Most people like to escape to Hawaii for its warm sun, constant waves, amazing reefs and casual atmosphere. In the middle of the Pacific Ocean, reachable only by a long boat or plane ride, the islands are free from many of the problems of the mainland.

Stanford men’s volleyball coach John Kosty, however, has been trekking to Hawaii for a different reason. After a 10-year lapse, he has once again tapped into the vast recruiting base of Hawaiian volleyball players.

The last Hawaiian players at Stanford to contribute significantly were outside hitter Mike Lambert and setter Stewart Chong. They graduated in 1997, the year that the Cardinal men won the only national championship in school history.

After their graduation came a long dry spell. Stanford dropped out of the running for the national championship, finishing last year with a 4-24 record, the worst in school history. However, Stanford’s hard luck seemed to take a turn for the better with the signing of current freshman outside hitter and setter Kawika Shoji from Iolani High School in Honolulu.

Kawika is the son of Dave Shoji, the famed head coach of the University of Hawaii’s women’s team. Cobey, Kawika’s sister, is the current Director of Volleyball Operations for the Stanford women and played volleyball for Michigan.

Dave, himself an All-American setter at UC-Santa Barbara, molded Kawika into a volleyball leader from the time he was a young child.

“He has been a good coach and a good dad,” Kawika said. “He gives me pointers when I need them. He has been very encouraging and positive and helpful.”

Despite his volleyball pedigree, Kawika didn’t devote all of his time to volleyball. He played basketball and golf in high school as well.

His mother, Mary is a former basketball player for Hawaii, and inspired Kawika’s basketball game. The 2006 Hawaii Player of the Year in basketball, he helped lead his team to three consecutive state championships, making five in a row for Iolani.

Any other state Player of the Year would probably be arrogant or boastful. But Kawika insists that there were plenty of other basketball players as good as or better than him and that he was granted the award by default because of his team’s state championship.

“[Kawika has] a really good leadership quality,” said sophomore middle blocker Brandon Williams. “Even as a freshman, he really takes control out on the court and people just naturally follow him. He’s really good at keeping the team centered. He knows what to say to keep people inspired.”

Kawika credits his experience in all three sports with making him the kind of player he is on the court.

“Golf helped me become mentally stronger for my other sports,” said Kawika, who had a 75 average and was ranked in the top ten of his high school league. “You need that mental toughness to play all sports.”

Despite Stanford losing all three of its matches at the Elephant Bar Invitational this past weekend, Kawika proved to be a superior competitor and strong team leader in his first games as a college player.

Kawika got his start as a setter at ten years old with the Outrigger Canoe club team, where he played through high school. Founded and coached by his father during the offseason of the women’s college schedule, the club became a beacon for high level players.

Outside hitter Spencer McLaughlin, from Punahou High School — the same school that Michelle Wie attends — and defensive specialist Jordan Inafuku from Kamehameha High School both played for the team. Considered by many to be the top offensive and defensive recruits, respectively, in the class of 2007, both have signed letters of intent to play for Stanford.

“Kawika was kind of the ringleader of that whole group,” explained assistant coach Ken Shibuya. “They all know each other. They all played together even though they went to different high schools...Kawika is such a charismatic leader. Once he made a choice to attend school here, they all tended to follow the leader.”

“We grew up playing on the same team,” said Kawika. “Then in high school, we all went to competing schools, but in the summer we all played again with each other on our club team.”

And soon enough, the trio will be reunited once again for the Cardinal. Now that Stanford has its foot in the door, Hawaii could be a great source for players for years to come. Two players from the class of 2008 are already being looked at for next year’s signing period, including another Shoji.

Kawika’s younger brother Erik is currently a six-foot standout at libero for Punahou. He and Iolani outside hitter Brad Lawson, who beat out McLaughlin for state Player of the Year honors, are both being recruited heavily by all the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation schools, Stanford included.

“The thing about the Hawaii volleyball community is that they all tend to follow the kids that come out of there,” continued Shibuya. “So they all know that their kids are here at Stanford. I except that they will follow Stanford volleyball quite a bit over the next couple of years.

“If Stanford has to mine in one place, Hawaii is a pretty good place to mine.”