Hawaii’s Shoji just enjoying another ride

Each passing year at NCAA Tournament time it has been a ritual for Dave Shoji and those of the pioneering women’s volleyball coaching era to inquire about each other’s plans.

“We always ask each other, ‘How long are you gonna go?’” Shoji says.

Only there are very few of those peers left to ask these days.

Shoji, who will turn 70 Sunday, is one of the last of the foundation-building coaches who were around at not only the first NCAA Tournament in 1981 but the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics (AIAW) tournaments that preceded it.

“Some of my age group, Andy (Banachowski of UCLA), Kathy Gregory (UC Santa Barbara) and Mike Hebert (Minnesota), they have all chosen to to go into retirement, so it is obviously something I think about all the time,” Shoji said.

As we watch the Rainbow Wahine in the regionals that open Friday in Minneapolis against USC, let that be fair warning there are a dwindling number of opportunities to appreciate in action the work of the man who has brought four national championships to UH.

Certainly there are no guarantees from Shoji how many more times he will be courtside to expand on 1,201 victories and counting. A mark achieved by only Shoji and Penn State’s Russ Rose.

Asked whether this NCAA tournament could be the final chapter in his celebrated 42-year coaching career at UH, Shoji laughs and then chooses his words carefully. “I mean, obviously, I’ll think about it when we either win the national championship or we get eliminated. It will be something I think about this year.”

Shoji maintains that he isn’t leaning heavily one way or the other and says, “We just need to focus right now on trying to win some games and, then, we will deal with it.”

A succession of athletic directors have let the school’s most iconic coach write his own ticket and Shoji has been telling them — and prospective recruits — that it is a year-to-year decision. “I’ve been saying that to the last four (recruiting) classes. Right up front they are told that,” Shoji said.

He has also warned athletic director David Matlin to be ready when the decision comes. “David and I have already had discussions about my retirement, so he’s very aware of my (year-to-year) situation,” Shoji said.

Asked what advice he gave Matlin, Shoji said, “’Well, I think you need to have a plan (to choose) my successor,’ and he understands,” Shoji said.

The decision, Shoji says, will be less about the prospects for the team that is returning and more about his own feelings. “The (talent of the) team that comes back won’t have any bearing on my decision,” Shoji said. “The program is in good shape right now and we have great players coming back next year.”

Shoji said, “We have a couple good recruiting classes coming in, so that won’t be a factor. No, it is just how I feel about it. The team will be solid and we’ve got recruiting classes lined up already for 2017 and ‘18.”

Shoji’s opposite number Friday, the Trojans Mick Haley, is 73, and, “He doesn’t even talk about retirement,” Shoji said.

“Well, I’ve certainly thought about retirement, so it is nothing that is going to come as a surprise to me or anybody else,” Shoji said. “I’ve made some statements that it is going to come and it is going to happen, so everybody needs to be ready for that.”

After a record-setting career, that might be harder for the UH faithful than many think.

Reach Ferd Lewis at flewis@staradvertiser.com or 529-4820.