Sobrato has a new athletic director who is anything but new to the high school.
Former boys basketball coach and substitute teacher Lawrence Crawford came aboard earlier this summer to replace Elisa Barragan, who stepped down at the end of the school year.
Crawford was the original boys basketball coach when the program got started back in 2005-06, just a year after the school opened.
“I am extremely excited. To have been here when the school first opened; coaching the first boys basketball teams winning so many games and to winning the first championship and going on to the CCS playoffs was truly a privilege,” Crawford said. “To know that we were crowned champions in such as short time at a new school helped set the tone for the continued basketball championships that have continued until today here at Sobrato; that’s really special. Now as the Athletic director I have a new level of excitement and expectation that will be the standard for all of Sobrato’s athletic teams.”
As coach, he helped lead Sobrato to a 20-8 season in 2006-07 and closed out his run in 2008-09 with a 20-7.
Crawford spent one year at Live Oak as the athletic director before moving over to Sobrato, which became a full time position starting this school year.
Crawford has been around athletics and education for a number of years, including his time subbing and coaching at Sobrato along with teaching archery at Gavilan and San Jose City colleges.
He also served as athletics commissioner at IBM 15 years ago, helping to organize tournaments and leagues within 14 different sports for 12,000 employees.
Regardless of his experience, Crawford said he knows that he has to ease into the role in the right way so that he doesn’t change something that is working well and miss something that needs to be changed.
“I need to develop a clear understanding of the strengths of our program and the areas that need improvement right away,” Crawford said. “I plan to make sure that we have a clear focus on sportsmanship and establish ourselves as a program of the highest level of integrity. Not just in word, but in deeds.”
He added while he has history with Sobrato, not everything is the same as it was when he left almost 10 years ago.
He said his goal is to assure coaches and athletes that he plans to be around Sobrato for a long time and wants to be there for everyone.
Sobrato is still young in terms of its history, especially compared with schools in the area, including most of the schools the Bulldogs will compete against during the sports seasons.
Crawford said the trick is establishing rigorous goals both on the field and in the classroom and if Sobrato can do that, it can achieve just as much as Santa Teresa or Lincoln in San Jose, Live Oak in town or Gilroy High School to the south.
“Sobrato may be a young school (although now in its 13th year is that still true), but if you are able to prove ourselves academically and athletically we can compete with and exceed what an older school might achieve,” Crawford said. “With committed participants, from top to bottom, there isn’t anything that a ‘new’ school can’t do. You just have to have a plan and you have to “stay the course.”
To that end, Crawford said he wants to make sure Sobrato is known as a school that takes competitiveness to heart but upholds the high standards of sportsmanship.
“As for our culture, I see it as a ‘commitment to excellence’—a borrowed phrase but appropriate none the less,” Crawford said. “I want it to be said about Sobrato athletes, ‘They play hard, they never quit and they play the right way.’”
The path ahead
Crawford takes over at a good time in Sobrato athletics.
In the 2016-17 school year, eight teams advanced to the CCS playoffs, including two that had advanced the furthest in team history.
The girls soccer team played in the Division II championship. The girls basketball team advanced to the Division III semifinals and nearly set a team record for wins in a season.
The school had a CCS champion in swimming.
It had three wrestlers medal at CCS, including two who were a breath away from advancing to state.
Crawford said the credit lies in just how committed the coaches and staff are to the various programs and it has made his transition thus far into the role that much easier.
“The coaches are all committed to the program and truly care about our Student Athletes,” Crawford said. “Although I came on after most of the staff and all of the faculty had left for the summer, those with whom I have had interaction really appear to love what they do and really enjoy being at Sobrato. This is a very positive, welcoming environment.”
But there are going to be some challenges awaiting Crawford as he takes over.
“As with any new position, one of the biggest challenge is simply getting to now your surroundings,” Crawford said. “Just the volume of day to day activities. You have to overcome your assumptions about some of the most simple operational activities and realize that your assumptions about how things are done may not be correct.”
The football team this last year moved down to the C Division of the league, prompting the cancellation of the annual El Toro Bowl.
Also, some coaching vacancies have emerged that will need to be filled, including the girls volleyball coach.
Archery
Through it all, Crawford said he’s focused on making sure Sobrato has what it needs and will help to get all the programs on a track to success.
And for proof of his commitment to success, look no further than his other passion: Teaching archery.
Crawford said he picked up the sport during his undergraduate days and developed a passion for it.
But he readily admits, he might be better putting a bow into someone else’s hands than he is taking aim with one.
“It is a great sport, but I am a better teacher than archer,” Crawford said. “I have taught more than 600 inexperienced students how to safely handle a recurve bow and hot to consistently hit a target. It gives me a great thrill to see someone who has never picked up a bow before, hit their first ‘ bulls dye.’”
He added archery is one of those sports where it really doesn’t matter how old you are when you pick it up, you can become good at it well past your youth.
“The thing that I love most is that Archery is one of the few sports that you can begin as an adult and still develop into a world class competitor,” Crawford said. “I can not think of any other for which that is true.”
A special place to be
Ultimately, Crawford said he loves being at Sobrato because of the people there.
He said he’s developed friendships and rapports with people that make Sobrato a unique place to work and coach.
“Sobrato is special to me because of the people, because of so many relationships,” Crawford said. “As you know, I teach at SJCC, Gavilan and have substituted in this district for seven years, so I interact with lots of good people. Here at Sobrato, it’s the way they have embraced me and the fact that I was here in the beginning and have known some of the staff and faculty for over 10 years.
“It’s like Dr. James Dobson said, (and I paraphrase) it’s not about what you have or what you do, its about who loves you and who you love. So, that’s what makes it special for me.”
