While the cat’s away the mice will play … to a point.

Head coach Dave Shoji may be seven hours away in Brazil, but his staff made sure the Hawaii women’s volleyball coach was present when the first practice of the season got underway this morning at the Stan Sheriff Center.

A large poster of the AVCA Hall of Famer began its two-week stint as a sideline fixture along with the regimen Shoji left before departing last Wednesday for the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Three of the Rainbow Wahine seniors have been in the program longer than any of the remaining coaches, but “it’s an experienced group,” said volunteer coach Tom Pestolesi, a former UH All-American on sabbatical from his coaching and teaching jobs at Irvine Valley (Calif.) College for this season. “What’s neat is that he is trusting us … he has no choice … but he knows we’ll get some good stuff done while he’s gone so that when he comes back, he can see what’s been done and tweak it. We’re not going to do anything crazy.

“I’m really excited for a lot of reasons. It’s been on my professional bucket list and it’s an amazing opportunity.”

First-year assistant Lindsey Berg agrees.

“It’s exciting,” said Berg, a three-time Olympic setter. “We’ve gone over the schedule with Dave — things are pretty straight-forward.

“We all bring different things to the gym and that’s exciting. The staff meshes well and I’m looking forward to starting.”

Both Pestolesi and Berg have a history with Shoji that goes back decades. Pestolesi played for Shoji in the early 1980s when Shoji coached both the UH women’s and men’s programs, and Berg played for Shoji during her club days at Asics Rainbows in the 1990s.

The history also includes Kaleo Baxter, the first director of volleyball operations the program has had in its 43 seasons. Baxter, a volunteer assistant for Pestolesi during IVC’s state championship run of 2014, held the same position with the Wahine (2011-13).

“Everyone knows what’s going on already,” said Pestolesi, married to former Wahine All-American Diane Sebastian Pestolesi. “We have different strengths and weaknesses, and my strength is being in the gym with the kids, it’s not administrative. Lindsey is unbelievably organized and Kaleo is so diligent.

“I know how Dave feels, being gone. The only way I could do this is because I know I have incredible help (at IVC). Dave is thinking about it, but he has that trust in us. In his 42 years, he hasn’t missed a whole lot, but he is 100 percent doing what he should be doing (being at the Olympics).”

Jeff Hall is in his second year as associate head coach and “I know what Dave likes,” he said. “We’re not going to change the practice template. My job is to fill in the blanks. We’ll make small tweaks, move bodies around to see what it looks like.

“We’ve got a great staff. I’ve known Tom for a long time, he’s an unbelievable coach. And Lindsey, an Olympian, is someone who knows what it takes to get to that level. It will be fun to have new eyeballs at practice.

“The top goal is to reach the final four. The new coaching additions could help us do that.”