West Liberty University Athletics

Albert “Abu” Ma’afala (pronounced MAH-ah-FAH-la) enters his fifth season as West Liberty’s special teams coordinator. He will also be working with the Hilltopper tight ends and wide receivers this fall after coaching the running backs last season.
    The nephew of former NFL running back Chris Fuamatu-Ma’afala has made his presence felt in his first four years on the WLU staff. Hilltopper special teams have been charted with 13 blocked kicks during Ma’afala’s time as special teams coordinator. Punter Griffin Yocum shattered nearly every punting record on the Hilltopper books while earning three consecutive All-Conference honors. Placekicker Bryan Arbes ranked No. 3 in the nation in 2013 with a school-record 19 field goals.
    As one of several rising young coaches nationwide selected to participate in the 2013 Bill Walsh NFL Minority Coaching Fellowship, Ma’afala spent the 2013 preseason on a coaching internship in training camp with the NFL’s Carolina Panthers. The program is designed to target promising minority coaches across the nation with the goal of ultimately increasing the number of full-time minority coaches in the NFL.
    Ma’afala’s path to the hilltop began in his native Hawaii, where he was a first-team all-state and all-conference defensive lineman at Kamehameha High School in Honolulu. He signed with the University of Hawaii and had an immediate impact. Making his collegiate debut against Eastern Illinois, he intercepted a pass by future Dallas Cowboys QB Tony Romo and returned it 32 yards for a touchdown. Ma’afala went on to play in 19 games over two seasons at Hawaii before transferring to the University of California.
    After sitting out his transfer year, he emerged as a mainstay on the Golden Bears’ defensive front. A part-time starter who played in every game as a junior, Ma’afala became a full-time starter as a senior and earned the team’s Most Improved Defensive Lineman Award. Following the season, he was selected to play for the West All-Star Team in the Hula Bowl.
    Ma’afala began his coaching career as a graduate assistant with the University of Louisville from 2008-10, working on the defensive side of the ball for Cardinal head coaches Steve Kragthorpe and Charlie Strong.
    Ma’afala graduated from California in 2007 with a degree in American Studies and earned his master’s degree in Exercise Physiology from Louisville in 2010. He and his wife, Marleina, reside in Woodsdale with their son Levi and daughter Lanei.