GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM
Iolani's Kawika Shoji is looking into attending a college with a prominent volleyball program, such as Stanford, UCLA, UC Irvine, USC or Hawaii.
|
|
The son of UH women's volleyball coach Dave Shoji, Kawika is making ...
A name for himself
Shoji file
Height: 6-foot-4
Age: 17
Class: Senior
Sports: Volleyball, basketball, golf
Family: Father, Dave; sister, Cobey, 25; brother, Erik, 15
|
Go ahead, you can call him that. He really doesn't mind.
For most of his life, Kawika Shoji has lived in the shadow of his father, Hawaii Rainbow Wahine volleyball coach Dave Shoji. With the father recognized as a legendary volleyball guru, many times in the past the son has been firstly recognized not as Kawika, but "Dave Shoji's son."
But with every crushing kill, with every effortless set, towering block and on-target pass, Kawika Shoji has made a name for himself as one of the leaders of Iolani's second-ranked volleyball squad, and arguably the best all-around player in the state.
"He probably came out of the womb with a volleyball in his hands," Iolani coach Mike Among said. "He's the best player in the gym, hardest worker, just the whole package."
Because of his offense -- the 6-foot-4 senior averages 3.5 kills per game to lead the Raiders -- he has mainly helped Iolani at outside hitter. He is being heavily recruited as a setter, however.
"Every so often we'll rag on him that he gets special privileges because he's Dave Shoji's son," teammate Ethan Chang said. "But for the most part he's very level-headed, and he never lets his ego get away, which is amazing considering what he's accomplished."
Shoji, along with Punahou's Spencer McLachlin and Kamehameha's Jordan Inafuku, spent last summer playing for the U.S. youth national team.
By all accounts, Shoji is of two minds on and off the court. Outside of volleyball, teammates describe the 17-year-old as laid back and quiet. But once he steps onto the hardwood, the emotion comes out.
"On the court, he has that special competitiveness that separates good players from great players," Among said. "But equally impressive to me is how he knows how to temper that with his leadership skills."
Among likened Shoji's leadership to that of Michael Jordan, but with one major difference. While the basketball great pushed his teammates hard, not caring whether they hated him or not, Shoji gets his fellow Raiders to play better because they want to play better.
"They want him to lead them," Among said.
"The best thing about Kawika is not only his own abilities, but his ability to make other people better," said teammate Troy Tokuhama. "He's a great leader. He really motivates our whole team to perform their best."
As an assistant coach at Kamehameha last year, Among said he knew Shoji was special. No matter how many blockers his staff put on Shoji, Among said nothing really worked. But it wasn't until this year, when he took over the Iolani program, did he realize just how special.
"I didn't really know him as a person. I'm finding out this year that he's equally impressive off the court, and all those other intangibles," said Among.
A self-described perfectionist, Shoji always tries to improve in everything he does. That drive may explain why he not only excels in volleyball, but was also a starter on Iolani's state championship basketball team last season and made it to the third round of the Manoa Cup golf tournament this past summer.
Said Among: "He knows we need his arm swing, his offense, in order for our team to go farther than if he were just a setter, so he works hard on that. He's probably our best blocker, and he works hard on that. He's probably our best passer, and he works hard on that."
Though he may be the best passer at Iolani, Shoji is likely not the best in his own family, considering his younger brother Erik, a sophomore at Punahou, is the starting libero for the defending state champion.
"When we're at home, there's lots of talk about volleyball," Kawika said. "It's in the family, in our blood forever."
This year, it seems like the Shoji boys are destined for a head-to-head clash for the state title, as Punahou and Iolani are 1-2 in the Interscholastic League of Honolulu standings and are heavy favorites going into the second half of the season.
The Buffanblu and Raiders have played once already this year, with Kawika and Iolani losing a three-game battle. Punahou eked out a 25-23 Game 3 win.
"There's definitely a little rivalry, a little competitiveness," Kawika said. "But when we're playing, after we're done, it's more like respect."
Present at that match, as well as many other Iolani and Punahou matches, was father Dave, who tries to attend every match that doesn't conflict with his own.
Kawika said while his father has helped him with his volleyball skills in the past, the most important contribution he has made has been his support.
"He's always out there supporting us whenever he has a sliver of time," Kawika said.
As word spreads about Kawika's volleyball skills, his name is starting to pop up everywhere. Last year, kids lined up at an autograph session at the Iolani lower school, an event his friends still tease him about.
"All the lower school kids were so excited to get his autograph. We always tell him, 'Oh Kawika, can we get your autograph,' after he does something," Tokuhama said.
And Kawika said his sister Cobey, the director of volleyball operations at Stanford, has been asked if she was Kawika's sister.
"I'm her brother as much as my dad is her dad, so that's kind of funny," he said.
Kawika could be joining his sister in Cardinal red soon. He's looking into several colleges with prominent men's volleyball programs, including Stanford, UCLA, UC Irvine, USC and Hawaii.
Wherever he ends up, this son of Dave Shoji doesn't expect to be thought of totally independent from his dad. But he has already become his own person, leaving a very good impression with his peers.
"Hopefully, now I'm slowly creating my own kind of name," he said. "But it doesn't really bother me to be called his son. There's nothing wrong with that."