By Pete Borello

Photo courtesy of Robb Karr

LA mail carrier leaving prep ranks after 17 seasons of coaching girls

In all likelihood, Robb Karr won’t be coaching high school basketball next season. The Los Altos mail carrier, considered one of the top girls coaches in the Central Coast Section, is looking to jump to the college ranks.

That doesn’t mean Karr won’t miss high school hoops, which he’s been coaching for 17 years.

“I’ll miss helping kids out, not just on the court, but off the court, too,” said Karr, who coached the girls varsity team at Leland High in San Jose the past nine seasons. “A lot of them need people to help them out and their parents are not always around. I sometimes have as much of an impact on their lives as their parents.”

While Karr likes to win, something he’s done with regularity over the years, it’s the relationships he’s developed with his players that he cherishes most.

“I recently got a letter from a graduating player thanking me for helping her get a Cal Grant, which will allow her to go to any state school and it’s basically paid for,” said Karr, who noted that the girl’s mom left the family years ago and her father isn’t around much. “She said I was more of a dad to her than anyone else. That’s well worth more than all the money (Leland) paid me.”

Karr prides himself on getting his players into college.

“I love seeing kids go on and play,” he said. “The most rewarding thing is to see kids get into schools they wouldn’t get into without basketball. I like how it can pave the way for school.”

And not just for his star players, either.

Twelve years ago when Karr was coaching at Mitty High in Santa Clara, he and his staff helped get a player who averaged just two points a game into Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo.

“When (the Cal Poly coaches) called to ask about her, I told them she was better than her stats showed because she was overshadowed by some other players on a great team,” Karr said. “We put together a practice tape on her and it impressed them. Her parents still appreciate us getting her in there; I still get a Christmas card from them each year expressing their thanks.”

Karr’s success on the court is just as impressive. In his 12 years as a head coach, Karr never missed the playoffs. He has guided eight teams to the CCS finals, coming away with four championships.

Karr started his coaching career at Mitty, a private school he graduated from in 1982. The former prep player learned the ins and outs of coaching for five years as an assistant before taking over the girls program in 1989.

Two years later, Karr took the Monarchs to the Northern California final, where they lost to Berkeley.

“That was probably the best team I ever had,” Karr said. “We were ranked in the top five in the state.”

Karr left Mitty a year later, due to what he called “school politics,” and landed at Leland.

It didn’t take him long to realize a public school presented more coaching challenges than a private institution.

“At a public school you don’t know what hand you’re going to be dealt; you just never know what kind of players you’ll get,” Karr said. “But at Leland, we did really well for a public school.”

Los Altos resident Wulf Schrader, a former girls basketball coach at Los Altos and Wilcox highs, won’t argue with that.

“For a public school, he’s done a wonderful job,” Schrader said. “Robb’s really competitive and just a high-level coach.”

Karr coached Leland to a CCS title in 1994 and was named the CCS Winter Sports Honor Coach for girls basketball in 1999.

The Chargers reached the CCS championship game this past season, but proved no match for powerhouse Pinewood School of Los Altos Hills.

Karr hopes he can continue his winning ways at the college level. The Campbell resident said he has interviewed for head coaching jobs at a Bay Area community college and a four-year university outside the area.

“I’m kind of looking for another opportunity right now,” Karr said. “I wouldn’t rule out another high school job, though; but I would probably need to go back to school to get a teaching credential first so I could get a full-time job somewhere. The hours (of a coach) take a toll, especially when you also have a full-time job.”