Scott Wong begins his third season as head coach of the University of Hawai‘i sand volleyball squad. Wong, a world-class beach volleyball player himself, has also served as an associate coach for the nationally ranked Rainbow Wahine women’s indoor squad the last four seasons.
Wong guided the Rainbow Wahine through its inaugural season in sand volleyball in 2012, meshing a dozen indoor players with a trio of sand-only athletes to produce one of the most competitive teams in the nation. UH captured three different pairs championships, while the duos of Jane Croson and Ashley Lee, as well as Emily Hartong and Elizabeth Stoltzmann were among just 16 pairs to qualify for the AVCA Collegiate Sand Volleyball National Championships in Gulf Shores, Ala. Croson was ultimately placed on the 10-person All-American squad.
Wong, who grew up in Pearl City, O‘ahu, and went to high school at Punahou, has been coaching for the last nine years, inlcuding four seasons as associate coach of the Rainbow Wahine indoor program. UH captured league titles each year, while having an umblemished league record (38-0) in three of those seasons. Wong also spent one season in 2006 with the Rainbow Wahine as a volunteer assistant, coaching a squad that advanced to the NCAA Regional finals.
During his time with the indoor team he has mentored a bevy of AVCA all-Americans, including first-team selections Kanani Danielson, Kanoe Kamana‘o and Emily Hartong.
Prior to returning home to UH, Wong was at the University of San Francisco, where he was an associate head coach for the Lady Dons for one season. He previously coached at his alma mater Pepperdine, serving as an assistant coach for the men’s team for four seasons under legendary head coach Marv Dunphy. At Pepperdine, Wong was on staff for a national championship as well as two MPSF championship teams.
Wong prepped at Punahou, where he was an all-state honoree in both volleyball and basketball, graduating in 1997. He played his collegiate volleyball at Pepperdine, earning AVCA All-America honors three times and MPSF all-conference honors during all four years. In 1998, he was named the AVCA National and MPSF Freshman of the Year.
After his collegiate career, Wong joined the US National Team, helping the team to a gold medal at the 2001 World University Games, before hitting the pro beach circuit.
Wong enjoyed a stellar beach volleyball career before joining the coaching ranks. He played seven seasons on the AVP tour, highlighted by a second place finish in the 2007 New York AVP Tour event. Wong was ranked as high as No. 16 individually and No. 6 as a team in the AVP rankings.
Wong graduated from Pepperdine with a degree in business and later earned his masters in education from Loyola Marymount. He and his wife, the former Tamar Hassing, have a daughter, Elyse.
