WAILUA — Kaua’i’s rich volleyball history and the five T’s of success were the highlights of the presentation by University of Hawai’i Rainbow Wahine Volleyball head coach Dave Shoji, last night at the Contractors Association of Kaua’i (CAK) annual meeting
WAILUA — Kaua’i’s rich volleyball history and the five T’s of success were the highlights of the presentation by University of Hawai’i Rainbow Wahine Volleyball head coach Dave Shoji, last night at the Contractors Association of Kaua’i (CAK) annual meeting and installation dinner at the Kaua’i Beach Hotel and Resort.
“Kaua’i volleyball is very outstanding. We go back to the 70s and 80s, with players like Aukai Gonsalves and Leah Karratti,” Shoji said.
The hall of fame coach noted that Karratti played in the longest game in Rainbow Wahine Volleyball history against BYU in the WAC conference championship game.
In that contest, the former Menehune standout put down the winning kill for Hawai’i.
Shoji’s five T’s of success, which are technology, training, team, technique, and tactics, gave the listening audience the framework of the Rainbow Wahine program.
“Girls are a little different. It definitely is a factor and we do lots of team bonding,” Shoji said.
Dennis Esaki of Esaki Surveying and Mapping introduced Shoji and warmed up the CAK members with some humor.
“He’s (Shoji) got a record of nearly 900 wins. That’s an impressive mark with all the women he’s worked with, considering that most of us men have trouble dealing with one woman,” Shoji said.
The Rainbow Wahine head man went on to say that “trying to keep 18 women happy is a really tough task.”
“If they’re happy and like each other, they’ll do better as a team,” Shoji said.
But obviously, Shoji has mastered the art of coaching women’s volleyball.
Just recently, he was named the all-time great coach by USA Volleyball.
Shoji has a 895-157-1 career record at UH, but his biggest feat is probably the fact that he’s been able to keep his team on the upswing academically.
Last season, the Rainbow Wahine Volleyball team boasted the highest GPA in the UH athletic department.
