Science teacher Greg Stoehr is your favorite teacher’s favorite teacher. While many know of his decades-long campus presence, few know of his athletic feats.
Years before you were born, Stoehr was winning championships, touring overseas, and even appearing in Sports Illustrated magazine playing the beloved commonwealth game: Rugby.
Throughout high school, Stoehr played football, it was only when he began college at UC Berkeley, that he discovered Rugby. Before season tryouts, Stoehr joined a class run by a senior player and immediately fell in love. For the next 30 years it would consume much of his life.
“It’s such a pure game,” Stoehr said. “I never looked back after that.”
Stoehr was drawn to rugby’s simplicity: Besides two teams of 15 players, there’s nothing but an almond-shaped ball, two goal posts, and some mouth guards. But this doesn’t mean it’s easy — rugby is considered to be the ultimate test of physical endurance and strength.
“You get black eyes, you get messed up, you get all bruised,” Stoehr said. “Every player participated in the whole game, and you had two subs who could come in just for injury.”
Rugby at UC Berkeley in the 80s was a varsity sport — above club status but not NCAA-recognized. At this level, the Bears were a known powerhouse. Not only did the team win back-to-back national championships during his junior and senior years, but Stoehr and his teammates were even featured in Sports Illustrated magazine.
“To hear the final whistle blow at a national championship game — to be there when it’s a close game, and you had some impact — that’s pretty special,” Stoehr said.
Stoehr played flanker, the fastest and most outside-positioned player, and the first to emerge from the scrum — a wrestle for possession of the ball. As such, he often had the greatest opportunities to score tries, similar to touchdowns in football.
“In football, if you were a lineman, you just block. If you’re the quarterback, you just throw,” Stoehr said. “In rugby, everybody gets to do everything, and I just thought that was so great.”
After graduating, he took his talents to the country producing some of the best rugby players: New Zealand.
“The competition was so good, to have that experience with those coaches and those players,” Stoehr said.
Stoehr played for the Merivale Papanui Rugby Club in Christchurch and returned home with an edge on his American teammates.
“At some point, we were horrible, but that allowed me to start — even though I was an American,” Stoehr said.
What sticks with Stoehr about that summer is the community he found with those who eat, sleep, and breathe rugby.
“Eventually, everybody gets to the clubhouse at 5 p.m., and then it’s just drinking beers and eating food,” Stoehr said. “It’s a real cultural event.”
When rugby became a professional sport, Stoehr was recruited to play for the U.S. national team, where he returned to New Zealand on a tour. While the U.S. was often defeated by overseas competition, Stoehr valued the experience of playing among some of rugby’s greats —, including New Zealand legends, Jeff Wilson and Andy Haden.
Stoehr retired from rugby at 30, but continued to spread his passion through coaching. He founded a Los Altos team called the Lions, which he ran for another 16 years. Unfortunately, Stoehr couldn’t create an official roster at LAHS, as rugby isn’t recognized by CCS.
“We had this little corner of a field,” Stoehr said. “We were low priority, but coaching high schoolers was fun. It was just hard to get access to resources.”
Stoehr plans to retire after the 2025 school year. He leaves LAHS not only with a decades-long teaching legacy but with stories of his lifetime adventures.
