But since his retirement, the 1972 Olympic bronze medalist has been pitching in as coach for the alumni team over friendly, weekend matches between the school's current team and a collection of former players. So on this balmy Saturday morning, Barnett, dressed in a faded white T-shirt and gray shorts, made his way along the poolside. He was focused on getting the pool ready before the game. Little did he know that the surprise of his life was waiting for him just a few steps away.

Midway along the length of the pool, Barnett came to a halt when he saw a sea of grinning faces staring at him. After a moment of silence, someone shouted, "Hi, Coach!" And Barnett's initial shock gave way to a big smile. Standing before him were close to 200 of his former students, some from as far back as the1960s, who had come to say a special thank you to their high school water polo coach. It was a surprise retirement party. And his former students had another surprise for him. The Lynbrook pool will be called the Steve Barnett Aquatic Center. The name change only awaits approval by the school board.

"Coach Barnett has influenced the lives of so many students that I'm not surprised by the turnout," says Chris Spencer, who was responsible for organizing the retirement party. Spencer, from the class of 1996, says that though Barnett retired from his coaching job last year, he needed more time to reach out to the alumni community to organize a grand farewell. Barnett has continued teaching physical education at Lynbrook, but this is his last year.

Men in their 20s, 30s and 40s came from as far as Oregon, Texas and in one case the Czech Republic. When they talk about their former coach, they choke up. "To put it simply, he was more than a coach to me. He was a father figure I desperately needed during my high school days. And I would not be where I am today if it were not for Coach Barnett," says Mark Kruthers. Kruthers, who graduated in 1987, now practices law in Fresno. "I lost my dad when I was 9. And my mom never remarried. So during my formative years, between13 and 18, Coach Barnett was the prominent male figure in my life. He guided me through some of the key moments that shaped my life," says Kruthers.

Kruthers recalls that he was ready to quit water polo a few weeks after he had joined the team. "I had broken a finger or something like that," he says. Barnett spent time talking to the 15-year-old and made sure he stuck with the team. Looking back, Kruthers says that it was a pivotal moment for him, because it was his water polo that got him into UC-Berkeley and eventually into law. And Kruthers later went on to play internationally with the U.S. National Junior Team.

"I've had so many coaches in my life. But Steve Barnett is the only one I'll call 'coach' till the day I die. Because he has earned the title," says Kruthers. "Unlike other coaches, Barnett never yells or swears at students and never jumps up and down with anger when he's upset or when the team is not doing well. He has a way of reasoning out that makes you want to do the right thing. He is a person who genuinely cares about all his students and is very involved in their all-round development, including academics and discipline--not just water polo," says Kruthers.

Later on the day of the retirement party, as alumni gathered in the school's auditorium for a short video presentation about Barnett, student after former student came up to speak about his influence in their lives. Michael Marty, from the class of 1993, served in the U.S. Marine Corps and now works as a computer forensic and intelligence specialist. "Coach Barnett taught everyone the importance of fair play, integrity, honesty, courage and determination. If it wasn't for this early experience, I think that my days spent serving the country around the world in the United States Marine Corps would have been much harder," he says. Marty remembers grueling early-morning and late-evening practices. "Some will say there was too much emphasis on sports from the coach. But he always made sure our grades were not slacking. During my senior year on the varsity water polo team, we had the highest GPA in the central coast division," Marty says.

After he joined the armed forces, Marty says, the coach's lessons stayed with him. "Whether I was coaching my battalion's soccer team to victory for Camp Pendleton or coaching young Marines on the use of the rifles, Coach Barnett's ethics in instruction were always passed down," he says, "not only in sports, but also in leadership to my junior Marines. I instilled our corps' values in those Marines, which oddly enough were the same values Coach Barnett instilled in me: honor, courage and commitment. From him to me and from me to the young men and women I came in contact with," he says.

The retirement party turned out to be an emotional roller coaster for Barnett. After all the thank-you speeches were done, he stood misty-eyed in front of the gathering. "There are three things that are impossible to do: one, climb a mountain that's leaning towards you; two, kiss a girl leaning away from you; and three, find words to tell you all how happy I am today," he said, with the sense of humor and humility his students have come to expect.

"I've had the privilege of meeting presidents, ambassadors and dignitaries. Those are memories I will always have, but today will be a memory I will always cherish. All these years I have done my job. But now I see the finished product, and this is the proudest moment of my professional life," he said, his voice choked with emotion.

These words, coming from a former Olympic medalist and U.S. National Water Polo Hall of Famer, are especially telling. Barnett doesn't wear his achievements on his sleeve.

Water polo has been part of Barnett's life since he was a teenager growing up in the valley, and he played for the Foothill College water polo team.

In the late 1960s, his professional career took off. After winning the Amateur Athletic Union championship tournament, Barnett represented the United States in the 1967 Pan American games in Canada. In 1968, he represented the United States in the Olympic games in Mexico City. That year the U.S. team finished sixth. (At this same time, Barnett had also started his teaching career as a physical education teacher at Cupertino High School.)

A year later, in 1969, the U.S. team won the national championship, and Barnett was declared the Most Valuable Player of the tournament. He was a rising star in the water polo world.

Howerver, despite his consistent performance in every tournament, Barnett was not selected to play in the 1972 National Championship, and that year his team lost.

But with the 1972 Olympics fast approaching, the country wanted Barnett back. And at Munich, the water polo team led by Barnett won the bronze. The United States was making its medal comeback in this game after a 40-year drought. "It was an amazing feeling standing there with your team and watching our national flag go up," says Barnett.

But when dealing with his students, Barnett does not talk about his moments of glory. "I did not know that he was an Olympics bronze medalist till my junior year at school, and I found out that he was a Hall of Famer only after I graduated. He is one person I know with the smallest ego in the world," says Kruthers.

In the coaching world, Barnett's style could be considered "sensitive."

"I do not see any reason to shout at students when they do not perform well. I had a coach like that in high school myself, and I realized that other than humiliating the person, screaming and yelling achieves nothing. So I realized that if I give the students an answer or a solution, they bought it," says Barnett.

There is a reason why the coach gets behind his athletes when it comes to schoolwork and grades. "I was not a good reader at school. So whenever I see kids with learning issues, I understand their struggle. I will go to the counselor or teacher and find out ways to help these students with their work," he says. But if he ever found out his players were "messing up in class," he made sure they paid for it in the pool. "I make them do extra pushups, situps and laps in the water. It was not a punishment. But just a reminder," he says with a twinkle in his eyes.

Barnett was also a friend to his students. "I discuss everything under the sun with them. From drinking, drugs and sex to how to treat your mom and grandparents," he recalls. "I sometimes tell kids to buy roses and give them to their moms and tell them, 'I love you.' And these moms come back to me and say, 'What did you do to my son? He has not told me that he loves me in years. But he did today with a rose,' " says Barnett.

Barnett's wife of 38 years, Elaine, says her husband draws his strength from his religion. "I won't call him religious. But he has a special relationship with God. He reads the Bible every day. He realizes that he is touching the lives of so many kids, and he is dedicated to putting the kids first and the sport second," she says.

She recalls a time, seven years ago, when Barnett underwent a sudden triple bypass surgery. "He has always been healthy. One day while we were on vacation, he felt weak, and when we rushed him to the hospital, we found out that 99 percent of his major artery was blocked and he needed to have surgery the next day," she says. Elaine remembers doctors explaining to her and her family that the chances of survival during such a surgery were slim. "But he survived that and, more amazingly, within a few weeks he was at the pool deck coaching the kids. He just could not stay away from his students. And that's what drives him," she says.

Barnett's passion for the game and his commitment to his students has so far been his life's work. But now that he has retired, he says he plans to do carpentry work. "I'll probably help remodel my children's homes. But the current water polo coach at Lynbrook has also asked me to assist him. So I'll probably do that, too," he says, with the smile of a man who knows that coaching is in his blood.