De La Salle High School’s Bob Ladouceur, who guided the East Bay school to a national-record 151-game winning streak, six mythical national titles and five state championships, announced Friday he was retiring as head coach.

The 58-year-old ‘Coach Lad’ said he would remain a part of the program “in some capacity” and would continue teaching at the school. But as the head coach, he went out in style -- winning another state Open Division title in December with a 48-28 win over Centennial-Corona.

At the time, the husband and father of three hinted it may have his last campaign and confirmed those rumors at a Friday news conference at the school.

Over his career, Ladouceur won a California state record 399 games while losing just 25 games and having three ties.

But what put De La Salle on the national map was the winning streak that stretch from 1992- 2004 before Bellevue High in Washington state defeated the Spartans on September 4, 2004.

In Northern California, the De La Salle program defined the word dynasty. Since a 35-27 loss to Pittsburg in the 1991 North Coast Section championship, the Spartans have won 236 straight games over Northern California teams. During his years at the helm of the Spartans, Ladouceur sent dozens of players to Division I schools with several making it to the National Football League including Jacksonville halfback Maurice Jones-Drew, former New York Giants wide receiver Amani Toomer, former San Francisco 49ers kicker Doug Brien and Washington Redskins linebacker Kevin Simon.

Ladouceur started his career as head football coach and religious studies teacher at the school in 1979.

Ladouceur has repeatedly been named "National High School Coach of the Year" by USA Today and was inducted into the national federation of State High School Associations Hall of Fame in 2001. An ESPY nomination for "Coach of the Year" from ESPN followed in 2004.

But the longtime teacher and coach, who said he never yearned to take the helm of a college football team, said the relationships he's developed over the years with his fellow coaches and students have been the real highlights.

"(The students) are the ones that made it something more than just football," he said. "I will be forever grateful to them."

He said the Spartans' successes over the years are "a testament to what is possible when teenagers are determined to create an authentic team experience" and credited them for their commitment to training and taking on tough obstacles.

Ladouceur also gave credit to his fellow coaches, whom he called "best friends." One of those coaches, Justin Alumbaugh, a former De La Salle student who once played football under Ladouceur's watchful eye, is set to take over the role of head football coach.

"He cares about kids, and he cares about challenging them and making them accountable - he has an incredible feel for how to challenge young men to make them better," Alumbaugh said of his colleague and former mentor today.

The newly appointed head coach said he plans to do his best to follow Ladouceur's example, starting with the varsity football team's next training session on Wednesday.

The man chosen to replace Ladouceur is offensive line coach Justin Alumbaugh, played for the legendary coach and has been on the coaching staff since 1998.