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Post by network155 on Jun 16, 2014 1:50:26 GMT -5
Thanks Cubi for posting!
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Post by Cubicle No More ... on Jul 5, 2014 14:09:06 GMT -5
Shoji might not be ready to walk away after allBy Ferd Lewis, The Star-AdvertiserPOSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Jul 05, 2014 LAST UPDATED: 02:18 a.m. HST, Jul 05, 2014 STAR-ADVERTISER / 2013 Dave Shoji begins his 40th season next month. When Rainbow Wahine volleyball coach Dave Shoji signed his latest deal in 2008, there was little fanfare over what became the longest contract — six years, eight months — in University of Hawaii athletic history. The arrangement was calculated to take Shoji through his 40th season at the school and was unique in its terms and timetable, befitting the school's most accomplished coach. In exchange for Shoji foregoing some common bonus opportunities, the Board of Regents agreed to an adjusted annual base salary ($179,328) that was approximately 25 percent beyond the maximum established range in order to set up his "high three" retirement for 2015. "But," said a UH administrator at the time, "that's still a long time off." Now, as Shoji's 40th season approaches and his current contractual conclusion is less than eight months away, it is still the end of an era — whenever it might come — that few want to contemplate, even as the celebration of his milestone season and overall body of work has begun. Fans are snapping up the Shoji 40th anniversary season T-shirts that feature his smiling face on the front and a partial list of accomplishments on the back. More than 100 were sold in the first three days of the athletic department's new "H-Zone" operation. Officials said a Shoji autograph session is being planned. And a book on Shoji, written by former Honolulu Star-Advertiser volleyball writer Ann Miller, who chronicled the Rainbow Wahine for more than 30 years, is on the way. Meanwhile, the "r-word" is being judiciously avoided by all parties. Athletic director Ben Jay, adopting the posture of some of his predecessors on Shoji's retirement, said, he hasn't broached the subject of "when" with women's volleyball's winningest coach (1,129-190-1). Or even asked for a heads-up. On top of financial struggles and an NCAA investigation, Jay clearly does not need the headache of trying to choose a successor to the man who helped put four national championship banners in the rafters of the Stan Sheriff Center. "I've always said to Dave, ‘You let me know when the time has come. We're just glad to have you,' " Jay said. "I've left it completely up to him. He'll tell me whether he is ready to go on to another one or not." Shoji maintains "I've not made any decision yet" and says it is a conversation with Jay he does not plan on having for a while, perhaps until sometime after his 68th birthday in December. Shoji declared his intention to return for 2014 in a Dec. 28, 2013 posting while on vacation in Europe. This time, Shoji said, "There's no timetable. I'll probably wait until after the season to see how things went and how I feel about it." Ultimately, "it will be a gut feeling," Shoji said. "Obviously, it will depend on how the season goes, how we look for the future and how I feel about all that." In the meantime, expect the celebration of the 40th season to kick up with the knowledge there may not be a 41st. Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.
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Post by redincolorado on Jul 7, 2014 8:10:48 GMT -5
Coach, even though I'm a die hard Huskerfan, I feel the college game won't be as good without you. If I had a magic wand I'd wave it over your health so you could coach another 40 years. IMHO, you are truly one of the crème de la crème of women's college VB coaches. It's because of you I'm also a Hawaii VB fan.
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Post by Cubicle No More ... on Jul 28, 2014 13:30:39 GMT -5
Shoji's volleyball program is university's shining starBy Dave Reardon, The Star-AdvertiserPOSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Jul 27, 2014 LAST UPDATED: 02:08 a.m. HST, Jul 27, 2014 STAR-ADVERTISER / 2013 Dave Shoji has 1,128 victories in his 39 seasons as the Rainbow Wahine’s head coach.It's too bad for Hawaii the college sports world doesn't revolve around women's volleyball instead of football and men's basketball. The University of Hawaii would be doing fine. Its flagship Rainbow Wahine program that includes endowed-scholarship athletes, nation-leading attendance and an .857 all-time winning percentage (.900 the past five years) would have UH among the elite college athletic programs in the nation. Top ten year-after-year, or close enough to it. If volleyball and football traded places in their national mass popularity and ability to generate TV and other sponsorship money, the rest of the sports at Manoa could be beefed up. There would be no deficit. Volleyball could build a stadium for football. Why do you think baseball and the women's sports are so good in the SEC? Football money, in most cases. Reality, though, dictates that UH must settle for a relatively modest annual profit from its best sports team. But these days, anything close to financial self-sufficiency coupled with winning deserves a parade through Waikiki. And coach Dave Shoji, when he finally does retire, will surely get one. Yes, people can -- and do -- complain that the Wahine last won it all in 1987. But let's put this in the proper perspective: When was the last time another revenue-producing sport produced a national championship at Manoa (at least one that was not later taken away)? The answer is never. All four are courtesy of women's volleyball. Zero is also the answer if you're asking how many losing seasons Wahine volleyball has suffered in its 40 years of existence as an intercollegiate sport, the last 39 of them under Shoji. Even now, as UH athletics in general wallows in an ominous pit of despair, the Wahine remain a steady beacon of consistent success and hope. Volleyball's first practice isn't until Aug. 10 and the first match at the Stan Sheriff Center is Aug. 29. But season-ticket sales have already eclipsed the 3,720 of last year. At end of business Friday, 3,733 packages had been purchased, associate athletic director John McNamara said. The Wahine come off a 25-5 campaign that ended with a thud of a second-round NCAA loss to BYU and are probably a bit young to contend for a final-four appearance this season. The upsurge in sales could be due to this perhaps being the final season for the winningest coach in Division I women's volleyball history. And, are some fans switching from football to volleyball? Shoji thinks it could be something else, which would be great for the Wahine program's future. "Frankly it surprised me a little when I heard a couple weeks ago we were close to the level of last year's sales. It is gratifying and we still have a month to go," Shoji said. "We had 500 kids who came to summer camp this year. The volleyball community has been great. This community loves volleyball, the kids love volleyball. New kids coming up, that has something to do with the season tickets. The community out there is on fire for volleyball." Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783. Read his blog at staradvertiser.com/quickreads.
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Post by Cubicle No More ... on Jul 28, 2014 16:55:48 GMT -5
the interesting point from the article is this:
"...season-ticket sales have already eclipsed the 3,720 of last year. At end of business Friday, 3,733 packages had been purchased ..." and that's with a month to go before the season started.
usually in a rebuilding year (like this year is likely to be), the season ticket sales slump a little. it's a testament to the support for shoji ... and probably what many are perceiving will be his final year coaching. it'll be a nice round number: 40 years.
although with shoji, i can see him continuing a little more ... to see what this young core of players (plus what is expected to be another noteworthy class next year) can develop into.
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Post by hawaiifan808 on Jul 30, 2014 4:08:04 GMT -5
I just can't see why Hawai'i athletic department is still spending too much $$$ kala on the krappy.est program they've got. The football team. I have to apologize for the bluntness but the football team has been chasing that fairytale and still think they can be that 12-0 team when brennan was playing. Spend all that money on the womens volleyball team. Upgrade the SSC for christs' sake. Make it bigger so we can rub iit iin Nebraskas faces for once.
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Post by volleyfan24 on Jul 30, 2014 5:48:53 GMT -5
Shoji scheduled appropriately. I am really want to see this team do well and would like to see what Taylor can do for them. The schedule has a lot of teams that finished 2nd in their respective conferences NM, NAU. Also I believe Ohio won theirs, the middle tier PAC-12 teams should help if they can get wins it should be an interesting season for the Wahine. I think expectations are fair, I still think they should win their conference and make a tournament appearance.
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Post by LanaiBoy on Jul 31, 2014 11:20:52 GMT -5
Here's another column on Dave Shoji and his views on the upcoming season. Hope he's right and Tai Olevao realizes her considerable potential given her innate athletic abilities.
Bump, set and spike with Shoji July 30th, 2014 By Dave Reardon
A few quotes from UH volleyball coach Dave Shoji that didn't make it into Sunday's column
Q: Do you consider 2014 to be a rebuilding season? A: I wouldn't classify it as rebuilding. We have five solid players who have played quite a bit. We do need help from one, two or three more. We have some excellent players already in the program. We just have to find who is going to supplement them.
Q: How do you replace a great player like Emily Hartong? A: We think Nikki Taylor is the one who takes a lot of swings. We saw a bit of it last year, more and more as the season progressed. I think she's one that we look to step up. Tai Olevao, with two seasons of experience, she'll need to step up her game. Physically she has the things we need. Great vertcal, fast, quick. She just needs to be more consistent offensively.
Q: Other keys for the season? A: Of course our setting position is, I wouldn't call it a question mark but we will have a new setter. With taylor Higgins based on what we know and what she did last year we think she has a lot of what it takes. We lost (middle) Jade Vorster but replaced her with Olivia McGill, an Arizona transfer. With Olivia, there won't be any drop off.
Q: Your sons, Kawika and Erik, are both performing well on the U.S. men's national volleyball team. How gratifying is that, two sons doing it at their sport's highest level? A. In my mind, we just never knew what level they would eventually get to. As a high school player you never know if they will make the jump to college, next the jump to pro volleyball. In that respect they're at the highest level now. It's pretty unbelievable for any of these kids. We're just counting our blessings that they're taking it this far. They were in the gym all the time, played a bunch of sports, which I think helped their volleyball. So it's not that surprising that brothers would be about the same in athletic ability, of course their volleyball IQ helps."
Q. Your book, written with Ann Miller, is scheduled for release during the season. Any thoughts on it? A. To be honest, I had mixed feelings about it. The people at UH press have been marvelous.
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Post by Cubicle No More ... on Aug 6, 2014 20:15:28 GMT -5
Volleyball coaches pick Wahine to win Big WestBy Ferd Lewis, STAR-ADVERTISERPOSTED: 11:45 a.m. HST, Aug 06, 2014 LAST UPDATED: 12:17 p.m. HST, Aug 06, 2014 STAR-ADVERTISER / NOVEMBER 2013 Hawaii's Tai Manu-Olevao hits over Cal State Northridge players Sam Kaul (15) and Casey Hinger in the first set of the Cal State Northridge vs University of Hawaii Rainbow Wahine volleyball match at Stan Sheriff Center in November.The University of Hawaii Rainbow Wahine have been picked to win a third consecutive Big West Conference volleyball title by the league's coaches. UH received five of the nine first-place votes. Long Beach State, which was picked to finish second, received one first-place vote while third-place UC Santa Barbara got two and fourth place Cal State Northridge one. The Rainbow Wahine were 25-5 overall and 13-3 in the Big West last season and finished 18th in the final. Head coach Dave Shoji opens his 40th season at UH with the Chevron Rainbow Wahine Invitational Aug. 29. The Rainbow Wahine open camp Sunday. Preseason Coaches Poll1. Hawai'i (5) 77 2. Long Beach State (1) 68 3. UC Santa Barbara (2) 63 4. CSUN (1) 60 5. UC Irvine 42 6. Cal Poly 34 7. UC Davis 25 8. Cal State Fullerton 24 9. UC Riverside 12
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Post by Cubicle No More ... on Aug 7, 2014 16:53:31 GMT -5
Voting was close, but coaches favor Wahine to win Big West titleBy Cindy Luis, Star-AdvertiserPOSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Aug 07, 2014 STAR-ADVERTISER / 2013 Dave Shoji and his Rainbow Wahine again were No. 1 in the preseason coaches poll.
They lost a lot. Four starters. Four reserves who saw substantial playing time. Still, it didn't make a dent in the respect the Hawaii volleyball program garnered in what many consider a rebuilding year. The Rainbow Wahine again were No. 1 in the preseason coaches poll, receiving five of the nine first-place votes in the Big West rankings announced Wednesday. That it wasn't close to unanimous, as often has been the case, is a good thing according to a coach who believes Hawaii will win its 20th conference crown. "It's good for the league, it's good to stir up the discussion," said Wahine coach Dave Shoji, entering his 40th season. "I'm sure there's questions in everyone's minds how good we're going to be. It wasn't unanimous, other schools got votes. "I voted us No. 1 because I think we're going to win." Hawaii finished with 77 points, nine more than perennial rival Long Beach State, which received one first-place vote. UC Santa Barbara had two votes and 63 points, with Cal State Northridge getting one vote and 60 points. The gap among the top four in the poll mirrored the gap in the 2013 final standings, which saw Hawaii, UC Santa Barbara and Cal State Northridge all share in the conference title at 13-3 and The Beach at 11-5. Picked fifth was UC Irvine (42 points, 5-11 in '13) followed by Cal Poly (34, 6-10), UC Davis (25, 6-10), Cal State Fullerton (24, 4-12) and UC Riverside (12, 1-15). On Wednesday, Shoji wasn't dwelling on last year, one where he became the all-time winningest coach in Division I women's volleyball. Nor was he looking back at the surprising sweep by Brigham Young in the NCAA second round that ended his 39th season at 25-5. He was looking ahead to Sunday's start of practice and rebuilding a team around returning starters Nikki Taylor and Kalei Adolpho. Hawaii is No. 1 in the Big West until someone proves different. "People think the league is going to be better," he said. "That's still to be determined. The bottom line is you have to win games." Hawaii opens the season with the Chevron Invitational Aug. 29-31. The field includes Ohio, Arizona State and San Diego State, the latter coached for former UH All-American Deitre Collins. BIG WEST COACHES PRESEASON POLLFirst-place votes in parentheses 1. Hawaii (5) 77 2. Long Beach State (1) 68 3. UC Santa Barbara (2) 63 4. CS Northridge (2) 60 5. UC Irvine 42 6. Cal Poly 34 7. UC Davis 25 8. Cal State Fullerton 24 9. UC Riverside 12
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Post by skeleton on Aug 7, 2014 18:13:12 GMT -5
I guess you can vote for yourself to win the conference, not like the WAC. Looks like only BG voted for LB
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Post by lepetitfromage on Aug 10, 2014 11:23:55 GMT -5
Bump
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Post by BeachbytheBay on Aug 10, 2014 11:36:41 GMT -5
I guess you can vote for yourself to win the conference, not like the WAC. Looks like only BG voted for LB seriously doubt BG voted for LB or Shoji voted for Haw was really interesting that North got a first place vote after losing Gedryn then again, Cal Poly's Croson voted his own team 1st two years ago, and they proceeded to win 5 games all year - would love to know who he picked
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Post by Cubicle No More ... on Aug 10, 2014 12:50:52 GMT -5
For Dave Shoji,the past four decades have been a dream of a lifeAs the Rainbow Wahine volleyball coach enters his 40th season, it seems nearly unfathomable that he initially had questions about his preparedness and uncertainty over his ability to get the most out of his playersBy Cindy Luis, STAR-ADVERTISERPOSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Aug 10, 2014 MARTHA HERNANDEZ / MHERNANDEZ@STARADVERTISER.COM Dave Shoji enters his 40th season as head coach of the Rainbow Wahine volleyball teamSTAR-ADVERTISER / 2013 Mary Shoji kissed Dave during a celebration following Shoji’s 1,107th victory, which made him women’s volleyball’s all-time winningest coach.So many questions. So many unknowns. Was he ready? Was he truly prepared? Dave Shoji didn't know. It wasn't like the past few days, where contingencies were in place to ensure that the North Shore wedding of son Kawika happened, come hurricane or high water. No, this was 40 years ago and the 27-year-old Shoji, not that much older than some of his players, wasn't quite sure what to expect on his first day as the Hawaii women's volleyball coach. He knew the players, all nine of them, and knew some of them had been around the sport as long as he had ... and much longer than the Rainbow Wahine program had been in existence. Shoji was going to be the second coach in as many years for Hawaii, which ended its inaugural season in 1974 as the AIAW national runner-up. What was going to be the plan for 1975 for a part-time coach with few scheduled matches and even less money? The journey began as it will continue with today's first practice at the Stan Sheriff Center. With the basic fundamentals. "I don't actually remember that first day, but I do know that we did kind of the same thing we're doing 40 years later," Shoji said. "The philosophy back then was to work on fundamental skills. The tactical things have changed since then, but we still work a lot on skills and fundamentals. "What I remember is feeling somewhat intimidated. I was nervous about coaching the team. I knew a lot of the players through local volleyball and I wasn't sure how they would respond to me. The team had so many veterans already and I was a new coach." Among those returning from coach Alan Kang's 9-1 squad in 1974 were All-Americans Joey Akeo and Beth McLachlin, both of whom were on the radar for the U.S. national team. (McLachlin made the national team, taking 1976 off from UH competition; Akeo was unable to attend tryouts due to finances). McLachlin's husband, Chris, originally had been hired to replace Kang but resigned not long after when faced with a choice to coach and teach at Punahou School full-time or become a part-time coach at UH for a salary of around $1,000. Chris McLachlin recommended the former Kalani and then-assistant Punahou coach to the late Donnis Thompson, then the UH women's athletic director. Shoji, an All-American at UC Santa Barbara and all-service all-star while in the Army, was hired. "Dave's practices were hard," Beth McLachlin recalled. "But we came back (after 1974) with the goal we were going back to the nationals and beat UCLA (for the championship). It was a very spirited team and we worked hard." The Wahine made it back to the national championship match during Shoji's first season but, in a replay of 1974, Hawaii again lost to UCLA. The Wahine finished 16-2 with both losses to the Bruins. While players no longer sweep the floor before practice or share aging Klum Gym with gymnastics equipment, a tradition of excellence established in those years has continued. There have been four national championships, and last season Shoji became the all-time winningest coach in Division I women's volleyball, surpassing his longtime rival and friend, UCLA's Andy Banachowski. The program proved so popular that it led the country in attendance every season since the Sheriff Center opened in 1994 through 2012, last year finishing second to Nebraska and its new arena. There have been other significant milestones in a career spanning five decades, including the evolution of coaching as a full-time career and the national growth of volleyball. Shoji points to his becoming a full-time coach in the early 1980s as significant. "I may have become the first in our sport who didn't have any other duties,," Shoji said. "Other coaches were getting full-time salaries, but they also were teaching P.E. or kinesiology classes. It was a hard concept to understand for other people. I remember being asked, 'But what else do you do?' "And somewhere in the '90s is when volleyball started to become a national sport. More girls started playing all over the country, conferences like the Big Ten started getting good players, good coaches, good teams. Now there are good players and clubs everywhere. It's a national sport, beyond what used to be just beach cities ... although this year two San Diego teams were in the finals (of the prestigious 18 Open Girls National Championships)." Shoji was there to watch in Minneapolis, as he continued to recruit for upcoming seasons. It was part of several mainland summer trips that included two to the Chicago area to watch sons Kawika and Erik play for the U.S. men's national team; the U.S. eventually won the World League title. Seeing his sons live their dreams is part of what Shoji calls his 'dream of a life.'" "You never know how good someone is going to be, how they'll take the next level," said Shoji, whose sons won an NCAA championship at Stanford and have gone on to pro careers in Europe. "It's very gratifying to see them excel, but it's not only our sons. A lot of Hawaii kids are playing at a really high level. That says something about volleyball in Hawaii. "Mary (his wife of 28 years) and I have been so blessed with God's grace on us. I can't imagine how it could be any better. We live a comfortable life, have a loving family. It's stressful at times, but looking at the whole big picture, it's hard to imagine it being any better." As for this season, it's just part of the journey, one that was unexpected and unexpectedly rewarding. The challenge will be in getting a fairly young team to again advance to the postseason in the quest for a fifth national title. "The journey has been unbelievable," he said. "To come out of college, looking for a high school teaching job ... I probably would have been happy and satisfied with that, teaching and coaching high school. "It's turned out to be this, something you couldn't plan for. It's been a dream, and I hope I don't wake up for a while."
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Post by Courtside5 on Aug 11, 2014 0:13:38 GMT -5
Aloha all!
Its been a long wait for the season to start. Lots of new faces and questions to be answered. Very curious to see how this years team will do.
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