Attention is not something she seeks out, but Madison Adrid accepts it gracefully as a standout two-sport athlete at San Pedro High.
When she was a freshman, she helped the varsity basketball team win the City Section Division II championship. Now she is a senior who is determined to pilot the Pirates to their first flag football title after back-to-back heartbreaking defeats in the finals.
Being the starting quarterback comes with pressure and expectations, but she has handled the role with maturity and poise, qualities that her coaches and teammates appreciate.
“She’s a true pleasure to coach,” San Pedro flag coach Victor Tuberosi said. “Her IQ is what makes her different than others. As a coach, you can call the play, but what impresses me most is her decision-making.”
San Pedro High quarterback Madison Adrid looks to pass during a flag football game.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
Adrid passed for 3,732 yards and 51 touchdowns last fall and led the Pirates to the City Open Division title game, where they were stunned by Marine League rival Banning in overtime. San Pedro reached the inaugural section final in 2023, only to fall to Birmingham 14-6 after a late touchdown was nullified by a penalty.
“Last year hurt more than the first one because we were ahead the whole game,” she said. “I can’t reverse time. I learned the hard way.”
So far this season, Adrid has completed 147 of 214 attempts for 1,654 yards, 25 touchdowns and four interceptions. She credits fellow quarterback Jenna Ortega (who also plays on the school’s softball team) for making her better.
“They teach each other so much,” Tuberosi added.
Born and raised in San Pedro, Adrid has always been a big football fan and adopted the Dolphins as her team because “she liked the way they looked.” Her father, Erik, was the quarterback at Mary Star of the Sea in the early 1990s. He succumbed to cancer in 2019 at the age of 43 but remains No. 1 in his daughter’s heart.
“I was 11 when he died,” Adrid shared. “I lost someone I looked up to. He meant so much to me. I idolized him and I got my competitive side from him. I remember he’d teach me how to throw when I was 7 or 8.”
No one is more proud of the person Adrid has become than San Pedro boys basketball coach John Bobich, who has served as a father figure since her dad’s death.
“Madi is an inspiring young lady,” said Bobich, who notched his 600th career victory in December. “I met her when she was 8 as I coached her in the local rec league. Soon after, her dad became ill. Our families bonded. Madi spent days and even weeks with our family as her mom was attending to her husband in and out of the hospital. Each year, her mom asked me if I’d select her and I was able to draft her on my team every year until she was 12. Madi and my son AJ (who is also a senior basketball player) became like brother and sister. After battling cancer for years, her dad passed away. Madi took it hard but showed so much strength and courage.”
Inspired by her mom, Ronniee-Marie, who majored in English at USC, Adrid takes school very seriously and is a straight-A student despite a full load of AP classes and being involved in youth and government.
She is a Lego collector and has worked as a pizza maker at Rizzo’s Pizzeria in Lomita for three years. She wants to go to college to study one of the sciences.
San Pedro quarterback Madison Adrid looks up field as she throws the football.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
“It’s amazing how she’s persevered on the field, the court and in the classroom,” Bobich said. “Madi has blossomed from a quiet girl to an inspiring vocal leader.”
As a ninth grader, Adrid made the game-winning three-pointer against St. Monica in the SoCal Regional Division V semifinals. (San Pedro fell to Marina in the next round). She averaged 9.2 points per game as the team’s junior point guard in 2024-25.
San Pedro girls basketball coach Kevin Simpson called Adrid a cool customer.
“I’ve been coaching Madi since she was a freshman and she’s gotten better every year,” Simpson said. “She’s a lethal shooter with a high basketball IQ. She’ll be a captain this year because of who she is off the court. She’s funny, she’s always smiling and cracking jokes. She doesn’t say much, but she knows how to handle adversity. Her family supports her to the fullest. She’s like my daughter. I’m looking forward to coaching her in her last season of high school.”
Although she has played basketball longer (since she was 6), Adrid admitted she may like football more.
“I like the flow of the game,” she said. “Both sports require speed and skill. I practice football everyday and in the summer, I do both. There are areas in both I need to improve on. I’ve always had some sort of ball in my hand.”
Tuberosi is not afraid to push his signal-caller and while soft spoken by nature, Adrid has learned to be vocal — a trait her position demands.
“I understand the role of the quarterback is to be a leader,” said Adrid, who turns 18 in December. “I invite the challenge.”
Still, the subject Adrid least likes to discuss is herself.
“I didn’t hear her say more than two words at a time until last year,” Bobich recalled.
Fortunately, Adrid’s play speaks volumes. Thanks to her accurate arm, the Pirates are out to an 8-1 start with victories over Torrance, Palos Verdes (twice), Foshay, Bakersfield Christian, Arleta, Verdugo Hills and Marshall. Their only loss came on Aug. 30 to Redondo Union in the Narbonne tournament, despite Adrid tossing three touchdown passes.
Tuberosi believes his team has what it takes to get back to the finals.
“For us seniors it’s our last chance,” Adrid said. “We’d like to finish our chapter with a ring.”
