Mana Wahine Wednesday: Hawai’i T&F thrower Valo Sopoaga

HONOLULU – For University of Hawai’i sophomore Valo Sopoaga, getting the “athlete” gene was never a question. 

The daughter of former University of Hawai’i standout and 8-year NFL veteran Isaac Sopoaga, Valo is preparing for her second season competing for the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa’s track and field program. Her first season at UH was a strong foundational year, seeing the 5-foot-8 shot put thrower finish 16th at the MPSF Indoor Championships and set personal records in the Big West Championships in both the hammer throw (43.58m) and shot put (13.20m) to close her first go-round of competition in Hawai’i apparel. 

A 2023 graduate of Kaiser high school, Sopoaga moved around quite a bit during her childhood before settling down in Hawai’i. Born in San Antonio, Sopoaga got to traveling from a young age as her mom’s career in the army and dad’s career as a professional athlete made for movement to feel normal. 

The family spent time in San Jose while her father played for the San Francisco 49ers, moving to the east coast around her third-grade year as her dad spent two years between the Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots before retiring. After the elder Sopoaga’s retirement, the family returned to California until a vacation to Hawai’i turned into much more. 

“We actually were here in Hawai’i for vacation and my dad was helping coach the football team at Kaiser,” Valo recalled. “It was at the beginning of the school year and then it just got extended and we’ve been here for about nine years now and it’s been so much fun.” 

She started playing organized sports in sixth grade, giving basketball an extremely brief try before finding a love for volleyball. Sopoaga immediately got involved with club volleyball and worked constantly to improve, attending the Rainbow Wahine summer volleyball camps up through her senior year of high school as she pursued a college roster spot. 

With club volleyball winding down to close her 12th grade year, Sopoaga decided to give track and field a try. She recalled her mother always talking about her time competing in track and field during her middle school and high school years while her dad dabbled in track and field as well when he wasn’t dominating on the gridiron. 

The love for the sport grew rapidly as she found fast success in the shot put despite never competing for an organized team in any organized events prior. In her first and only season competing in high school track and field, Sopoaga swept the trifecta of the 2023 OIA East Girls title, All-OIA Girls title and HHSAA state championship in girls’ shotput. 

While she had committed in the fall to go to a school in Oregon to continue her volleyball career, she had started to chat with the University of Hawai’i track and field coaching staff throughout her senior year. While they did not actively push her to decommit, Sopoaga certainly knew there would be interest in having her on the Hawai’i track and field team if she decided to instead go to UH. 

“She understood how important volleyball is to me,” Sopoaga recalled of her conversations with UH throwing coach Sabrina Mendoza. “But I was just set on going to school on the mainland, I was preparing emotionally because I knew I’d be away from my family.” 

The decision was no longer as cut-and-dry as it once had seemed, though.  

Oozing potential as a thrower with high-level success with only one season of training, Sopoaga saw a chance to stay closer to family while pursuing a sport that had rapidly tracked down volleyball as her favorite activity. As the summer chugged along, Sopoaga says she prayed (and cried) a lot to try and choose a path. 

There were creative options, like trying to do both by spending two years with her original choice of volleyball before coming back home and potentially giving another shot to shot put. There was the thought of following through on her original commitment and leaving her family behind as she had tried so hard to prepare for emotionally. 

And, of course, there was the option of staying home. 

“I think when I finally received reassurance and an answer to what I wanted to do for college, thinking about UH, I just felt so happy,” she said. “I’d be able to stay home, be with my family.” 

Plus, the summer and the process reminded her of one particularly important detail. 

“Thinking about going away, I know for me, I get homesick very easily,” Sopoaga chuckled. 

The decision delighted Sopoaga’s parents, who like many parents had begrudgingly prepared for their daughter to leave the protection of home for the continent. As they prepared to say goodbye, Sopoaga excitedly broke the news. 

“They were so happy,” she remembered. “I’ve been loving every second here at UH since then.”  

The University of Hawai’i’s track and field team has loved having the talented thrower as well. While year one introduced her to the college scene with a major focus on getting the key basic techniques down, her growth promises to extend each season with her standout strength. 

She’s a natural. Now watch her work.