08/10/2026
Mana Monday is back, and today we are featuring Josh Watase!
Josh is an active community member who works in the golf course industry while giving back to his community. He is currently a groundskeeper at Navy Marine Golf Course and an assistant coach for Mililani High School's football and boys basketball teams.
At Navy Marine Golf Course, Josh works to maintain immaculate playing conditions for golfers while learning the ins and outs of the golf course industry. He feels a strong sense of purpose in his work because he believes he is giving back to the local golf community. Having played golf since he was seven years old, Josh continues to enjoy the game both recreationally and competitively. Prior to joining Navy Marine Golf Course, he was a groundskeeper at Waiʻalae Country Club, where he worked at three Sony Open tournaments, a PGA Tour event featuring some of the best golfers in the world.
Josh is also an assistant coach for the football and boys basketball teams at Mililani High School. After working his way up from student manager to assistant coach, he has helped both programs remain highly competitive throughout the State of Hawaiʻi year after year. As an assistant coach, Josh was part of two OIA Championship-winning teams: boys basketball in 2022 and football in 2023.
Not only has Josh coached some of the state's top athletes, but he has also served as a mentor to many of them. Numerous student-athletes he has coached have gone on to achieve great success after graduating from Mililani High School, including earning collegiate athletic scholarships, graduating from colleges and universities, and becoming positive influences in their communities.
Josh's goal is to continue growing and learning on the golf course, on the sidelines, and within the YP community. He is pursuing his ambition of becoming the superintendent of his own golf course in the near future. He also hopes to help lead his Mililani teams to OIA and state championships while continuing to develop student-athletes into better people and community leaders.
Josh is a member of the YP Membership Committee. He says: "The impact the YP program has had on me is that I get to meet present and future leaders of our community and learn who they are both professionally and personally. I am able to apply many of the things I learn through YP and from others to my personal and professional life. I also have the opportunity to build long-lasting relationships with people my age who are actively pursuing their own goals and ambitions."
