Clarkston’s Sobotta hangs up the whistle

Having just finished her career as Clarkston Bantams girls basketball coach, Debbie Sobotta reflects on her 13-year tenure with the program as a “dream fulfilled.”

The Clarkston High and Lewis-Clark State College alum has compiled a 206-100 career record since taking charge of the Bantam program in the 2012-13 season, shepherding the team to several district titles and two third-place finishes at the Washington Class 2A state tournament. Assisting her throughout that span was her husband Pat Sobotta, also a former Warrior basketball standout.

“I went to Clarkston High School, and I played under the late Harvey Williams and then Denise McConnell, and she really helped me develop a love of teaching and coaching,” Sobotta said. “It just meant a lot to me, to be able to take her position in teaching and also become the girls coach.”

Following the birth of their first grandchild and anticipating their daughter’s final season of college basketball, the Sobottas decided the moment was right to make more time for their family and let a new generation of leadership take the helm.

Warrior to Husky to Bantam

Debbie Sobotta — then known by her maiden name, Debbie Johnson — got her start coaching basketball after a successful run as a player for the Lewis-Clark State Warriors from 1987-89. At the conclusion of her playing career with LC State, she was the Warrior women’s all-time career assist leader with a total of 397. Her 234 assists in ‘88-89 amounted to a single-season program record that stood for 27 years before being narrowly broken by Caelyn Orlandi (now LCSC’s coach) with 236 in 2016.

Sobotta stayed on as an assistant coach with the Warriors for two years before finding her first head coaching gig at Highland High School of Craigmont. She would guide the Huskies to Idaho Class A-4 state titles in ‘93 and ‘95 and accumulate an 87-30 record over five total seasons.

It was in the ‘97-98 school year that Sobotta made the move back to Clarkston, where she has taught P.E. and science at the jr. high and high school levels over the last 27 years. She also quickly found herself recruited to put her coaching bona fides to use both boys and girls.

“I came there just to teach, and then I got into coaching jr. high ball,” Sobotta recalled. “Ended up doing that for 11 years.”

More than basketball

The high school position came open in the aftermath of a state title run in the 2011-12 season that saw several college-bound starters graduate and left the team to a rebuilding phase. Sobotta bore with the Bantams through a 3-16 season in her first year on the job.

“We didn’t get a lot of wins the first couple years, but we continually improved, and they were just so fun to coach and just so fun to be around,” she said. “They had no quit in them.”

Slowly but surely, Sobotta turned Clarkston girls basketball back into a consistently winning program. Through the past five years, the Bantams have compiled a 91-20 tally including three district titles. More than that, they have built a culture of which she is immensely proud.

“Over the years, we developed our program into something more than basketball,” Sobotta said. “So many times we honored, remembered or thanked members of our community. It was very important to me to show our community, which we call ‘Bantam Nation,’ how much we appreciate them and how much of a family we are.”

A family affair

The Sobottas have four children: sons Trey, Kage and Jett (the last of whom led the Bantams to two boys state titles during the 2010s), as well as daughter AJ Sobotta. Trey and his wife Sammy (Sperber) Sobotta welcomed their first child, Navy, eight months ago, while AJ will be heading into her final season of college basketball with Columbia Bible College in Canada this coming school year.

The combination of circumstances led to last week’s retirement announcement.

“We’ve been talking about it quite a bit this season, and with the addition of our first grandchild who lives two hours away, we were feelling like we might want to spend a little more time with her,” Debbie Sobotta said.

This retirement is limited to basketball coaching, as Debbie will continue teaching and Pat will retain his position as Bantam cross country coach. Speaking with the Tribune, Debbie had nothing but positive sentiment about her ongoing assocation with the school district.

“I love the relationships you get to form with the students, and we have a great atmosphere at our high school,” she said.

Wendt may be contacted at (208) 848-2268, or cwendt@lmtribune.com.