Joe Pao Pao comes back home to Oceanside High

Former Oceanside High Alum and qb Joe Pao Pao returns home to coach football

By David A. Willauer-John Carroll Stadium-Thursday, August 17, 2017-Joe Pao Pao known for his miracle passing abilities and coaching duties in the Canadian Football League, and Canadian Universities after coach his last duties at Simon Fraser, came back to his roots as a kid at Oceanside High School and graduated in 1973 sharing his football experiences with the kids as he was named one of the assistant coaches with the Pirates. Joe keeps on going and going still by coaching football.

Joe Pao Pao on coming back to Oceanside High: "I'm amazed at the talent that these players have and when looking for colleges, the job is to go to school and to graduate on time and will have a great high school experience here through school and athletics which happens to be football. said Joe Pao Pao/

" Back when I played that was when they had real grass out here this is a football school my father was stationed on a lot of military bases, I was born in Hawaii this is how I transferred from here from the high school on the marine base to Oceanside High, along with a lot of Polynesian's who have transferred here because of the base." " Oceanside is an amazing city that is right on the water and the last town in North County as I'm proud to be a part of the traditioned program." said Pao Pao

After graduating from Oceanside High School Pao Pao went to Mira Costa Jr College for 2 years then transferred to Long Beach State where he set a lot of football records in passing. From
Long Beach State, the throwing Samoan played 11 years in the Canadian Football League with the British Columbia Lions. In 1981, 1984 and 1985 where he passed for 3000 yards and threw for 49 touchdown passes while with the British Columbia Lions where he played for 6 seasons,then was traded to the Saskatchewan Rough Riders for 3 seasons to the Ottawa Roughriders in 1987 was traded back to the BC Lions in 1988.

" I played and coached in The Grey Cup as I went 1-1 which is a real deal in any championship level no matter if it's high school, college, Pop Warner or the Pros you have to work real hard to get there sometimes it's an outstanding environment I was proud of a lot of great coaches or the other opponents along with the city of Vancouver is really cool." said Joe Pao Pao.

"I played with outstanding football players in the CFL from a lot of good football traditioned colleges as in Warren Moon (now comentating football for the Seattle Seahawks) he was drafted the same time in the Canadian Football League as I was after coming out of the University of Washington Huskies for 5 years." "Other players that were outstanding were Tom Clements from Notre Dame, Condridge Holloway from Tennessee, John Hufnagel from Penn State."

In 1989, the Throwing Samoan retired as a player from the CFL and got into his love of coaching football. With his credentials he has coached the British Columbia Lions for 6 years along with 1 year as head coach, 1 year as the San Francisco Demons of the XFL, Edmonton Eskimos, Winnipeg Blue Bombers ,the Ottawa Renegades for 3 years as head coach, Hamilton Tiger Cats, the University of Waterloo for 2 years in Canada and for 2 years coached at Simon Frasier in British Columbia before retiring.

"I was fortunate to coach in the CFL along with the 2 Canadian Universities for 20 years now since I retired from coaching in the pro and college ranks my heart is always with Oceanside. said Joe Pao Pao