Volleyball Coach Finds Rainbow End in Hawaii

When Dave Shoji became head women’s volleyball coach at the University of Hawaii, his main concern was a matter of surviving.

In 1975, it was one of several part-time jobs he took just to make ends meet.

Midway through the 1985 campaign, Shoji has recorded his 300th career victory--a major accomplishment when one considers his age (38) and the fact that his early teams faced only a handful of collegiate opponents.

And among his achievements are the greatest coaches can attain--not one, but back-to-back NCAA championships in 1982 and 1983, plus the AIAW title in 1979.

Despite high recognition in his field from his peers, Shoji downplays his success.

“The credit belongs to the university and players,” the low-keyed Shoji said shortly after reaching his milestone victory. “We’ve been real fortunate the program was built on sturdy ground and that we have been able to attract good years year-in and year-out.

“The 300 wins belong to the university and program. I just share it with the university and players.”

At the time he took over, the Hawaii program was in its embryonic stage and national recognition was the farthest thing on his mind.

“I didn’t see the national scope of women’s volleyball at the University of Hawaii when I took over. The person behind it was (former women’s athletic director) Donnis Thompson, who built the schedule and gained local and national recogniion,” Shoji said.

“In the beginning, it was a dream and a promise. I stayed on hoping to attain that dream, to make it come true.”

He’s not about to give up, either. Possibly, Shoji could wind up with an all-time collegiate winning record.

“It is conceivable that I will be coaching in 10 years time,” he said. “There are other things within athletics that I may want to do in the future, but I think it will be involved in athletics and-or volleyball in another 10 years.”

His career in the coaching field has been likened to that of a steamroller.

Because of the limited schedule, he started slowly, winning 13 of 15 games his first year in 1975 and 14 of 19 the next. Those were the “shoestring budget” years.

His teams upped the victory total to 21 and 29 the next two years, but since then, it’s been 30 or more victories, including a phenomenal 33-1 mark in 1983 when Hawaii won its first of two consecutive NCAA titles.

His lifetime winning percentage with the Rainbow Wahines is close to the .850 mark.

“When you start coaching, you never think of winning a certain number,” he said “All you can do to do is to do well.”

He has has done well enough to be selected by the Collegiate Volleyball Coaches’ Assn. as Coach of the Year in 1982.

“I guess when you’re in the game long enough, you’re going to get an ‘x’ amount of wins. On the other hand, it’s good to know you can accomplish something if you work hard at it,” Shoji said.

“All the numbers don’t mean that much to me. I’m more proud of the fact that we’ve won three national championships, that we’ve never been out of the Top 10, that we’re developing players that are All-Americas and making national teams.

“That’s what collegiate coaching means to me.”