Sania Leuelu is a hero to his community — but to him, his community is the hero.

“It’s not about me, it’s never been about me,” Leuelu said. “It’s about the youth.”

Leuelu started holding free rugby practices to form the Warriors rugby teams several years ago, starting with just 30 kids the first year. He also works with many volunteers and others to put together the Island Bowl each year — an event that holds three simultaneous rugby games all day in a family event that features food, dance performances, a job fair and a DJ.

The Island Bowl highlights the sport of rugby, but also creates a space for the Pacific Islander community to gather and share their culture. The next Island Bowl is May 25 at Saghalie Park, 33914 19th Ave. SW.

This year, Leuelu is up to 75 kids in his program, and he has opportunities for youth as young as age 5 to join.

The sport has been a lifelong love for him after playing it growing up in West Seattle, then in college and in the U.S. Army. Now he creates space for youth to get involved in the sport to enjoy the game and build lifetime values while fighting stereotypes at the same time.

For these efforts, Leuelu is the Federal Way Mirror’s Hometown Hero for April 2024.

For Leuelu and the parents and players, the game is about much more than winning. Through it, they learn values around respect and thinking through challenges.

“We don’t have competition other than ourselves,” Leulu said of the sport. “We’re beasts on the field, but we’re friends after.”

Leuelu said the idea all started in his friend’s garage after a workout. He and Founa Aho were talking when Leuelu said Aho asked him, “you ever thought about doing rugby camps?”

All it took was that one question, and Leuelu said he sketched out an entire plan right then and there to make it happen. At the time, he was teaching life skills to youth groups and coaching a rugby team in Auburn. In this idea, he combined the two.

Coach Solomona Sau and Coach Keinen Denwiddie both said they are happy to get the chance to coach their sons and that rugby also is a great way to teach life skills.

Denwiddie has only been coaching rugby for less than a year, and before now, his whole background was in football. He said his son introduced him to the sport and wanted to play, which led him to want to learn how to coach.

He said in just the first two months, learning from Leuelu has been a “gamechanger.” He said he learned from him the value of focusing on the basics, but to also allow players to show their own individuality on the field.

For Leuelu, he said it has brought him closer to his family as well and that his wife, Suliana Aho, is the one who keeps him going in the hard work of organizing the Warriors. They have eight children and his youngest is only three weeks old.

“She reminds me of our purpose,” Leuelu said. “She reminds me that we need to be the roots and seeds for our kids, why it’s important to serve,” and to give youth “what we didn’t have from the generations before us.”

Creating this community and place for youth to learn and grow is at the core of the program, as well as a love for rugby, of course.

“When it comes to rugby, it’s a safe space for a lot of youth,” Maloni Aho said. He is a U-14 coach now, only a few years after being a youth in the program as well. “It really builds a family, so you always have somebody to talk to.”

Rina Fonua played rugby in the Island Bowl the year before last, but this year, she is performing with the Nyokas Elite Dancers. She is Samoan and Tongan, but the dance she’s looking forward to performing most is Tahitian.

She said she loved playing rugby so much that she had to take a break from it to focus more on her studies. It has given her self-confidence, better focus and is a great outlet to get anger out, she said. Of Leuelu she said he “will push you,” and that there is “never negativity that comes out of his mouth.”

Leuelu and other coaches help kids “learn independence” Fonua said,and to learn to be respectful and kind. These values are also really important in the Islander community, she said.

With the Federal Way Warriors, the Sania Leuelu has been one piece of a larger puzzle to create space for fun, community and personal development in Federal Way. His focus is on paving the way for the next generation, like Maloni Aho, who said that when it comes to his beloved Pacific Islander community, he loves that “we’re not shy about who we are. I feel like our people are really proud of who we are,” and that coming together to play rugby is just one more way to share that.

Rugby players in the U-14 group clap and cheer each other on after a teammate completes an impressive tackle at a recent practice. Photo by Keelin Everly-Lang / The Mirror

Photo by Keelin Everly-Lang / The Mirror

Coach Mona calls for a team huddle after practice with the U-8 players. He grew up playing rugby in New Zealand and found community when moving to this area through the sport. Photo by Keelin Everly-Lang / The Mirror

Photo by Keelin Everly-Lang / The Mirror