After nearly three hours of non-stop drills and a "little bonus" scrimmage Saturday morning, Hawaii confirmed what volleyball coach Dave Shoji already knew in the first practice of the 2013 season.
These Rainbow Wahine are mature — seven seniors — and focused. He stopped practice just once to go over a technical point.
What he doesn’t know, he will probably find out minutes into the season opener, Aug. 30 against reigning NCAA champion Texas.
"How tough are we, how much heart do we have?" Shoji pondered, listing his most basic questions. "Can we play when things are going bad? That stuff you never know until you are into the season. We could be in a position where we have to show how much we love the game … quick."
For the next three weeks, the relentlessness of two-a-day practices will replace last month’s grind of summer school and individual workouts.
Shoji and his players counted the days until the first practice.
"I was …," sophomore Kayla Kawamura said, searching for the right word, "anxious."
In a good way.
The team is eager to see what seven seniors can accomplish as the end of their careers closes in.
How much better can All-American Emily Hartong and all-region Mita Uiato and all-conference Jade Vorster get?
How much have the games of Kalei Adolpho, Ginger Long and Tai Manu-Olevao grown?
What are first-year players Tayler Higgins, Nikki Taylor and Kyra Goodman prepared to provide?
What will a preseason full of 2012 NCAA tournament opponents bring and will that NCAA-best 73-match conference winning streak end?
Is a fifth national title possible before Shoji calls it a career?
"I think it all comes down to the power of the team," Higgins said. "Everyone in every single position is strong and we have really strong leaders too. All the seniors … we have a ton of seniors and they are all pretty influential in what happens. They are all nice too. That’s helpful for us."
Until Saturday, that help mostly included advice on which teachers to take and short cuts on campus. Now the seniors’ experience takes on more urgency and becomes more personal, particularly for sisters Kaela and Kyra Goodman. They were born on Maui, raised in Southern California — spending every summer here — and are now sharing Kaela’s final college season as teammates.
Aside from Kyra having a "personal trainer" to prepare her for the college game this past summer, it isn’t all that big a deal.
"We all treat each other like family anyway," Kaela says. "This is just blood related."
Clearly, the Goodmans have discussed this team’s personality, and come to an agreement.
"I would say we’re mellow together, but we can be intense on the court," Kaela explained. "We’re all really comfortable together so we can joke around, but we’re able to hold each other accountable too."
No surprise there for Shoji either. All he needs to know now is how talented this team is, and how much heart it has.
Notes
» JC transfer Keani Passi will redshirt this season. The 5-foot-9 junior from Waianae — a Pearl City graduate — was the national JC Player of the Year last season, leading College of Southern Idaho to the national title.
» The Wahine Volleyball Booster Club will run the Ace Club pledge program again this year and is adding another program for blocks. Fans can pledge money per ace or roof, with funds going to support the program.
The club also has started a campaign to endow a Wahine volleyball scholarship in honor of Shoji. Information will be available at home matches and online at orgsites.com/hi/wahinevbbc.
