By: Makayla Dilliner
In the likes of Kalāheo Girl’s Basketball, the name Brandy Richardson is not hard to recognize. Her jersey is not only featured in the Kalāheo gym but on the walls of the Ruby Tuesday’s restaurant at Windward Mall. Both serve as reminders of her athletic achievement in basketball at both Kalāheo High and the University of California at Santa Barbara. After graduating from Kalāheo in 2001, Brandy Richardson went on to become the athletic director of Kamehameha schools.
“I was very involved in basketball in particular, but I was a multi-sport athlete. In the fall I ran cross country, in the winter I played soccer, and then back then, girls basketball was in the spring.”Starting from the young age of intermediate school, Richardson always knew it was her passion to play basketball and be involved in sports. “I definitely knew basketball was something that came naturally to me, that I had a natural passion for, and then as I started to get older, and opportunities started to grow, sports started to evolve. When you're young, you just kind of just play, because you love it. But it's not until later that you realize that this could lead to a career”.
Chico Furtado, renowned Hawaii basketball coach, and former Kalāheo basketball coach, helped to jumpstart Richardsonʻs high school career in basketball. “When I started to establish a name for myself, from 7th to 8th grade, I was asked to apply to the private schools, and I had already formed a relationship with Chico Furtado, he would come to my games, and watch me, and I formed a relationship, and I just said, this is my route, it's public school, and I'm so glad I did. I knew that it was opening doors, just because everything kind of started to fall in place.” Under the coaching of Furtado, the Kalāheo Girlsʻ basketball team won five straight OIA titles as well as taking the Lady Mustangs to the championship game of the state tournament twice.
Like many students, Richardson knew that the only way of affording college was through a full ride. Getting a full ride from a university is already difficult, but Richardson was offered full-ride basketball scholarships from many universities. “I narrowed down my top four schools to UC Santa Barbara, University of Hawaii, UCLA, and University of Arizona.” Richardson ultimately chose to attend UC Santa Barbara.
She made it clear that obtaining a sports scholarship is more than balancing academic and athletic life. It's all about the passion. “A college scholarship is the byproduct of your passion for the game, my passion, and now, I think it's flipped with kids now, they chase that college scholarship. So I was very fortunate to come at a time when it was my idea, it was my passion, and because it was my passion because I trusted the process, I was able to develop work without the pressures of earning the scholarship. But nowadays, the pressure for a scholarship, I mean, I'm sure most students feel it and it's huge.”
But Richardson recounted the difficulty of going from being a local girl and moving into a completely different territory. Still, it was all worth it. “It wasnʻt easy. It was hard. I was homesick, uh, but I'm so glad I did it. I was able to, you know, have a decent GPA of 3.3, and as for my SAT scores, I was not the best test taker. But when I trained, I surrounded myself with love, and I let teachers help me along the way and people who believed in me. So I was able to qualify. And when I got my scholarship, I was blessed.”
Still, being a star athlete, there was more to it than the sport. From former school and athletic staff such as Mr. David Kosier and Mr. Fuddy, Richardson gave thanks to the many Kalāheo teachers and staff who helped her along the way. “I was fortunate for teachers such as Ms. Inouye and Mrs. Koopman. I had great people at Kalaheo that helped me think outside the box. They would say, “Hey, you could play here at the University of Hawaii and be a big fish in a small pond, or you can go away and be a small fish in a big pond.”
“All these people that, play a part in your life, um, when you look back on it, you're, like, hey, you know, I'm 40 years old now, I've still got lots more learning to do, but it's all these people that help you, figure it out in life. I owe it to, you know, the people who walked alongside my journey and believed in me. And it was the teachers that I went to for help. It was coaches from Kalaheo. It was my family who supported my dream.”
Life after high school: Working at Kamehameha: After graduating from UC Santa Barbara, Richardson came back to Hawaii and landed a job at Radford High School as a basketball coach and teacher. But in obtaining her position as Athletic Director at Kamehameha Schools, Richardson knew that she wanted to impact kids in a larger way.
“I got to build relationships, which was key. And then as I did that for five years, I wanted to be a part of a team. So I got the opportunity. I saw that they were looking for an athletic director. Through building relationships with people, I applied for the job and I knew that I wanted my career to be more specific to sports.”
Richardson didn’t want to just lead basketball players, she wanted to help those in a variety of sports. “I knew I wanted to expand on my leadership role. I knew that I wanted to reach further. I knew that if I could work with five teachers, work alongside five teachers that work alongside 150 kids, I knew my reach was going to be greater.”
In the end, for Richardson, it is all about being able to help future generations of athletes. And in turn, sharing the opportunity that she once had as a young basketball player. “I'm very fortunate that I'm in this position to work alongside coaches who directly impact the future generation. I know that if I can work with the people who directly work with our kids and work alongside them, it can have a trickle-down effect and help students on their athletic journey.”