Jessica Iwata is working to get her throwing arm back into shape. Her swing appears to again be in prime condition.

The University of Hawaii senior plans to have both facets game-ready when the Rainbow Wahine softball team opens the season in a little less than a month.

Iwata has started 169 games at shortstop over the past three seasons, but didn’t play defense during UH’s fall exhibitions while she rehabbed an injury to her throwing shoulder. She’s working on a throwing program to build strength in her arm with a goal of being back in her customary spot in the infield when the Rainbow Wahine begin the 2013 season on Feb. 7.

"I should be ready in the next month or so," Iwata said. "This is my last year so I want to finish strong."

UH began its on-field preparation this week, getting an earlier jump on practice than usual. Coach Bob Coolen plans to alternate practice days with conditioning sessions early on.

While a month can sound like a long time to wait, Coolen is anticipating a speedy January.

"In the spring you start getting into the finer aspects. What do you do on a squeeze, what do you on a delayed steal," Coolen said. "So you go through all the little situations in this time frame and before you know it February is already on you."

Iwata plans to use that time to get closer to full duty. She was used as a designated player during the fall and hopes her shoulder will hold up to allow her to return to shortstop. Playing second base is a possibility as a "Plan B."

"I think it’ll be more of a mental thing and I’ll just have to deal with what comes with the injury," Iwata said.

As for Iwata’s prowess at the plate, Coolen was impressed with Iwata’s performance in batting practice on Tuesday, the team’s first full workout of the spring.

"If she hits the ball like she did (Tuesday), that’s fine," Coolen said. "She was ‘on.’ "

Iwata was on for pretty much all of last season, when UH finished 44-9. She hit a team-best .400 and led the Wahine with 57 runs batted in. She hit 14 home runs and walked 32 times with just 15 strikeouts in 185 plate appearances. She also led the team in on-base percentage (.503) and slugging percentage (.740).

She’ll help carry leadership responsibilities this season as one of five seniors on a roster that includes nine freshmen.

The Wahine open the season with the Oceanic Time Warner Cable Paradise Classic, Feb. 7-9. The tournament also features Washington, Saint Mary’s, Mississippi and UAB.

"We have a good schedule this year. … It’ll really test us as seniors, and as a group we’re going to have to keep our team together," Iwata said.

"I think we got a feel for who we are as a team in the fall. We had a lot of work to do in the fall, I think we got a lot of questions answered and once we get a set lineup we’ll see how we flow through the lineup and on the field."

Robinson to host hitting clinic

Former UH All-American Kate Robinson will lead a hitting clinic Jan. 26 at Moanalua High School. She’ll be joined by former Cal State Fullerton standout Lauren Lupinetti and members of the Moanalua varsity team.

The clinic will be split into two sessions for players ages 11 and under (8-10 a.m.) and ages 11 to 14 (10-noon) and will be limited to 20 players per session. The fee is $30 with a portion of the proceeds benefitting the Moanalua softball team.

To register, contact Robinson at katemr08@gmail.com or 282-0176. More information is available at robinsonsoftballtraining.com.