San Pedro Lost Softball Title but Coach Beams : Reaching Finals a First for Satisfied Tony Dobra; Players Think He’s Great

San Pedro High School girls softball Coach Tony Dobra wasn’t disappointed or upset that his team didn’t win the City 4-A title on Wednesday. The laid-back coach said that winning would have been nice but reaching the finals was good enough.

“I’m very very proud of them,” he said of his players after Wednesday’s 5-0 loss to El Camino Real. “And like I said before, not everyone can make it to the very last game of the season.”

The Pirates’ second-year coach was satisfied that his team was in the championship game at Cal State Northridge because he’d never made it that far. Last year San Pedro lost in the semifinal of the playoffs.

“I’ve been coaching varsity sports for eight years,” Dobra said, “and I’ve never made it to the final in anything . It just feels good to be here.

“I’ve just been very fortunate. This group has a great combination of skill and relaxed attitudes. On every team, there’s always one kid that makes you earn your money. Not on this team.”

The 31-year-old Dobra has been coaching girls softball for eight years and girls basketball for seven. He coached both sports at Mary Star of the Sea before coming to San Pedro two years ago.

In six years as softball coach at Mary Star, he led his teams to four league titles and the playoffs every year. Dobra left with a 122-27 record.

His basketball teams went to the playoffs three times and won the league title once.

The winning tradition continues for Dobra at San Pedro, his alma mater, where he teaches English and coaches girls softball and basketball. He says that’s because he’s blessed with talent.

“Sometimes to be a successful coach,” Dobra said, “you have to not get in the way of a good team. I’ve been very lucky to have such great players.”

During his first year as San Pedro’s basketball coach, the Pirates finished in a three-way tie for first place in league. They ended the 1986-87 season with a 10-0 league record (15-5 overall). Later that year, Dobra led San Pedro’s softball team to the semifinals of the City playoffs. The Pirates lost to El Camino.

“He had a lot of talent to start with,” said Harbor League co-MVP Stephanie Freitas, who pitched and played first base for the Pirates this year. “But he also knew what had to be done. He just knows the game. The best thing is though, that he’s really easygoing. His theory is, ‘It’s good to win, but let’s have a good time.’ ”

The San Pedro softball program has seen a lot of good times, even before Dobra. San Pedro has won four City titles in the last 15 years and has appeared in the playoffs eight of the last 11 years.

However, the last time San Pedro made it to the City finals was in 1983 under former Coach Chris Nagle.

“I think Tony is a unique individual,” said San Pedro Athletic Director Michael Teora, “who really knows where to put his players. It’s hard to sum up all his good qualities, but a good one is that his personality gets on real well with the girls. That really makes a difference.”

San Pedro assistant softball coach Allan Moore, whose daughter, Meagan, pitches for the Pirates, agrees.

“Not only is Tony a great coach,” Moore said, “but he’s a great teacher and he has an unbelievable rapport with the kids.”

Dobra, who graduated from Cal State Long Beach, believes his age and relationship with his players has a lot to do with his success. Except for San Pedro’s 1987-88 basketball team (8-11), Dobra has never had a losing season.

“He doesn’t act like he’s above you,” said Mia Phillips, a forward on the San Pedro basketball team. “He’s more of a friend than a coach. He jokes around with us and really makes practice fun.”

Ronnie Krill, an all-League catcher for the Pirates, says she looks forward to practice because Dobra makes it amusing.

“He’s nice, he’s funny, he jokes around. . . . We have a good time with him, yet he really knows how to show us different plays and he knows the game.”

Except for a brief period on the junior varsity basketball team at Long Beach, Dobra has never competed in organized athletics. He believes however, that athletes should enjoy themselves and it’s his responsibility that his players do.

“It’s got to be fun,” he said. “I don’t want to make it sound like Disneyland or the fun house, but it has to be fun. These kids will look back and say ‘I had a good time.’ They’re not going to remember how many games they won or what their batting average was. Lots of them will be mothers in 10 years and they’re going to remember that they had a lot of fun.”