The brotherhood of the Hawaiian football team becomes fatherhood.
Defensive tackle Anthony Sagapolutele and linebackers Noah Kema and Logan Taylor are expecting fathers.
“It’s great and a blessing,” Kema said.
Kema’s wife Brynlee and Taylor’s wife Theresa are due to give birth in March.
“They’re probably born around the same day, which is really crazy,” Noah Kema said. “Logan and I are best friends on the team and roommates (on the road).”
Similar to the Kemas, it will be the first child for Sagapolutele and his wife Arieanna Lafaele-Sagapolutele.
“For me,” Sagapolutele said, “it’s a lot of thinking, a lot of reflection, especially about what kind of person I want my child to be and what kind of role model I want him to be when he grows up. I’m excited.”
Sagapolutele said he was looking for a close and honest relationship.
“I want to be a father that a child can be open with,” Sagapolutele said. “I don’t want my child to feel like he has to hide anything from me. I just want my child to know that I’m here to love and serve, not to judge. I want my child to know that I love him. I’m willing to sacrifice anything. Like what I’m doing now with this football team. I’m willing to give up my body for the good of this team.”
Sagapolutele also relies on his father-in-law, former UH defensive tackle Michael Lafaele, to help him juggle college, football and raising children. Lafaele was a father of three when he concluded his five-year career with the Warriors with the 2008 Sugar Bowl. Lafaele’s wife and their children often attended practices.
Kema has sought advice from teammates who are parents themselves, such as wide receivers Jonah Panoke and Taylor, and has studied materials on childbirth and postnatal care.
“I listened to podcasts and watched YouTube videos to learn,” said Kema, who also plans to enroll in Lamaze classes.
He’s also learned to decipher the ultrasound images. “We have a really good doctor who showed exactly where the heartbeat was and where the head was,” Kema said, noting that the image “kind of looks like a miniature creature in there. It’s cute. We have (the ultrasound image) hanging on our refrigerator.”
Kema also asked head coach Timmy Chang for advice on parenting.
“I told him, ‘I need some wisdom from you,'” Kema said. “I’m just soaking up everything there is to know about diapers like a sponge. My wife loves to tell me, ‘That’s an olive right now,’ and how big it gets in there.”
The Taylors have two sons, Kobe and Vader. Logan Taylor offered this advice to the fathers-to-be: “The way you do something is the way you do everything. When you have kids, that becomes your priority. Your wife is your priority. The reason you work so hard (in football) is because it’s not just about you anymore. It’s about more than you. … Be a role model, show them how to love, what love looks like. Do things that are hard day in and day out. Never give up. It doesn’t matter if you’re sick. You have to take care of the rest.”
