Bio

Bobby Godinez has been the head football coach at East Los Angeles College since 2016. In that first season, Godinez lead the Huskies to a 9-2 record which includes a postseason victory in the Patriotic Bowl over the College of the Desert. He is also the school’s current Athletic Director.

Coach Godinez has demonstrated remarkable ability to turn around and inject life into struggling programs. In 2013, Godinez joined Victor Valley College as co-defensive coordinator in football AND head coach of the men’s basketball team – a rarity in the collegiate coaching ranks. Both programs improved during his respective tenures: The Victor Valley football team was 1-9 the season before Godinez arrived: The Rams improved to 6-4 in his first season and was undefeated (10-0) his second. Meanwhile, men’s basketball improved from a winless (0-24) season before he arrived to 16-12 in his first season. Godinez then led the Rams to an 18-12 record in his second and final season, earning a CCCAA state playoff berth. He used this success to earn his first head coaching opportunity at Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs, N.C.

Godinez had a distinguished playing career that started with the Hacienda Heights Cougars youth football program to San Jose State University and ended with the Washington Redskins. Following in the footsteps of his father Rick Godinez, Bobby was a highly decorated, multi-talented player at Los Altos High School in Hacienda Heights. He was an All-CIF and All-State defensive back on the school's 2000 CIF championship team, and All-CIF in basketball and baseball. Incidentally, the elder Godinez was an assistant football coach during his son’s days at Los Altos (Rick would turn in a 35-year run on the Los Altos coaching staff). As a multi-talented athlete, Godinez was also an All-CIF basketball and All-CIF baseball player.

Bobby began his football collegiate career at Air Force Academy, but left after one season to enroll at Mt. San Antonio College. He was an All-American in his two seasons at Mt. SAC before transferring to San Jose State. Playing safety for the Spartans under Hall of Fame Coach Dick Tomey, Godinez earned All-Western Athletic Conference honors twice and served as team captain for two seasons. The Washington Redskins signed the undrafted Godinez to a free agent contract after he graduated college – he spent one season with the Redskins.

Before embarking on college coaching, Godinez founded and operated Optimal Sports Strength & Conditioning in 2007, training numerous professional athletes in the NBA, MLB and NFL. The next year in 2008, he was named head coach at La Verne Lutheran High School. In his lone season at La Verne, Godinez guided the team to the league title.

Not only did Godinez star on the field, he excelled in the classroom as well. He was named academic All-American and to the All-WAC academic team during his time at San Jose State. He would go on to earn his Master’s degree in Kinesiology and is also a full-time Kinesiology instructor here at East Los Angeles College. He is married to wife Jennifer and has three kids: Payton, Avery and Grayson.