Joining the University of Hawai‘i program as associate coach overseeing sprints, hurdles and jumps, Sean Gwi was announced in September 2017 as a member of the inaugural staff of first-year head coach Tim Boyce.
"We're happy to have Sean join the staff as we get started with a new slate of coaches in 2017-18," Boyce said at the time of Gwi’s hiring. "He has great experience in the sprints, hurdles and jumps, and his west coast background should enable him to be an effective recruiter in those disciplines. Looking forward to growing our sprint squad over the next few years."
Gwi arrived in Manoa from Chabot College in Hayward, Calif., where he spent last season as an assistant coach for sprints, jumps and hurdles. Under his guidance, the Gladiators had an athlete finish sixth in the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) in both the 100m hurdles and triple jump, also ranking 20th nationally in the 400m hurdles. He also founded and spent the past two seasons working with the Norcal Elite Track Club, coaching Kaylah Robinson, who ranked second (100m) and fifth (60m) nationally in hurdle events; Robinson went on to sign with Oregon. In addition, Gwi held an assistant coach role at El Cerrito High School. At Chabot, he was also a Kinesiology adjunct faculty member.
"It is honestly a dream come true to take over the associate coach position at UH," Gwi said at his hiring. "Since I started coaching in 2006, being a part of UH's cross country and track and field program has been a major goal of mine. It took 12 years to manifest this vision and I'm very excited to make the best out of this opportunity, for myself and for the program."
Prior to Chabot, Gwi served for five seasons at Laney College, the latter three years as head men's and women's track coach. His 2014 squad placed fifth at the California State Championships, aided by dual gold medal performances by Kortni Smyers-Jones (100m, triple jump). During his first two seasons at Laney, Gwi was an assistant coach and guided Treigh Orchard to the 2013 CCCAA women's 400m title. From 2013-15, he also coached at the East Oakland Youth Development Center. Across his entire stretch at Laney, Gwi also taught as a Kinesiology instructor.
Gwi got his start in coaching at Lowell High School in San Francisco as an assistant coach, quickly making the transition to college as a volunteer assistant coach at City College of San Francisco. Gwi spent six years in the CCSF Rams program, while also continuing to serve as an assistant coach in the San Francisco Unified School District; primarily at Lowell (2006-11, '13), but he also had stints at Mission High School (2013) and Lincoln High School (2013).
Originally from San Francisco, Gwi graduated with his degree in Kinesiology and Physical Education from San Francisco State in 2009, later earning his Master's in Coaching and Athletic Administration from Concordia University-Irvine (2010). He recently completed the USA Track & Field (USATF) Emerging Elite Coaching Camp at the California Olympic Training Center and has Level II USATF certifications in both sprints and jumps.
Gwi married his wife, Christina, shortly before joining the staff and they honeymooned in Hawai‘i shortly before he started his position at UH.
