Press Release courtesy of Lindy Zamora, Long Beach State Athletics
For Long Beach State junior setter Josh Tuaniga, family is everything. The two-time All-American wouldn’t be where he is today without his family. Literally. If it weren’t for his family’s love of volleyball, the player we see on the court today leading the top-ranked Beach to the best hitting percentage in the nation (.393) might not have ever picked up a volleyball.
The Tuaniga volleyball story goes back generations. Josh’s parents, Junior and Tinei, met in 1987 during an open gym at the Naval Base in Long Beach. Junior played volleyball at El Camino College, while Tinei worked full-time and took classes as well. The Tuaniga’s married and started a family, welcoming Josh’s older brother Gus, who would go on to play volleyball at the University of Hawaii.
Josh, the second of five children, grew up watching his family play volleyball, but took up football instead. He dabbled in both sports playing volleyball for the Huntington Beach Club (HBC) and eventually went on to play football at St. John Bosco High School. Although he was playing football, Josh continued to play, train, and workout on the court with his family.
“I saw the game almost every day,” Josh explained. “My brother played it, my parents played it, my little sister played it. There was no getting away from it. I was constantly seeing it. My parents always believed in putting in the work outside of practice, training, and games. I was constantly doing work for volleyball outside of the sport and I started seeing more of a progression for volleyball and I ended up loving it.”
The volleyball bug that was passed down for generations hit Josh and he immersed himself in the sport even more so. He decided to transfer to Huntington Beach High School to focus more on volleyball.
“A lot of the guys I played with that were on the Huntington Beach team I played with in club, and for me, I wanted to stay around that and build something with them so we could carry that into the club season.”
Playing with HBC exposed Josh to a world of opportunities in volleyball as he was surrounded by some of the top volleyball minds in the country both on the court and on the sidelines.
“I had some pretty great minds that knew a lot about volleyball around me at a young age,” Josh said. “Obviously, playing with TJ (DeFalco) and some of the coaches I’ve had over the years has had an impact on me as a volleyball player. (Former Long Beach State assistant coach) Tyler (Hildebrand) would sometimes run clinics for our club team and I was able to see that high-level sport early on. That’s what helped draw me to volleyball.”
For Josh, the sport of volleyball was not just a sport he loved playing, it was also a connection to his family and a way to relate to them. Growing up, he worked hard at the sport he loved because a strong work ethic was ingrained in his DNA. However, the success he and his family have had on the court has not come without sacrifice and hard times.
“What my dad has done for my family, and what he’s done for me – what he’s shown me – is out of this world,” Josh stated. “My dad grew up in American Samoa, then moved here when he was in high school. Both of my parents started out kind of rough and I kind of grew up in those rough times. As I grew older, I saw my dad’s work ethic and the hard work that he put into our family. He’s sacrificed so much just for me to be here.”
Josh’s father did everything he could to provide for his growing family, which now included Josh’s younger brother, Jake, who is a student at Long Beach State, younger sister, Mia who plays setter and right side at Mater Dei High School, and youngest brother, Jonah, who is seven years old.
In addition to teaching his children the sport of volleyball, Josh’s father worked multiple jobs to keep the family afloat so that Tinei could stay home with the children. It was important for her to be home with the kids because Josh’s younger brother, Jake, is legally blind.
“He was born fully blind,” Josh said. “Now he has very little vision, but one eye is completely blind and the other is very, very blurry.
“He is one of my favorite people in the entire world. He is attending college on his own, going to classes on his own, he has to remember routes to go to each class, but he doesn’t let his blindness affect the way he wants to live, and that inspires me to do what I do here and keep going.”
A gifted musician, Jake recently sang the National Anthem before Josh’s match against UC San Diego on Saturday, April 7.
“He’s opened my perspective to new things,” Josh said of his brother. “When we were growing up, it was always me and him. I can’t say enough about what he’s done for me. And he doesn’t even know it. I don’t usually tell him a whole lot, but I do show him love and show him that I care about him.”
Providing for five children, one of which was handicapped, the Tuaniga family moved several times looking for better opportunities, before returning to Long Beach when Josh was in middle school.
Seeing the hard work and sacrifices his father was making, Josh learned by example and has the same blue-collar work ethic in everything he does. That gritty, hard-nosed style of play has led Josh to excel on the court as he has amassed 3,277 assists in his collegiate career to rank sixth all-time at Long Beach State. He is just one of seven players in program history to record at least 3,000 career assists.
This season, Josh is averaging 10.61 assists per set to rank second in the Big West and fourth in the nation. He has helped the Beach capture the Big West regular season title in the inaugural season, while posting a 23-0 overall record to set a new program standard for most consecutive victories. But the success he’s had thus far only pushes him harder.
“A goal of mine growing up was to play overseas professionally,” Josh said. “I want to go and experience that. So, for me, that’s the plan: to play as long as I can professionally. Once that is all said and done, I’d love to stay around the sport. I love to train and work with youth. I don’t see myself ever leaving the sport.”
As Josh continues to strive toward his goals both on the court and off, there is one person to which he owes it all. He knows he wouldn’t be at Long Beach State, on the court, or the person he is today without his family, specifically, his father.
“My dad is my rock and the reason I am where I am, and the reason I do what I do,” Josh said. “The person who I am today is because of that man and the work he’s put in and what he preaches. That’s the reason why I – and if you talk to any of my siblings, they’ll have a similar story – that’s why we work hard.”
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