By George F. Lee,, Star-Bulletin
Tehani Miyashiro is regarded
as Hawaii's best passer.
Wahine Miyashiro
not short on talent
Hawaii looks for a way
By Cindy Luis
to keep her on the court
Star-BulletinMost recruiting trips last a weekend. Tehani Miyashiro's lasted most of her childhood. Miyashiro and Cobey Shoji were on various athletic teams together, from youth soccer to club and high school volleyball. That made it easy for Shoji's father, who is the University of Hawaii women's coach, to begin scouting Miyashiro earlier than usual.
"I watched Tehani grow up and I've known for a long, long time what kind of athlete she is," Dave Shoji said. "She's always had complete confidence in her skills and has always practiced hard."
Miyashiro will anchor the University of Hawaii defense when it takes on No. 22 Loyola Marymount tonight (5:30 p.m. HST) at Long Beach, Calif., in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The 5-foot-7 back-row specialist is the first second-generation Wahine in Shoji's 23-year tenure. Miyashiro's mother, the former Joey Akeo, was on Hawaii's first varsity team in 1974 under Alan Kang. She played for Shoji her next three seasons, earning AIAW All-America honors in 1977.
"The program has come a long way since I played," Joey Miyashiro said.
During her career, UH finished second three times and third at the AIAW nationals. "It's interesting for me to watch Tehani play in front of the big crowds with all the attention. It wasn't like that when we played.
"There wasn't pressure for her to stay and play at home. If anything, her father (Kalani High School athletic director Gordon Miyashiro) talked more with her about going away for school. I didn't have the chance to go away and I wanted her to see the world."The island world was big enough for the younger Miyashiro, a Volleyball Magazine Fab 50 selection and high school All-American. But when she gave Shoji her verbal commitment, he didn't accept it. At least now right away.
"He said, 'That's nice, Tehani, but let me talk to your mother first,' " Joey Miyashiro said, recalling the conversation. "Then he asked if I was OK with the decision.
"I knew she had explored other options. There were so many things that played into her decision to stay home . . . the crowds, how the people treated her, last year's team, her cousin (sophomore hitter Aven Lee) being on the team. I didn't want her to be compared to me and what I had accomplished. I wanted her to be seen for her own merits."
So good so far. She was named the Western Athletic Conference Pacific Division's Defensive Specialist of the Year, the only freshman named to the first team.
She leads the Wahine in digs, despite playing less than half the time. She is considered the team's best passer, and her all-around ability has Shoji searching for a way to keep her on the court all the time.
"We're looking at her as a possible setter or maybe outside (hitter)," he said. "Her height is her only drawback. She's such a strong, smart player. We'd like to have her out there as much as we can."
Miyashiro feels the same way. The Punahou School product and all-state selection just wants to play -- where ever.
"I'd like to set," said Miyashiro, who has played that position several times this season. "I want to be in there all the time."
"She can play anywhere," said Lee, an all-state player at Kamehameha Schools. "The only thing about her being a setter is that it takes her out of the passing rotation and she's our best passer.
"I guess volleyball is in our blood. We both like to win and wish we were about two inches taller. We're different in that she's more intense, more of a perfectionist."
Shoji says there are few similarities between mother and daughter. The game has changed a lot since Joey was in a Wahine uniform 20 years ago.
"Strength-wise, that's about the closest you can come to comparing them," Shoji said. "Both are very, very strong players. Joey hit a very heavy ball. She was a complete kind of player, a natural talent. What I remember most is how hard she hit the ball."
Tehani pounds the ball, too. But her mother wanted her to excel in areas she didn't -- running and setting.
"Those are the two things I didn't like -- setting and running," Joey Miyashiro said. "My goal was to get her to do those things well. She could run all day playing soccer, and she can set.
"She's also kind of hard-headed like me. When I coached her and Aven, Aven was easy to coach and liked playing in the game. Tehani liked the practices because it made her better for the games."
Her mother videotaped all her matches in high school, and Tehani would come home that night to analyze her technique.
"As soon as she got home, it was 'Where's the tape? Let's play the tape,' " Joey Miyashiro said. "It was not a souvenir thing, it was a learning tool. I had always thought I'd use it for her recruiting tape and then I ended up not having to make one."
The facts
Friday: No. 15 Hawaii (25-6) vs. No. 22 Loyola Marymount, 5:30 p.m. HST
1997 UH Wahine Volleyball Schedule
http://uhathletics.hawaii.edu
