Santa Barbara soccer legend Rudy Ybarra was inducted into the California State Soccer Association-South Hall of Fame last weekend in Irvine.
Ybarra was inducted as a youth club coach. He’s led the Santa Barbara Soccer Club to three U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships in addition to several Cal-South National Cup and USYS Region 4 titles.
“People always ask me, ‘What’s his secret? How does he do it? Why is he so successful,’” Marco Ybarra, the eldest of Rudy and Lourdes Ybarra’s three sons, said in presenting his father at the Hall of Fame ceremony. “I just smile and laugh… He cares. He pours his heart and soul into every single kid and every single team he coaches. He teaches them like they’re his own kids.”
Ybarra made a name for himself at Santa Barbara High, leading the Dons to back-to-back CIF-SS championhips in 1975 and 1976 and being named CIF Player of the Year both years. He was drafted by the L.A. Aztecs of the North American Soccer League and was named the professonal league’s Rookie of the Year by Soccer America. He trained with the famed Arsenal Football Club in London and was part of the U.S. team that qualified for the 1980 Olympics in the Soviet Union. The U.S. boycotted the Games that year.
He returned to Santa Barbara and played and coached with the semi-pro Santa Barbara Soccer Club. The team won back-to-back State Championships. He coached at Santa Barbara High and won a CIF boys title in 1995.
Ybarra is a member of the Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table Hall of Fame.
“The accomplishments my father has attained are results of the values and things instilled in him as a young boy: hard work, integrity and, above all else, humility,” said Marco Ybarra.
In his acceptance speech, Rudy Ybarra thanked his family: parents Joaquin and Socorro, wife Lourdes, sons Marco, Junior and JP, and granddaughters Carolina and Victoria. He also thanked Lito Garcia, his Santa Barbara High coach, and “a mentor and role model.”
After 18 years of coaching at Santa Barbara High, Ybarra decided he wanted to get back to coaching youth soccer.
“I wanted to address players at a younger age,” he said. “I called the Santa Barbara Soccer Club and interviewed with them. They offered me to coach at the U18 -U17 levels. I said no, I want to coach the youngest team in the club. I want to start from the ground up.”
Included in Ybarra’s entourage at the Hall of Fame ceremony were Tim Heiduk and Lalo Delgado, two players he started coaching in the club when they were 9 years old. They just completed their four-year careers at Westmont College, where Ybarra served as an assistant under head coach Dave Wolf.
Ybarra recalled the days when the players were just starting out.
“I remember going to practice with these young men and I said, ‘Look, it’s going to be a long road but we’re going to be successful. Don’t worry about results now, worry about development tactically. We’ll fix it as you get older.’
“We focused and before you knew it they were winning regionals at 12 and national championships at 13,” he said. “That team made history in the community and would win three national championships.”
Ybarra acknowledged assistant Jesus Landeros and the Santa Barbara Soccer Club.
“I thank the Santa Barbara Soccer Club for the support they’ve given me recently and for believing in the process,” he said.
Cal South represents over 300 affiliate member leagues and clubs from San Luis Obispo to San Diego. The organization provides rewarding recreational and competitive opportunities for players of all ages, genders and skill levels.