Don Shaw (volleyball)

Shaw is from Pacific Palisades, California and he graduated from Palisades High School. In high school, he excelled in baseball and basketball, was a member of the 1969 LA City Basketball Champions and was selected by the Kansas City Royals in the 1969 Major League Baseball draft.[5] Shaw played basketball Santa Monica College from 1969-71 (where he was All-Conference both years and 1970-71 SMC Athlete of the Year) and at Loyola Marymount at the forward position from 1971-73, and led the West Coast Athletic Conference in free throw percentage (85.3) in 1971-72. Shaw continued his basketball career playing in Europe and South America from 1973-74.[6][7]

Don Shaw was married to Carolyn Walker Shaw from 1988-2001. He received a bachelor's degree in sociology with an athletic coaching minor from UC Santa Barbara in 1977.

Shaw has two children, both of whom went on to have successful volleyball careers. His son, James Shaw, is a member of the United States men's national volleyball team and played volleyball at Stanford, where he was an AVCA First Team All-American.[8] His daughter, Jordan Shaw, played volleyball for the USA A2 Junior National Team that won gold at the 2011 European Global Challenge and collegiately for St. Mary's, where she earned honorable mention All-America honors.[9]

Shaw was a member of the indoor U.S. National Team in 1979 and played professionally for the San Jose Diablos in 1979 and 1980.

Shaw also played beach volleyball, notably with fellow Hall of Fame player Karch Kiraly. They placed third in the ‘78 World Championship volleyball tournament.[1] Shaw earned the highest beach rating possible (AAA) and competed in the World Beach Championships.[10]

After beginning his career as an assistant coach at UC Santa Barbara, Shaw began his Stanford coaching career in 1980 when he was an assistant on both the men and women's teams until 1983, under Fred Sturm. He head coached both the men’s and women’s teams at Stanford for a combined 27 years starting in 1984. In 1984 and 1985, he was the co-head coach with Sturm for both programs before becoming the solo head coach for the women's team from 1986 to 1999. Shaw took a leave of absence in 2000 and in 2001, he announced that he was leaving the women's program to take over the men's team for the second time, a position he would hold until retiring from collegiate coaching in 2006.[1]

Shaw is regarded as one of the best NCAA volleyball coaches of all time as he shaped the Stanford women's team into a national powerhouse.[11] Shaw led the team to its first NCAA championship in 1992 and through present-day, Stanford is the record holder for most NCAA championships amongst Division I programs (9).[12]

• Beach Volleyball Database profile