Episode 13 - Coach John Kentera on Coaching, Broadcasting and Sports

A local coaching and broadcasting icon who is well known and respected throughout the San Diego sports community, John Kentera begins his fifth season as general manager of the San Diego Sockers, including his second year as vice president of operations. Under his direction, the Sockers have fashioned a 58-6 record in the Professional Arena Soccer League during the regular season, and have won three PASL championships. Kentera was instrumental in moving the team back to its original home, the Valley View Casino Center in San Diego, where the Sockers enjoyed their best attendance in 2012-13 since their return to action. With a relentless focus on improving the team on the field and in the community, and a dedication to building the Sockers’ status as a key part of the San Diego sports landscape, Kentera remains the driving force behind the Sockers’ front office.

A standout student-athlete in basketball, football and baseball at Torrey Pines High School, Kentera went on to play basketball and baseball collegiately at Mira Costa College, eventually earning a full-ride basketball scholarship at United States International University. After a knee injury ended his athletic career at USIU, Kentera graduated from college and began his coaching career, a seventeen year journey that would earn him his on-air nickname of "The Coach". John began as an assistant baseball coach at Torrey Pines from 1979-81, then moved on to coach at Mira Costa and Southwestern community colleges, and eventually rose to the position of recruiting coordinator and assistant coach at Texas Tech University. Kentera returned home to raise his family in his hometown of San Diego in 1987, and continued to coach another seven years of high school sports at Torrey Pines.

It was also in 1987 that Kentera’s broadcasting career began, a career that has continued and thrived ever since. Starting at 690 XTRA Gold in 1987, "The Coach" was on hand when the station converted to XTRA Sports 690 in 1990, one of the legendary sports-talk radio stations on the West Coast. Kentera has worked at The Mighty 1090 sports radio since its inception in 2003, and currently serves as the host of a nightly three-hour show from 6-9pm as well as hosting duties for the San Diego Padres pre-and-postgame shows. His "High School Scoreboard Show" has been on the air since 1991 and has served as a staple of the high school sports coverage scene in San Diego. John’s on-air and broadcasting credits on television and radio include the San Diego Chargers, Los Angeles Kings, SDSU and USD football and basketball, and high school CIF championships in both football and basketball. 

John, 55, lives in Solana Beach with his wife Kelly, and is the proud father of daughters Brooke and Ashley and two granddaughters.

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