SAN DIEGO — In his 26th season at Torrey Pines High School, boys basketball head coach John Olive earned his 600th win.

“Afterwards I wasn’t even thinking about 600 at the time, to be honest with you, until I walked back there, saw all the kids ready to go and wanted to shower me with the water bottles,” Olive said.

Olive, who is 38 years into his coaching career and usually intense leader, took a break from focusing on the game and enjoyed the moment.

“Then I got a little silly and dumped a little water on myself as well to encourage them to cheer and do it a little bit because they were really excited for me,” Olive said.

Olive’s reaction to the celebration left a lasting impression on his team.

“It makes us feel really good, especially as a team, you know, because we always want to make our coach proud. And he doesn’t really get like that often,” student J.J. Bartelloni said.

The congratulations went beyond the locker room. Former players reached out to him, thanking their coach.

“They’ve all had a piece of it. They’ve all won their share of the 600 wins and they should be proud for the program,” Olive said.

Olive has won 75% of the games he’s coached for the Falcons, receiving a plaque commemorating the accomplishment. He said wouldn’t have been as success without his wife.

“She’s shared so much in all of this. Giving up a lot of time while I’m away. She takes pride in us doing well,” Olive said.

Olive’s players say one of the biggest reasons why he was able to earn all these wins is because of the hard work he puts in before he gets on the sideline.

“You saw us, we were here at lunch, walking through the other team’s game plan for tonight. I’ve never seen any coach work as hard as him, and I think that’s really why we win so much,” Bartelloni said.

Olive calls the milestone: a full-circle moment.

“To be able to land here at Torrey Pines. I mean, a storied program with history before I got here, I’ve enjoyed the ride,” Olive said.