Walk This Way

Photo by Lawrence Tabudlo

Life has come full circle, twice over actually, for former University of Hawai‘i volleyball standout Joshua Walker. Following an impressive professional career with Team USA and overseas, the 2011 graduate returned to Mānoa in 2016 as an assistant coach under Charlie Wade. He then left for Baylor in 2022 to join the women’s volleyball coaching staff. But he was called back home, this time to become just the fourth head coach in the history of the Rainbow Wāhine volleyball program.

“I’m just trying to be a great steward of all those that have come before me,” says Walker. “It’s not just the coaches, it’s the teams and the players … For me, the goal is to have a chance to not only win conference championships regularly again, but also have the chance to make deep tournament runs and knock on the door to win a national championship. I think that’s very realistic here because we have the support, we have the fans that care about volleyball as much as they do and because it’s already been done.

“I just have to make sure I follow the things that have already been laid in front of me.”

UH opens its inaugural campaign in the Mountain West Conference with a home series against New Mexico this weekend (Sept. 25 and 26). However, fans have already been showing up and tuning in for thrilling early season tournaments and matches, including a four-set win over Georgia Southern at its season opener in the Hawaiian Airlines Wāhine Volleyball Classic, an undefeated run in the OUTRIGGER Invitational, and a sweep of a two-match series against Central Arkansas.

It may be a new era for the Rainbow Wāhine, but Walker is set on honoring the program’s roots and building on its legacy. It’s a job that he doesn’t take lightly.

“I’ve been extremely blessed,” he confesses. “The way my life has kind of come full circle and aligned, I know it’s not me. I couldn’t have planned this kind of life if I wanted to.

“If you just do the numbers … a black kid growing up from Virginia Beach, Virigina, to end up playing volleyball at the University of Hawai‘i and being an All-American, to having the chance to train with the National Team and playing professionally for world-known clubs like Panathinaikos (in Greece), in Abu Dhabi, and volleyball taking me all over the world to being around people I wouldn’t have had the chance to be around otherwise, and having the chance to come back to coach here once again … I’ve just been really blessed to be in the situations that I’ve been put into, and I try to work as hard as I can to make sure I’m being the most productive in the opportunities I’ve been given.”

Growing up, Walker says he wanted to play in the NBA (he’s a fan of Charles Barkley and the Phoenix Suns). It wasn’t until high school that his sister suggested he try volleyball as a second sport in the fall. He ended up lettering four years in volleyball, was named state player of the year as a junior and led his team to a state title in 2004. Then the college offers came (with the ones for volleyball being “more appealing” than basketball), and the 6-foot-1 outside hitter chose the 10-hour flight to the Aloha State over the 10-hour drive to Penn State.

“I was kind of getting to the point where I was making my decision, that was 2006, and (Hawai‘i) had a really good year that year,” recalls Walker. “I was going online and seeing the articles that were written and how many fans were showing up for games. It seems like they care about volleyball a lot, and for me, it was important to go to a place where I knew they cared about volleyball as much as I did. It was always a dream to play in front of a big fanbase, so that definitely was one of the main reasons I came all the way out here.”

While at UH, Walker recorded 1,428 career kills (fifth in school history) and 536 career digs, was a two-time All-Conference selection, and named the 2010 American Volleyball Coaches Association All-American. He also met his wife, Tehane, a standout on the Rainbow Wāhine soccer team from 2005-2008. The couple maintained a long-distance relationship as Walker went on to play professional volleyball with Team USA and overseas in the United Arab Emirates, Greece, Denmark and Finland. Then, as they were expecting their first child, Walker had the opportunity to continue to play in Finland or return to Hawai‘i to coach with the men’s team.

“I was gonna be an engineer,” says Walker about his original career plans. “I took autoCAD in high school and I kind of liked problem solving and fixing things … but as I was starting to go through the classes, I felt my passion for engineering wasn’t as high as my passion for volleyball … so I switched to business because everybody said business is a good degree, but I still wasn’t loving it as much.

“My mom was an English teacher and I took some English classes and those were my favorite classes. I kind of had a focus on creative writing too, so I figured I was gonna be a teacher at some point. Both my parents were teachers, but I ended up teaching volleyball instead of English.”

He eventually graduated with a bachelor’s in English, but says within his first year of coaching, he was hooked. Though volleyball is his passion, he notes it’s the interaction with his peers along with his student athletes that keep him going.

“Coaching in college is very unique because It’s the most formative years of people’s lives,” says Walker, now a father of five. “And seeing them be able to figure things out and navigate hardships, being away from families … they’re trying to figure out how to be adult professionals in whatever field or whatever path they choose. So that opportunity to influence them in a positive way and to have a chance to have their experience be better than mine really excites me.

“Also, just being around high-level people. Yes, we want to win some volleyball games, yes, we want them to represent the state well, but to me it’s really having the chance to influence great young people in the most formative years of their lives so they can be future leaders of our community, future leaders of our country.

“That’s why I do it, for the relationships.”