Softball has a new program leader
James Manu is new head coach and seeks to reload the program.
James Manu did not appreciate being the proverbial Army brat …. at least not as a youth.
His parents were born in American Samoa, he originated in Florida and his four siblings began in either another state or country.
Making friends wasn’t a problem, although he usually wasn’t around long enough for it to last for any reasonable length of time.
“I didn’t like it when I was young,” he admitted.
Ironically, all of the moving around actually taught the new head coach of Mullen softball a number of valuable lessons, including how to deal with people.
“Now, it’s amazing,” Manu said. “It has helped me in so many ways, particularly how to be a professional, how to be a coach.”
The former two-sport, schoolboy athlete in Idaho went on to play football at the Air Force Academy for three years before suffering a career-ending injury. The defensive tackle did four years in the reserves and earned a degree in communications from Boise State.
Now an Aurora resident, Manu has coached softball for more than a dozen years, gained experience in other sports, coached for three years at Rangeview in Aurora and also is the softball director and head coach of the program at Slammers in the south metropolitan area.
He’s eager to get going with Mullen softball.
“I’m excited,” Manu said. “It’s a great opportunity and thetradition is there. (The Mustangs) have a long history of great success for athletics for years.
“I’m just happy to bring in a staff and rebuild the program, and get it back to its former self.”
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