Kodama returns to lead Indians

BURROUGHS HIGH — There are not many instances when a team is coached by a hall of famer. However, the Burroughs High boys' soccer team has gotten just that opportunity.

Mike Kodama, a legendary Indians' coach and 2009 Burroughs Athletic Hall of Fame inductee, has returned to the school to again lead the boys' soccer program.

"That's kind of funny," said Kodama, referring to his hall-of-fame credentials. "I guess that will have to update the plaque some time."

Kodama's hall-of-fame plaque is chalk full of accomplishments, as he served as the Indians' coach for 22 years before stepping down in 2009.

Kodama ended his first tenure with the program as one of the most successful coaches in school history in any sport. His seven league titles — five in the Foothill League and two in the Pacific League — are second all-time behind Bob Dunivant, who won 10 championships in football.

Along with 244 victories and 110 league wins, his teams have garnered 12 CIF playoff appearances and he has coached 23 All-CIF players.

His last season in 2009, the Indians (16-7-5) advanced to the Division IV quarterfinals, where they fell to No. 1-seeded Channel Islands, 1-0. Burroughs was also co-Pacific League champion. In 2008, the Indians won the Pacific League outright.

Kodama said things have changed a little at the school in his two-year absence.

"It's very interesting," he said. "There are a few guys in the program who know about me, but a lot of them have only heard about me. So, that part's a little different. It's just a matter of getting the guys back into a rhythm and getting them going."

Kodama said he has the Indians staying busy playing in summer-league competition.

"I'm lucky because I have some of my former guys who have come back to help me out," Kodama said. "And they have done a great job. That makes it a little easier on me."

The past two seasons, the Burroughs program was run my Kodama protégé, Allen Machuca, a former Indian standout player.

Last season, the Indians went 9-3-3 and placed second in the Pacific League. Burroughs fell in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division IV match to La Puente, 3-1.