Heinrich, who is a physical education teacher and department head and has coached a huge number of Hyde sports teams, is hanging up his whistle on June 11. The Saratoga resident plans to travel and do charity work upon retirement, but one of his first beneficiaries may be a school that won't know what to do without him.

"We complement each other's strengths and differences," says fellow P.E. teacher Eddie Landeros. "I wish now that we'd met earlier and started our careers together. We've been going on vacations together, and he's like a grandfather to my kids."

"It is bittersweet," Heinrich agrees, "but I want to retire with a love of teaching and coaching. It's time for new blood. It's time to move on."

A native of the Sacramento area, Heinrich, 57, grew up in a family of farmers and wanted to try something different for a career. He was athletic himself as a youngster, so once he got his teaching credential from California State University, Sacramento, he looked for coaching jobs. His first stop was in Cupertino. "At first, I hated the smog," he says, "but teaching jobs at that time were hard to come by."

That was 1971, and Heinrich began working with the greatly diversified athletic program at Hyde. He personally has coached the wrestling, track, cross country and football teams. While the football program was discontinued in 1989, he still maintains a team of 70 for wrestling and a group numbering more than 100 in track and field.

"I've been blessed," Heinrich says. "We have a very competitive league, and I've taken backpack trips in the summertime with kids and taken them to wrestling tournaments for 25 years. It's really all about the kids." His office in the boys' locker room is plastered with glossy photos of his students from over the years, with some pictures dating back to the early 1970s.

"I don't know how many teachers have countless people coming back to visit, former students in their 40s," Landeros says. Hyde alumna Sylvia Loran remembers Heinrich from her time as a cheerleader and says a visit back to campus proved he is as engaging as she remembers. "The kids still relate to him. That same sense of humor and keen interaction with students is still there after 30-some odd years," Loran says. "It's fabulous that a teacher in the Silicon Valley, where it's so expensive, could be so dedicated to a school."

Heinrich has seen about nine principals cycle through the administration and has also taught children of former students as they come through the system. One former student even lives across the street from him and his wife, Gail, who works as a medical transcriptionist.

The two plan to stay in the area for a few years, but may eventually move back to the Sacramento area or to Colorado, where their daughter, Robin, lives. They also have a son, Tim, a model and actor who is soon moving to Los Angeles.

Heinrich says it'll be difficult to leave Hyde, but he's confident he's leaving the athletic department in the right hands. "It's about all of us and the work we do together. I'm just a part of that," he says. "The oldest part."