PRINT THIS PAGE | E-MAIL THIS PAGE

Tuesday, March 24, 1998

Ingleside's married basketball coaches exceed expectations

By GALEN WELLNICKI Corpus Christi Caller-Times

INGLESIDE, Texas - Debbie and John Robledo banter with an ease that has developed from a 14-year marriage and a professional relationship built on mutual respect.

"He was in my tennis class when I was a graduate assistant at (Texas) A&I," Debbie said of her first meeting with John. She is from Philadelphia via Purdue - intense, highly competitive.

"Yeah, Debbie thought she could beat me at H-O-R-S-E," John responded with a chuckle. He is a more-laid-back native South Texan from Pearsall.

The Robledos are one of the more unusual coaching acts in Texas. They are husband and wife, coaching the same sport at the same school. This year, they had near-identical results as they piloted their Ingleside High School basketball teams to Region IV-3A tournaments in Kingsville. Neither team had excited preseason forecasters.

The Robledos easily cross jurisdictional boundaries to ensure maximum performance for both teams. Picking one another's brains on basketball is as much a family activity as sailing and travel.

Debbie, in her first season at Ingleside, coached the Lady Mustangs to a 21-11 record and a berth in the regional semifinals.

Ingleside was the top playoff seed from District 30-3A with a 12-2 record. A layup with two seconds remaining gave Liberty Hill a 47-45 victory over Ingleside in the regional semifinals.

"We were picked about fourth, so we had fun and there didn't seem to be a lot of pressure," Debbie said. "When we did fall, we usually came back and won convincingly."

John, in his sixth year at Ingleside, took the Mustangs to the Region IV-3A finals where they dropped a 60-49 decision to Stafford, completing a 23-10 campaign. The Mustangs finished second to West Oso (14-0) in 30-3A. With her team eliminated from the playoffs, Debbie was on the Ingleside bench helping her husband.

"It was a roller-coaster season for us," John said, "but all of sudden we're playing in regional - right there with our nemesis West Oso. I just wish we'd have been at full-strength in the regional finals."

The Mustangs played Stafford without all-district junior post Joe Pritchard, sidelined with a shoulder injury. This is the second time the Robledos have served a school as its boys and girls basketball coaches. They were at Class 2A Marion for seven years where her intense approach to coaching helped establish Debbie as one of the most successful coaches in the state.

In her time at Marion, Debbie's teams compiled a 230-36 record, including four Region IV-2A championships and two state runner-up finishes. She coached two years at 4A Gregory-Portland before going to A&M-Kingsville to take over a moribund volleyball program.

They describe their professional relationship as supportive, not competitive.

"I don't think there's ever been a competition," said John, who has a 106-77 record at Ingleside. "It's always been a help-help situation, but we've never had to play each other." Debbie said she leaned on her husband quite a bit this season.

"After coaching a different sport in college for three seasons, I wanted John to help me get reacclimated to high school basketball," Debbie said. "And I reciprocated. We'd be here at 7:30 in the morning morning and leave about 9:30 at night.

"We have two gyms, but we both wanted to work out in the new gym so we'd flip-flop our practices. We helped each other's practices."

Asked about her aggressive coaching role on the Ingleside boys bench at the regional tournament in Kingsville, Debbie answered, "I tried to correct some of the boys on defense. As a head coach, you don't have time to explain every thing that's needed during a game.

"I felt I needed to be there. In thought it was a lot of fun." How did the players respond?

"They responded well," John said. "They have a great deal of respect for her abilities."

Debbie admits she wouldn't mind a chance to break one coaching barrier.

"I've always had a desire to coach the boys," Robledo said. Family was the reason given by Debbie for leaving a gradually improving college program to return to the regimented high school coaching lifestyle.

"The time with my husband," she answered. "In college, the recruiting and camps take so much of your time. I like working with John and my best friend is my assistant here. I have good coaches in junior high. The kids have a great sense of industriousness and a passion for the game."

Debbie was spending a good portion of her time burning tires on pavement as she commuted 50 miles each way from their home in Portland to Kingsville.

"We decided not to move (to a more central location) because we enjoyed our house so much," John said.

"I considered it," Debbie rebutted with a smile and a half-serious tone.

Debbie admits that her three seasons with the Javelina volleyball team mellowed her coaching philosophy and technique, smoothing rough edges like fine-grained sandpaper. "I think I'm more patient," Debbie said. "The experience (at A&M-Kingsville) taught me to be more compassionate. ... I was more concerned about the results than the means. I found I could transfer these things to high school."

A&M-Kingsville assistant athletic director Fred Neusch described Debbie succinctly. "Debbie doesn't like to lose," Neusch said during a two-year span in which her first two Javelinas teams won just six of 52 matches.

"My goals have changed," Debbie said. "I'm not as success oriented. Now, I want to help each athlete improve and feel good about what I've been able to do in their development. I don't worry about the Ws near as much anymore."

John has a different outlook on coaching than many head basketball coaches who eschew football assignments like a double-dribble. "I enjoy coaching both football and basketball," John said. "I still enjoy Friday night under the lights. That's Texas football. Hopefully, some year, I'll get a team that can win a state championship."

---

Distributed by The Associated Press