By Pete Borello

Gary Dinneen didn’t know it then, but a brief conversation with his athletic director in 1987 was really an informal job interview.

Dinneen, who at the time was coaching basketball at St. Francis High, recalls fielding two innocent questions from then-athletic director Angelo Aguiar.

“Do you like tennis?” Aguiar asked.

“Yea,” Dinneen answered.

“Do you really like tennis?” Aguiar asked.

“Yea,” Dinneen responded.

“Congratulations - you’re the new tennis coach,” Aguiar said.

Sixteen years and 485 wins later, Dinneen is retiring from his position as the Lancers’ tennis coach.

The Los Altos resident coached both the boys and girls varsity teams to league championships and multiple trips to the Central Coast Section playoffs.

As boys coach, Dinneen posted a record of 251-93. St. Francis won five West Catholic Athletic League titles - including one this past spring - and reached the CCS semifinals seven times under Dinneen.

He had even more success in his 14 years as girls coach, a post Dinneen stepped down from two years ago (with assistant Lynn Horiye taking over). Dinneen compiled a 233-39 record, leading the team to four CCS crowns and eight SCVAL De Anza Division titles.

While the wins were nice, they weren’t the most satisfying part of the job for Dinneen.

“I liked interacting with the kids,” he said, “that was probably the main thing.”

Dinneen will now have more time to interact with his own youngsters, ages 11, 9 and 5.

“I’ll get to spend more quality time with my wife and kids,” said Dinneen, who will continue teaching at St. Francis. “I can give my wife a break; it’s tough to be a coach’s wife.”

Although Dinneen said he will miss coaching, he feels the timing is right.

“It’s time to step aside and let someone else take over the reigns,” he said. “I know Brian will do a great job.”

As in Brian Garrow, a 1986 St. Francis High graduate who played professional tennis from 1989-92 and competed at Wimbledon three times.

“Brian will get the most out of the kids,” Dinneen said of the Lancers’ new boys coach.

That’s something Dinneen prided himself on during his reign as coach.

“I’ll miss motivating the kids - I like to think I’m good at it,” he said. “My teams were not always the best, but the kids gave their best and played to the level of their ability.”