The Details: The Kid From The Islands Broadens Horizons
November 12, 2016 | Football, General
By Mason Kelley
GoHuskies.com
When Psalm Wooching arrived at Washington, he only wanted to focus on one thing – football.
He had a simple mindset, play hard, play angry. Back him into a corner and he would always try to fight his way out.
"I used to be a knucklehead, a loose canon," he said. "I always wanted to fight."
But college provides an opportunity for growth. Being in a new place so far from his home in Hawaii, Wooching had the chance to become anyone and do anything. The possibilities were endless.
It took a couple of years. It took some time for the senior to realize there was a life to be lived outside of football. But, once he started to discover and embrace new opportunities, he began to revel in every experience he could find.
Looking back, he never thought he would get to this point.
"No," he said with a sharp laugh. "Not a chance. Coming from the islands, I was single-minded. That's pretty much all I knew, the island way. Coming here I've been exposed to these great opportunities, including things outside of football."
For Wooching, expanding his horizons started with a hike.
He thought to himself, "I'm in this beautiful state, seeing all these scenic things and I said, 'Hey, I want to go on a few of those hikes.'"
So he grabbed teammate Cameron Van Winkle and a few other friends and they started exploring. And, in typical Wooching fashion, he found a way to make his hiking extreme, hanging from cliffs and churning through snow in board shorts, among other things.
When it comes to beauty, "this state has a lot to offer," he said.
But exploring his new home was just the beginning.
He asked himself a simple question: "What can I do academics-wise?" and then accepted an internship with the university's police department.
"If I can do an internship as a class to get credits, why not do that?" he said. "Why not gain a little bit of that edge on life after football?"
Then he added a little travel to his portfolio through a study abroad program in Tahiti.
"That really kind of got me back to my roots, an island boy being on the mainland for a while, you kind of forget about the culture," he said. "It was good to get back to the basics and living that lifestyle again."
Now in his final year at Washington, Wooching has a new internship at USI Kibble and Prentice, a brokerage firm.
"I love it," he said, when asked about his experience with the company.
Wooching has embraced his opportunity to grow as a student, a professional and an outdoor enthusiast. And all of these experiences have helped him mature as a football player.
"I feel like I've taken that step, become a mature, older guy people can lean on, ask for help," he said.
The outside linebacker has a new outlook on the game.
"Before I was playing loose, getting penalties," he said. "I was playing so angry, so out of my head, not thinking before I react. Now I've got that poise, that calmness. I can really process what's going on."
Now he can read and react, playing with poise he learned from former Husky standout Hau'oli Kikaha.
"That's where I first learned it from," Wooching said.
During his time at Washington, no player worked harder than Kikaha. And, when he would watch Wooching, he would ask his teammate to think about the way he carried himself on the field.
"What are you doing?" Kikaha would ask. "You can't do that. You can't get mad. You can't try and fight everything."
So, as Wooching matured off the field, he started to grow on it as well.
"I tried to learn how he played," he said. "He was just here last practice. Having him there again, it was good to have him back."
But, while Kikaha helped on the field and, while hiking and academic experiences pushed him forward, Wooching also credited coach Chris Petersen for the perspective shift that brought him to this point.
"When he stepped in, it was my time to start changing for the better," he said.
Petersen's emphasis on becoming better man while growing as a football player forced Wooching to look at life differently.
So, if it wasn't for Washington, football and everything that comes with it, where would Wooching be? Well, he isn't so sure it would be a positive place.
"If it wasn't for this school, if it wasn't for these opportunities, I would probably be back home at the beach, getting into fights all the time, getting in trouble," he said. "That's just what that life can lead to if you don't step forward."
As far as he's come, as much as he's matured, Wooching will always remain fiercely protective of his island heritage.
"You can take the boy from the islands, but you can't take the islands from the boy," he said.
It helps to have a large Polynesian community in Washington. There are people he can lean on, those who understand where he comes from. And that connection, "it's like creating another island here," he said.
Wooching has developed so much as person and player during his time with the Huskies he thinks he may have found a new home. He still loves to travel back to Hawaii, but he thinks there's a pretty good chance he sticks around once this season eventually comes to a close.
"I love Washington now," he said. "This might be my home, but it's still up in the air. I don't think I'd move back to Hawaii permanently until later in life. It's great to go home and clear your mind, but I think I've found a home here in Washington."
However, his future, life after football, isn't his focus at the moment. As the 9-0 Huskies prepare for another home game at Husky Stadium, Wooching is doing everything he can to live in the moment.
"There are a couple of opportunities that have opened up, but I'm not looking that far ahead," he said. "It's my senior year I want to enjoy every moment. I'm just taking it day-by-day."
Standing on turf on a beautiful November day, Wooching waved his arm in an arc, a gesture that said, "just look at this place."
Every practice. Every win. Every opportunity to listen to "Purple Rain" on the plane flight home from road games. In each of these instances, "It doesn't get much better than that."
