Funnier, Gentler Soccer Coach a Jolt, but El Toro Girls Are Still 17-0

Some day, the girls’ soccer players at El Toro High School probably will accept first-year Coach Kerry Krause for the top-notch kind of guy he is.

They’ll become comfortable with his easy manner. They’ll come to love his sense of humor. They’ll laugh with him instead of at him.

They’ll stop calling him a nerd, a geek and some of the other good-natured descriptions they have for him.

Until then, the Chargers--17-0 and the Southern Section’s top-ranked 4-A team--will just have to make do with Krause’s positive outlook, one that has set eyes rolling.

First-year coaches are usually met with some apprehension, especially when they replace someone who was popular with the players. For Krause, it was an especially sticky situation.

Krause replaced Bob Chavez, who led El Toro to the Southern Section playoffs in each of his six years. Last year, El Toro won the 4-A title. A few weeks later, Chavez was dismissed.

He was fired, El Toro Principal Don Martin says, because several parents complained of his sideline demeanor. A fiery, emotional sort, Chavez often used profanity to get his point across.

Worse, Krause and Chavez considered each other good friends--until Krause took the job. Chavez now calls Krause a back-stabber and refuses to talk to him.

“If I live till 99, and he lives to 102, I still won’t talk to the man,” Chavez said. “I’m not downgrading Kerry. He did what he had to do. But he did it at my expense.”

Krause, a 41-year-old dentist, says he’s disappointed Chavez feels that way. He said he took the job because it was open and many of his peers encouraged him. He had coached seven years at Laguna Hills, leading the Hawks to four league titles, but thought it was time for a change.

Krause, who played goalie at the University of Pittsburgh, coached some of the state’s top defensive players at Laguna Hills. His 1986 team set a section record for fewest goals allowed in a season, five.

But he is best known for his easy-going nature. On or off the field, Krause is a living laugh track. Coaching soccer is his sitcom.

Last week, his car broke down, nearly causing him to miss his team’s game at the Ocean View tournament. When he got home, he had a call from his Santa Ana office. A patient needed emergency dental work and Krause had no vehicle to get him there. A moment later, a reporter called. The stress only made Krause laugh harder.

“I try to deal with stress with humor,” he said. “Some people yell and scream. Whatever works best, I guess.”

On the sidelines, Krause is vocal, but it’s nearly always with an encouraging word. He says he’ll get on a player for mental mistakes, but physical mistakes are forgivable.

“Soccer’s a tough game,” he said. “What am I going to do? Yell and scream when they’re already playing as hard as they can?”

But some El Toro players still are not convinced. Although they are adjusting to his friendly manner, some say they need someone to yell at them more so they’ll be better motivated.

“He’s a super nice guy and funny, too,” one player said, “but you need someone to light a fire under you.”

Krause partly agrees. He says coaching need not be a full-time motivational seminar.

“If a coach has to motivate a player all the time, there’s a problem,” he said.

Mission Viejo Coach Jim Dutton said he already can tell a difference in El Toro this year. They’re more relaxed because the threat of being taken out of the game for a mistake doesn’t hang over their heads, Dutton said.

“Sometimes, it was like chaos out there last year,” Dutton said. “You can tell they’re having more fun this year, and that makes a big difference.”

As the players will come to realize.