Coaching
Joe Bird
Joe Bird was a successful swimming and water polo coach at Fermin Lasuen and Mira Costa high schools. He trained several All-Americans that became L.A. City champions, collegiate swimmers and Olympic medalists. Joe also founded the Los Angeles County Junior Lifeguards.
Tony Dobra
Tony Dobra took over coaching Girls’ Softball at San Pedro High School in 1987 and built a dynasty, capturing 13 City titles in a span of 34 seasons, 728 wins and 23 League Championships. He retired in 2014 and in 2018 he returned as coach.
Dan Guerrero
The current Director of Athletics for UCLA (2002), Dan Guerrero is also the current president of the Division I Athletic Directors Association. He also played baseball for UCLA in the early 1970s. In Guerrero’s eight years as athletic director, UCLA teams have won 20 NCAA team titles (the highest total in the nation in that span) in 11 different sports, finished second 16 times and have had an additional 28 Top Five finishes (64 total). UCLA stands as the No. 1 University in the nation for NCAA team championships (106) won, a number that continues to grow under his direction. A staggering 152 teams (of 184 possible) have qualified for NCAA post-season competition and the football team has appeared in seven bowl games.
Gary Kimbrell
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Gary Kimbrell said “All I ever wanted to do was be a football coach. My 7th grade teacher made such an impression on me that I wanted to motivate kids in the same way.”
Gary got his foot in the door with his first real coaching job as an assistant to Dwayne Lyons at Rolling Hills High School. Coach Lyons was a big influence on Gary’s football philosophy. His first head coaching opportunity came just two weeks before the 1977 season when Miraleste High School had a sudden opening. He jumped at the chance and along with his longtime assistant coaches, Jim Small and Jim Duggan, he turned Miraleste into a tough team that opponents didn’t want to face. After several successful seasons, including a Coach-of-the-Year award and an unsuccessful outcome in one CIF Championship game, Gary went back to Rolling Hills, but this time as a head coach. A few years later, when Miraleste, Palos Verdes HS, and Rolling Hills merged, Gary was chosen from the three football coaches to lead the new Peninsula High School Panthers. He was the perfect choice to lead in a difficult situation. After several very successful seasons, he celebrated a CIF Championship in 1997.
Chuck Knox
An old-school football coach that emphasized the running game and defense, Chuck Knox led three NFL teams in his 22 seasons as a professional head coach to numerous playoff appearances. He is the only coach in NFL history to lead three separate teams to division titles. Knox launched his NFL coaching career in 1973 with the Los Angeles Rams, leading that team to five straight NFC Western Division titles and three appearances in the NFC championship game, but was never able to get to the Super bowl. He also later led resurgences with the Buffalo Bills and Seattle Seahawks, guiding those two previously hapless squads to the playoffs in six seasons.
Ernie Martinez
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Ernie Martinez has worked with kids his entire adult life. His coaching philosophy is this: “To coach, to win, make gentleman out of athletes, and teach them good values.” After college he went to work at the San Pedro Boys Club as a program assistant. In 1959 he was recruited to help create a sports program at Fermin Lasuen High School where he coached football and track for 10 years. In 1970 he was hired at Bishop, Montgomery for 16 years. He had the biggest impact at baseball where he led the Knights to five league championships, seven CIF playoff appearances, and the 1975 CIF title. Max Sports named that team National Champions.
John Robinson
John Robinson, longtime head coach at USC, is the fourth winningest active coach in the NCAA and 15th all-time with a ten year record at 74.1% of 104 wins, 35 losses and 4 ties. He owns a 7-1 post season record with a 4-0 mark in the Rose Bowl. In 1978, Robinson led USC to a national championship and in 1979, he was selected as National Coach of the Year. Robinson was head coach of the Los Angeles Rams from 1983 to 1991, leading them to the playoffs in six seasons.
Mike Walsh
Mike Walsh is a Trani Award winner for contribution to local athletics. He will forever be known in the Harbor area as the man who brought a Los Angeles City football title to San Pedro High School – and he did it five times. Walsh began his career as the head coach of San Pedro in 1991 and led the Pirates for twenty five years before retiring after the 2015 season. In that span he won 227 games and five city titles. The Pirates were back-to-back champions twice — 3A champs in 1992 and 1993, 4A champs in 1996 and 1997, and they shared the Division 1 championship in 2008 after tying Narbonne in a thrilling come from behind game at the Coliseum.
John Wooden
As the most successful coach in the history of collegiate basketball, John Wooden posted a record of 88 consecutive victories and won 10 NCAA championships at UCLA. His lifetime coaching record, which spanned 40 years, was 905 wins compared with 203 losses. He is the only person to have been inducted into the National Basketball Hall of Fame as both a player and coach. From 1930 to 1932, he was an All-American basketball player at Purdue University. He was named College Coach of the Year in 1973. The “Wizard of Westwood,” Wooden is loved by his former players for the lessons he taught them about life and is considered by many to be the greatest coach of any sport in the history of American athletics.