that BYU-Hawaii would add women's basketball and that I could be the coach," she said. "I'm excited at the prospect of starting from scratch and establishing our own tradition. I also think it will be a great opportunity for the girls in Hawaii that want to continue their basketball careers beyond high school. Now they'll have more options to play close to home."
Anae will finish the school year at Timpview before moving back to Hawaii but will begin recruiting, scheduling, and building the program right away.