"It was a relationship where we talked maybe twice a month," Janssen said. "We stayed in close contact. He'd ask me about our season, I'd ask him about his season. So it was a very good friendship.

"(With our relationship) I felt very familiar with the program and I felt that I really had the heads up and I really knew what the program was all about and what coach (Mike) Trapasso was all about. All of those things pointed to that it was a no-brainer (to accept the job)."

TRAVIS JANSSEN

"My wife (Christy) and I went to dinner (Sunday night) and we were reflecting on Christmas and talking about the new year," Janssen said. "We were joking, saying, 'Who would've thought that last year at this time we would be living in Honolulu, Hawai'i, coaching at the University of Hawai'i?' We are so fortunate for everything the way the events have happened."

He has quickly discovered that paradise has a price.

"The biggest adjustment is that it is very expensive compared to the southern region of the United States," he said. "Two-thirty-five for gas and things like that. A box of cereal, peanut butter just small things. It just throws us back a little bit."

Part of the group of 42 University of Hawai'i players began their first practice yesterday with some warmup drills.

"We have great neighbors where we live," Janssen said. "People have been awesome. That's been a nice surprise."

As for his job, Janssen comes from a program that emphasized the running game. Last year, his third at Northwestern State, the Demons led the Southland Conference in steals with 131 (in 164 tries) and runs (380). The Demons also were second in the league with 235 walks and had the third fewest strikeouts at 336. His past tendencies doesn't necessarily translate to the Rainbows running wild this season.

"Basically, what I believe is putting pressure on the defense," Janssen said. "I think you have to mold your philosophy to the personnel of the players you have. (The Demons) were fifth in the country in stolen bases last year. We could really, really run.

"To be quite frank, this year's team doesn't have that kind of speed, so we have to do different things," he added. "Execution is going to be a big part of it. I hope to play an exciting brand of baseball that the fans will enjoy watching. It's about scoring runs. We're going to do whatever we can to score as many runs as we can."

The Rainbows hope to have more ups than downs as they prepare for the 2005 baseball season.

Center fielder Matt Inouye shared the team lead with 13 steals last year with departed shortstop Brian Finegan. No other Rainbow had double-digit steals. Left fielder Robbie Wilder, called the fastest player in the Western Athletic Conference by Baseball America, was hampered by a number of injuries, including both hamstrings, and was limited to seven steals last season.

"We have guys who can control the bat, so there might be a situation where we have to do more hit-and-runs," Janssen said. "Certainly, sacrifice bunting is going to be a big part of it. A lot of offense is clutch hitting. We're going to have to have guys get big hits."

In speaking with Green over the years, Janssen learned how Les Murakami Stadium showed no mercy on fly balls because of the wind blowing from Manoa Valley. Now, Janssen has seen it first hand.

"The other obvious thing is that we emphasize line drives and ground balls," he said. "It didn't take me long to figure out the way our stadium is set up with that wind that blows in from left field. The stadium plays huge."

The Rainbows started workouts yesterday. There are 42 listed on the roster, 20 of them new to the program.