For the Kodama Family, Coaching Is a Brotherhood

During the past several seasons of high school boys’ soccer in the region, players have intentionally injured opponents, attacked officials and knowingly violated rules by participating in outside leagues. None was coached by a Kodama.

In certain programs, ejections and back talk seem to have replaced goals and assists as pertinent statistics. But that’s not the case at Burroughs, Crespi or Paraclete highs.

On those teams, you play for Mike, Matt or Rob Kodama and you learn to show up on time, attitude-free and ready to work.

Mike, 35, is in his 11th year at Burroughs, which he has guided to five Foothill League titles and six playoff appearances.

Matt, 31, builds Paraclete teams that can withstand the elements in the Antelope Valley yet play with skill. He is in his fourth season and has directed the Spirits to three postseason berths and a High Desert League title.

At Crespi, Rob, 26, is in his second year with the Celts, who last season earned their first playoff berth in 10 years and advanced to the Southern Section Division IV quarterfinals.

They’re three of the region’s most respected coaches, hailing from a family with five children and a love of sports.

Taught early and well by their father, a retired engineer, the Kodama brothers dispense the lessons they learned as tykes in the West Valley.

“I wouldn’t expect a player to put in more work than I do,” Rob said.

Said Matt: “You try to develop leaders, people who won’t point fingers when things go bad.”

Mike wants his charges to be self-reliant.

“The players on the field can think a lot quicker than a coach can give them commands,” he said.

Mike directed Matt and Rob both as youth league players and assistant coaches. The younger brothers have served as the other’s assistant in the past and the parents, Bob and Sharon Kodama, attend games between their sons’ teams and cheer for everyone involved.

The Kodamas’ squads tend to display similar characteristics: intensity, discipline and strong preparation. After all, the Kodama Cup is at stake, a trophy awarded annually to the brother who beats his siblings.

“[Paraclete is] always the huge underdog but one year we only lost to [Burroughs] on a late, fluke goal,” Matt said. “Boy, Mike was [upset].”

Said Rob, who has the cup on his mantle: “Our players get even more of a rise out of it than we do. They want to beat their coach’s brother’s team.”

Mike and Matt made the family’s first foray into soccer when they participated in a Winnetka youth league. By age 14, Mike was coaching teams of younger kids and as he went on to play at Chatsworth High and earn a degree from UCLA, he coached Matt and Mike, who played for the Chancellors before attending Cal State Northridge.

After college, Mike, who owns a transportation planning business in Burbank, parlayed club and American Youth Soccer Organization coaching experience into a successful 1987 application at Burroughs.

He got off to a rocky start but in 1989-90 took Burroughs to the first winning season in the program’s 11-year history. Four seasons later the Indians advanced to a Southern Section final.

Mike Kodama’s academic and athletic demands are rare for a walk-on coach. But he has instilled such tradition and pride that the bleachers at Burroughs games nearly always feature vocal clumps of team alumni.

Matt, who had previous coaching stints at Chaminade, Burroughs and St. Genevieve, has less talent to work with than his brothers but has built a solid program. This year’s team will have to overachieve to win a league title and is still coming to grips with the death of sweeper Marc Valdez, who was killed in a November car accident.

Rob, who like Matt, teaches history in addition to coaching at his school, has overseen Crespi’s resurrection. The Celts improved from three victories in 1995-96 to 15 last year and will vie for the league title this season.

With three teams, six children and Rob’s impending marriage between them, the Kodama brothers are not lacking a bond or topics of conversation.

“To me it’s really neat that we’re all doing somewhat the same thing,” Rob said. “I’m very close to my family and I’m not afraid to ask them for help. My fiancee gets mad because I’m never home but when I am, I’m on the phone with Mike or Matt for an hour and a half.”

Burroughs Athletic Director Marty Garrison knows each brother, having hired them at some point, for Rob was the Indians’ girls’ soccer coach for five years and Matt was an assistant for his brothers’ teams at the school.

“Those guys have coaching born into them,” Garrison said. “They’re organized, mature and low-key. They’re just good for the sport.”