The former Junior Varsity head coach gets promoted to the top position 

Robert Sanchez is a familiar face to the John Burroughs High School Girls Soccer Program and was the choice as the school stayed in-house to replace Brady Riggs as the next head coach of the team. Riggs recently stepped down after 13-plus seasons at the helm of the bears girls soccer program. Sanchez began his soccer coaching career in 2010 with the American Youth Soccer Organization, where he still works. For the past three seasons, Sanchez served as the program’s junior varsity head coach under Riggs. Last season, the Bears went 9-8 overall and 9-5 in Pacific League play, which earned them an appearance in the CIF Southern Section Wild Card Playoffs – a short-lived run where they lost to Channel Islands in a penalty shootout. Sanchez will look to build on this, adding his own path to success for the upcoming season.

Sanchez’s coaching staff will feature Ryan Espionza (Head Junior Varsity Coach), and Lara Sage (varsity assistant coach). Espinoza will replace Sanchez as the team’s Head JV coach while Lara Sage will be Sanchez’s top varsity assistant. Seniors Quiana Laughlin (Left Wing)  Ella Sage (Midfielder and Defender) and Junior Samanta Sizemore (Midfielder and Defender) should be key players to watch in the new season. 

“It’s an incredible opportunity and I’m happy to have it, which is something I’ve been looking forward to doing.” said the new Bears head coach. Sanchez stated that the team has learned from its last season CIF Southern Section Wild Card Playoff loss to Channel Islands and mentioned that the girls played well despite the rainy conditions on the field which resulted in the game going into the penalty shootouts. 

“Robert has been an invaluable member of the JBHS soccer coaching staff for many years. He knows the strength of the program and its areas of growth and has many innovative ideas to support student-athletes,” said Burroughs Assistant Principal of Athletics Jessica Palaski. Palaski also admitted that the administration team didn’t expect coach Brady Riggs to step down, but did say that he has dedicated many years to the school, while mentioning that the school is looking forward to having Robert Sanchez transition to the head coaching position and bringing in new ideas to the program. 

The 2024-2025 school year is underway, and the Bears girls soccer team will be training for the season which begins in November.