Coach H Scholarship Applications Open

Molokai High School Class of 2025 graduates Chloe Tancayo and Reyn Raguindin received the Coach H scholarship in 2025. Photo by MHS Athletic Department

By Léo Azambuja

Coach H may have passed away six years ago, but his legacy continues to inspire high-school athletes to strive for their best, both in academics and in varsity sports. The Loʻi Collective Foundation recently announced applications for the Coach H Scholarship are now open.

“Peter Haliniak Jr., affectionately referred to as ʻCoach H’ or ‘Mister H,’ was a dedicated coach and athlete who profoundly influenced countless student-athletes throughout Hawaii,” the Loʻi Collective Foundation announced, adding they will award four $500 scholarships to student-athletes from Roosevelt and Molokai High schools who will be pursuing post-secondary education or vocational training. Each school will have one male and one female scholarship recipient.

To qualify for the scholarship, student-athletes must be high-school seniors, have participated in a varsity sport for at least two consecutive years, maintained at least a 3.0 cumulative Grade Point Average, and provide official documentation verifying community service participation.

“The Coach H Scholarship reflects The Lo‘i Collective’s continued commitment to uplifting student-athletes who demonstrate excellence in academics, athletics, and community leadership,” the foundation states in a news release.

In 2025, the Coach H Scholarship was awarded to Molokai High School graduates Chloe Tancayo and Reyn Raguindin, with a grade point average of 3.75 and 3.67 respectively. 

Tancayo, at that time, thanked the Haliniak ‘ohana and said she would pursue her goal of becoming a pharmacist and return to Molokai to provide for the community that helped her so much. Raguinding thanked the foundation for the scholarship, which he said would help him to buy supplies and equipment for his first year in college. 

Born on Aug. 10, 1943, Haliniak Jr. was raised on Molokai, and graduated from Roosevelt High School in Honolulu in 1961. In high school, he excelled in football, basketball and track. 

With a coaching career spanning more than 50 years — mostly at Roosevelt High School —  he became known as Coach H, and coached football, boys’ basketball, girls’ basketball and softball. 

Coach H was one of the first college women’s softball coaches in Hawaii, starting the softball program at Hawaii Pacific College in 1984, known today as Hawaii Pacific University. He returned to Molokai with his teams each year to give back to the island.

A staunch advocate of high school sports, especially in girls’ athletics, he had a significant impact in the Title IX movement while working alongside the late U.S. Sen. Patsy Minsk to ensure female athletes had the same opportunities as male athletes. Minsk co-authored and sponsored the federal law passed in 1972, which prohibits sex discrimination across the board — staff or students — in any educational institution or program aided by federal funds. 

Coach H passed away on Feb. 10, 2020. His legacy is continued by the Haliniak ‘ohana through the Lo‘i Collective Foundation

Applicants must submit a current resume through email to main@theloicollective.ort or hoku@theloicollective.ort or through regular mail to The Lo‘i Collective, 2047 Uhaloa Rd., Hilo HI 96720. All applications must be received by March 31 at 4 p.m.

Selected candidates will be notified via email to schedule an interview, which will be conducted virtually or in person. Recipients will be notified by telephone or email within two weeks following the final interview. 

Email main@theloicollective.org or call (808) 756-1544 for more information.