Photo courtesy: Weber State Athletics

During his career on the field, Alfred Pupunu was an imposing figure. At over 6 feet 2 inches and 260 pounds, he was a matchup nightmare for opposing defenses. He would earn All-Big Sky and Walter Camp All-American honors at Weber State before embarking on a decade-long career in the NFL. With the San Diego Chargers, he would catch a touchdown in the 1995 AFC Championship Game and be part of the starting lineup in Super Bowl XXIX.

His signature touchdown celebration, in which he mimicked twisting off the top of a coconut using the ball, became the fodder for countless highlight reels. He played tight end and h-back for the Chargers, Kansas City Chiefs, New York Giants and Detroit Lions from 1992-00. Upon retiring, he embarked on a career in coaching and eventually returned to his alma mater. Despite a natural fit, the coaching profession was one he never considered as a player.

“At first, I didn't want to get into coaching when I got done playing,” Pupunu said. “I went back to school and got my degree. After that, a family friend wanted some help coaching a tight end. I helped them out and the kid became all-state as a sophomore. I went back for another couple of years and before I knew it I was back in football again.”

He served as a volunteer assistant at the University of Utah for three seasons before taking a job to coach running backs and tight ends at Southern Utah. It was in these stops that he got hooked on coaching and began to see the value in the profession both on-and-off the field.

“I wanted to help kids when I got done playing through youth mentoring in corrections institutes,” he said. “I figured out that I could do the same thing in football, pass on my knowledge to them and help out in a way that was meaningful.”

Pupunu has learned both through personal experience and from a litany of coaches that he's come into contact with over the years. He’s also learned the valuable lesson of treating each player as a unique human being. He has learned to take a different tactic with each player and is able to motivate them in the ways that work best for every personality.

“Every kid is different, and you have to find out how to reach them,” Pupunu said. “Some kids respond to being harsh with them and some kids shut down when that happens. You have to approach them all differently. To do that, I say to them, ‘Put yourself in my shoes and imagine you're the coach.’ Once you reach them at that level, they get it.”

Pupunu truly feels he has found his place in the world now with coaching. He is able to fulfill his mission of making an impact on the lives of young men and continue being active in the sport he has loved since he was a kid growing up in Salt Lake City (via Tonga, which makes the journey even more remarkable). He is proud to etch his name on the long and lengthy ledger of those in the coaching profession and plans to continue for as long as the sport will have him.

“What's important about coaching is helping to build character in kids,” Pupunu said. “In coaching, you don't just teach football, you help teach them right and wrong. You teach them how to adjust to life out there in the real world. As a coach, I can be a mentor and I can be someone they can lean on. If at the end of the day I can make an impact on someone's life, that makes it all worth it and I've done my job.”