By: Kevin Hashiro

At Chaminade University, men’s basketball has historically been the center of attention. But Glennie Adams helped to change the perception.
 
Adams, the winningest volleyball coach in Silverswords history, enjoyed a standout volleyball playing career at Hawai‘i-Hilo and helped lead the Vulcans to two national championships, a ruuner-up and a third-place finish nationally. During her redshirt year, she experienced her first taste in coaching, working with the setters at practices and doing pre-match preparation. That year, the team won two national championships in both the AIAW and NAIA. She learned under legendary Vulcans head coach Sharon Peterson, who taught her the nuances of the game, including teaching and being a motivator.
 
“I always used to joke with (Peterson) and tell her that I was going to come back and take her job, and sometime down the road at Sharon's retirement celebration, I jokingly declared that I was no longer interested in her job; instead I wanted the Athletic Director's job,” Adams recalled.
 
Shortly after leaving UH-Hilo, she coached at Kaimuki High School as an assistant for a year then coached junior varsity softball for two years at Punahou and thereafter, got her first head coaching gig at University Laboratory School.
 
In 1994, then-Athletics Director/Men’s Basketball Coach Don Doucette hired Adams to lead the Silverswords. The program, which began in 1984, had only three winning seasons before her hiring.
 
By her third year in 1996, Adams guided the ’Swords to their first-ever – and to date, only – Pacific West Conference championship while compiling a school-record 21-9 record and 11-1 in the league. However, the conference had lost its automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, leaving the Silverswords on the outside looking in.
 
“That team was probably the most well-rounded team and I firmly believe they would have done well,” Adams recalled. “It was a tough pill to swallow.”
 
However, she remained unfazed by the slight, and finally in 2002, a 15-8 season was culminated in the program’s first-ever bid to the NCAA Regional, where the Silverswords fell to UC San Diego in the first round.
 
Two years later, the ’Swords completed a 16-6 regular season and returned to the Regionals. They dispatched Cal State Los Angeles in the first round before bowing out with a four-set loss to Cal State San Bernardino. One of the members of both the 2002 and ’04 regional teams was all-PacWest hitter Kahala Kabalis, who is currently the Silverswords head coach.
 
“Knowing how very hard it was to make the tournament, I was very proud of those teams,” Adams said.
 
Adams left Chaminade in 2009 after 15 years at the helm, compiling a record of 176-185. Along with the two post-season appearances, she had seven winning seasons.
 
But her contributions to Chaminade were more than what she accomplished on the court. In 2000, she was asked by new Athletics Director Aaron Greiss to become a full-time member of athletics, not only retaining her role as volleyball coach, but also being Assistant Athletics Director and Senior Women’s Administrator. Adams, who spent the prior 13 years as a social worker, decided to gamble on her career to fulfill her dream of being a full-time head coach.
 
She asked, and received, a full allotment of scholarships that allowed the volleyball program to become competitive on the national scale.
 
Being at Chaminade also got her involved in the administrative side of athletics, but it also showed how behind the curve the university was in athletics at the time.
 
“I was tasked with completing the EADA (Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act) report annually,” Adams said. “I remember being so disheartened every time I filled out that report. (Today), many strides have been made in that area and that is a good thing.”
 
Then in 2004, Adams had another turning point in her career when she attended the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletic Administrators Leadership Institute. It was there that she knew she wanted to pursue athletic administration.
 
“After attending the Leadership Institute, I started to make a list of all the experiences I would need to do that and made it a point to arm myself with those experiences,” she said. “This included applying for, and being turned down many times for different athletic administrative positions.”
 
Adams’ patience finally paid off in the summer of 2009 when she was hired as Associate Athletics Director at the Kamahameha Schools, Kapalama campus, one of the biggest athletic programs in the nation. Kamehameha supports three athletic programs around the state with programs also on Maui and Hawai'i island.
 
Two years later, she was promoted to Athletics Director, becoming the first female A.D. in school history.
 
“It is an honor and privilege to be affiliated with Kamehameha School,” Adams said. “To lead what is one of the largest interscholastic athletic departments in the nation is a challenge daily. One of our goals for the year is to formalize our athletic department mission statement and insure that it is aligned with the Kamehameha School’s strategic plan. I am extremely fortunate to work with a fantastic staff.”
 
People who work on athletic staffs know of the long days put in seven days a week. The situation is even more so at Kamehameha with intermediate and junior varsity teams in most sports. The job is demanding, but Adams makes sure that a balance is created to ensure that everyone from student-athletes to staff and coaches keep from being run down.
 
“We make every effort to use our staff efficiently," she said. "An example of this was during Christmas break, we didn’t allow practice to start until 2 p.m., so that practices and games were during one part of the day,” she said. “We no longer allow teams to participate in practices and games on Sundays as that is really the only day for student-athletes and staff have off.
 
“Family is everything to me, so chance I have to spend (with them during off-time), I do.”
 
Despite being five years removed from Chaminade, Adams still has many memories. One of her favorites was on a volleyball road trip. With $100 allotted for groceries, each player was assigned to get specific items on a list while the coaches waited at the checkout register to ring up the totals.
 
“When the last item was rung up, the total came to $99 and change,” she said. “The entire team, coaches and clerks erupted in cheers and applause! Cheap thrills, I know!
 
“It also never ceased to amaze me that when we were driving long distances, the players all fell asleep. However, when we would approach and/or pass by a mall, it appears they sensed it and would automatically wake up,” she laughed.
 
Most of her proudest moments were when her players would participate in commencement ceremonies at graduation. But one memory stood out.
 
“The most memorable moment for me was when Valasi Sepulona literally carried her mother, who was suffering from cancer, from the car and placed her in her wheelchair in the gym so she could watch our practice,” Adams said. “Talk about sacrifices…”
 
Entering her fourth year as Kamehameha A.D. this summer, she is grateful for the opportunity and years at Chaminade.
 
“I gained much of my experience from Chaminade,” Adams said. “Wearing so many hats has served me well in my quest to land a full-time job in athletic administration.”