Different coaches have differing expectations

By Ann Miller
Advertiser Staff Writer

Coaches' views of summer conditioning change with the seasons and their own sensibilities. Here, in order of season, are what three Rainbow Wahine coaches expect:

Volleyball: Dave Shoji's goal is that his players come back, "at a minimum, where they left, strength-wise." He does not complement the conditioning book with a list of skills to practice, telling the Rainbows only to play as much volleyball as possible, preferably on the beach.

"They can work on their overall game and you only need four people," Shoji says. "You're not allowed to have a coach anyway and it's harder to get a gym and net and people and balls. For beach, you can just go down to Waikiki and there are games."

When they come to practice in August, Shoji looks first at their vertical jump because it "is the first thing to go" if they kick back.

Basketball: "Our thing," coach Vince Goo says, "is you become the player you're going to be during the summer. If you get here in the fall and and start working on your game, you'll be bypassed by a lot of people.

"Some don't get it right away."

Coaches tell players what skills they need to work on before school is out and send them off with their book. Most don't go far, but even if they do, there's never an excuse for not playing.

"Basketball is the easiest thing to practice," Goo insists. "All you need is a basket, a ball and yourself. It can be an individual sport when it comes to improving."

Softball: Coach Bob Coolen, whose season doesn't end until May, might take the most low-key approach. He encourages his players to follow the conditioning "bible" but all but discourages them from playing over the summer.

"I give them the option of playing," Coolen says. "The reason is because I have them nine months a year. Those other three months are sometimes a very good mental cure. I know they need a break."

If they play summer leagues, which often involve lots of travel, Coolen encourages them to back off the conditioning to avoid fatigue. He used to find the books in lockers after players left for the summer. Now, he mails them out and hopes for the best. Often, that comes from the youngest and most distant.

Coolen says the Australians in his program all but sleep with the book when they go home because it's winter Down Under and the gym is always warm. He's also found freshman, who often have had no strength training, follow it religiously. Maui's Shannon Tabion was a perfect example.

"She had never lifted a weight in her life," Coolen said. "She got the book last summer and when she came in I said that is not the girl I recruited. She was cut.

"The kids that really, really follow the book can reap the benefits when they come into fall. They avoid any type of injury related to lifting and running."