Ta'ufo'ou becomes new M-A FB coach

Talk to new Menlo-Atherton High football coach Sione Ta'ufo'ou and the word he mentions most is accountability. "You're responsible for your actions," Ta'ufo'ou said. "Everything in life starts with accountability. I'm expecting all of my student-athletes to be accountable." Ta'ufo'ou plans on instilling in his players a heavy dose of discipline, dedication and sacrifice -- values he learned from his parents, Lopeti and Deanie. Ta'ufo'ou becomes M-A's third head coach in the last four years; Tony Rosso left after one season and before that Bob Sykes was at the school for two seasons. A San Carlos native, Ta'ufo'ou plans on being a steadying influence in the M-A community. "I'm ecstatic about the opportunity and can't wait to get started," he said. "M-A is a school of great diversity, and I have a great passion for football and how it can help people not just on the field but off the field, too." Ta'ufo'ou coached the previous three years at Menlo School, including a stint as the defensive coordinator last season. The 27-year-old counts Knights coach Mark Newton as one of the most influential figures in his life. It was Newton who brought Ta'ufo'ou aboard to Menlo School. "I told the M-A administration that we'd be sorry to see him go, but we'd support him the whole way," Newton said. "Sione has a personality that relates well to players. It's definitely a strength and he's also a very good teacher of the fundamentals (of the sport). I knew he'd be a good fit (when I brought him in to be an assistant coach three years ago). Since I had known him for a while, the interview process was more like, 'Hey, let's make this happen.' And he didn't disappoint." Said Ta'ufo'ou: "Coach (Newton) is a great man, a great mentor, a great coach. He's helped me a ton through this whole process and I'm very thankful to having coached under him at Menlo." Ta'ufo'ou has worked as a strength and conditioning coach at the Riekes Center for the last several years. He comes from one of the greatest football families in San Mateo County history. Sione is one of four brothers who all had standout high school football careers. Sione played at CSM before finishing up at the University of Mary in North Dakota. His older brother Kaoi played at Menlo School before playing rugby at San Diego State; younger brother Will is currently on the Chicago Bears practice squad and youngest brother Matt was an All-American at CSM two years ago and is currently a redshirt junior at Iowa State. Sione, Will and Matt all played their high school ball at Saint Francis. Sione plans on making M-A a winner on and off the field. M-A is just one of many schools in the county that has been hit hard by player eligibility issues in the last several years. Ta'ufo'ou plans on getting his players to hit the books as hard as they hit their opponents. "Until you're an NFL player, you're always a student-athlete first," he said. "(Getting it done in the classroom) is part of being a good football player. With all high school football programs you want great student-athletes to display good leadership skills, understand the meaning of hard work and be accountable to the community. The most satisfying part about coaching is seeing the change in individuals who decide to be better at something and then see their hard work pay off. It's a wonderful thing to see. You want guys to embrace and overcome all types of challenges." Ta'ufo'ou knows a thing or two about overcoming adversity. Although he enjoyed his time at Mary, Ta'ufo'ou admitted it was a tough transition from spending all of his life in the Bay Area then moving to Bismarck. "(Spending my two final years of college in North Dakota) taught me a lot about football and being a part of something bigger than myself," he said. "You live and learn."