Dave Shoji (born December 4, 1946) is an American sports coach who was the head coach of the University of Hawaii at Mānoa

Rainbow Wahine Volleyball The Hawaii Rainbow Wahine volleyball team is the NCAA Division I women's volleyball team for the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. They are a member of the Big West Conference and are led by head coach, Robyn Ah Mow-Santos. The Rainbow Wahine ...

team from 1975 to 2017. Under his leadership, the Rainbow Wahine won four national titles (1979, 1982, 1983, 1987). As of September 6, 2013 his record was 1,107–185–1, which translates to a winning percentage of 85.7%. On September 6, 2013 he became the winningest coach in Division I women's volleyball history with 1,107 wins, breaking the record formerly held by former UCLA head coach

Andy Banachowski John Andrew Banachowski (born August 1945) is an American volleyball coach. He was the head coach of the women's volleyball team at UCLA (1965–2010). He had more wins than any other Division I coach, with 1,106 total victories and an overall rec ...

. Shoji earned the win in 4 games over

Santa Clara University Santa Clara University is a private Jesuit university in Santa Clara, California. Established in 1851, Santa Clara University is the oldest operating institution of higher learning in California. The university's campus surrounds the historic Mis ...

. His teams are known for having great ball control. Shoji coached many standout players, including Deitre Collins, Teee Williams,

Angelica Ljungqvist Angelica Elsa Birgitta Ljungqvist (formerly Angelica Ljungquist, born 20 December 1974) is a Swedish former volleyball player and coach, both at the amateur and professional level. She was also the associate coach for the women's volleyball team a ...

Robyn Ah Mow-Santos Robyn Mokihana Ah Mow (born September 15, 1975) is the head coach of the Hawaii Rainbow Wahine volleyball team and a former American indoor volleyball player. She was a setter on the USA national team and played at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, th ...

Kim Willoughby Kim Marie Willoughby (born November 7, 1980) is a retired American indoor volleyball player. She is 5'11" (1.80 m) and is an outside hitter. In 2007, she played professionally for the Italian Serie A League Familia Chieri. In April 2008, she joi ...

, Kanani Danielson and Nikki Taylor. Ah-Mow Santos succeeded Shoji as head coach of the Rainbow Wahine after his retirement on February 20, 2017. Shoji played collegiate volleyball at the

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduate ...

, serving as the team's setter and earning All-American honors in 1968 and 1969. Shoji is also a graduate of the University of Hawaii ROTC program. Shoji's elder son,

Kawika Shoji Kawika Tennefos Shoji (born November 11, 1987) is an American former professional volleyball player. He was a member of the US national team from 2011 to 2021. The 2014 World League and the 2015 World Cup winner. Personal life Kawika's parent ...

, was a 3-year starting setter for the

Stanford Cardinal The Stanford Cardinal are the athletic teams that represent Stanford University. As of June, 2022, Stanford's program has won 131 NCAA team championships. Stanford has won at least one NCAA team championship each academic year for 46 consecutive ...

men's volleyball team. During his senior year in 2010 Kawika led Stanford to the 2010 NCAA national championship and was selected as the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) player-of-the-year. Shoji's younger son,

Erik Shoji Erik Thomas Shoji (born August 24, 1989) is an American professional volleyball player. He is a member of the US national team, a bronze medalist at the Olympic Games Rio 2016 and the 2018 World Championship, 2014 World League and 2015 World ...

, played as a libero for Stanford's volleyball team. Erik was the first player in AVCA history to earn first-team AVCA honors four years in a row.

Early life

Shoji was born on December 4, 1946. His father,

Kobe Shoji Kobe Shoji (July 27, 1920November 13, 2004) was an American executive in the sugar cane industry, veteran of the 442nd Infantry Regiment, and athlete. Early life Shoji was born in Upland, California; his father, a Japanese immigrant, owned ...

, was a veteran of the

442nd Infantry Regiment The 442nd Infantry Regiment ( ja, 第442歩兵連隊) was an infantry regiment of the United States Army. The regiment is best known as the most decorated in U.S. military history and as a fighting unit composed almost entirely of second-gene ...

who won two Purple Hearts. When he was four, his family moved to

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island o ...

, where his father became a well-known expert in sugar cane production.

Head coaching record

Women's

Men's

Notes

In film

Dave Shoji's role in the first few years of women's athletics at the University of Hawaii is chronicled in the documentary fil
Rise of the Wahine
directed by Dean Kaneshiro. Dave was hired by UH's first female Athletic Director Dr. Donnis Thompson shortly after the passing of Title IX.

NCAA representation

On November 1, 2005,

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

named an NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball 25th Anniversary Team. The team featured Middle Blocker Deitre Collins and Coach Dave Shoji as head coach, of seven total honorees. Tonya "Teee" Williams had also been further named to the 1980s NCAA all-Decade team for accolades.

References

External links

Hawaii profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shoji, Dave 1946 births Living people American volleyball coaches Hawaii Rainbow Warriors volleyball coaches Hawaii Rainbow Wahine volleyball coaches UC Santa Barbara Gauchos baseball players UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's volleyball players American sportspeople of Japanese descent