Coach Heineman Announces Retirement at End of 2021-22 School Year

After 27 years of coaching and mentoring Academy boys, Mike Heineman has announced his retirement as Athletic Director and Head Coach at the end of this school year. Although Coach Heineman will no longer be coaching after his retirement, he wants us to know that ‘this is not a goodbye.’ He plans to stay connected with the school and will be involved in the nation-wide search that will take place for his successor.

 

“I don’t want to be remembered for the coach who won games. If that’s all I ever did here at the school, then I haven’t done my job,” said Coach Heineman. “I want to be remembered for the ability to change lives.”

 

After nearly three decades of service to The Academy, Coach Heineman leads a comprehensive athletic program that includes physical education, 10 competitive sports options, and a staff of six coaches. Not only has he coached every single sport on campus, but he also has helped with admissions, fundraising, discipline and security, and offers motivating messages during Thursday morning chapels. He has helped lay the foundation for Academy boys who have gone on to receive athletic scholarships from across the country and play Division I sports. In addition to the many championship teams that he’s coached, highlights of his Academy career include elevating the status of the school’s basketball program, increasing student participation in extracurricular activities, and bringing tackle football back to SAA in 2007.
 

Over the course of Coach Heineman’s career at The Academy, he has become a student-favorite. He and Coach “Mac” Mike McClintock are often invited to student signing days and are the first stop when alumni return for campus visits. His love and dedication to encouraging our boys to be the best they can be will forever leave an impression on our school.

 

“Coach Heineman has spent 27 years coaching and teaching at San Antonio Academy and though I’ve only known him a short while, I can attest to the fact that he lives out his creed every day,” said Interim Head of School, Paul Quick. “As he always says, ‘coaching and teaching are about relationships and relationships are all about trust.’ Coach builds relationships daily and those that he has built with our Academy alumni and friends will not soon diminish. While he is retiring from the position of athletic director, his devotion to The Academy and the relationships he has built here will ensure that he will continue to have an integral connection to the school for years to come.”

 

View this special Coaches Show episode to hear more from Coach Heineman on his plans for retirement.

 

Coaches Show September 28, 2021 from SAA Wildcats TV on Vimeo.

The Academy plans to celebrate the career of Coach Mike Heineman. Please stay tuned, as more details will be released at a later date. In the meantime, we are collecting photos, messages, letters, etc. to present to Coach upon his retirement. If you would like to submit a tribute, please email communications@sa-academy.org or mail hard copies to The Academy (117 E. French Place) attention: Communications.