He previously worked with the ECC men’s volleyball program in 2000 and 2001 and again in 2005. Kapiko began playing volleyball in 9th grade for the Parks and Recreation Division in his hometown, Honolulu, Hawaii. He continued to develop his skills on the McKinley High team in Honolulu during his junior and senior years of high school. At the same time, he was fortunate enough to play for the Lokahi Club Team where Pete Valasco, who played on the USA 1968 Olympic Volleyball Team and was later inducted into the Volleyball Hall of Fame, coached him.

Rosa left his Pacific island home for the very first time in 1977 when he began playing for Santa Ana College. He later transferred and played three years of college at the University of LaVerve, where he majored in Behavioral Science.

In 1968 Kapiko spent a year in Hiroshima, Japan, where he worked as a fitness instructor at the YMCA. During that year he was able to broaden his volleyball repertoire by playing for Midori Machi, a traditional Japanese 9-man volleyball club team. After returning to Southern California, Kapiko kept himself in shape by playing beach volleyball.

Other interests include triathlons, outrigger canoe paddling and hiking. He takes great interest in Hawaiian language and cultural studies.

Volleyball – ‘O ka ` u kema `ike keia (This is the game I know)