Eddie Klaneski has stepped down as athletic director and football coach at Damien Memorial School.

School President Dr. Kyle Atabay confirmed the news Friday morning.

“I can say that he turned in a resignation letter earlier this week. (Wednesday), I believe he spoke with his coaches, as well as his football team, about his decision to do so,” Atabay said. “In cooperation with him, we announced to our faculty and staff about his departure.”

Klaneski, a former Monarch player, did not return calls for comment.

Klaneski’s Monarchs have been highly competitive in Divisions I and II since his emergence as head coach in 2011. Damien reached the D-I state final in ’17, losing to Hilo.

“We are definitely going to miss him,” Atabay said. “He admits this was a really hard decision for himself. We’re just really grateful for the many years of service he gave to Damien as an employee, but we all get to that point in our lives where we make a decision.”

Klaneski, a 1993 graduate of Damien, will be involved in a different way.

“I don’t think we’re seeing the last of him because he’s an alumni and he’s tied to us. He’s talked about staying involved as an alum in fundraising events and other capacities,” Atabay said. “I think we’ll still be seeing him a lot.”

The Monarchs are still practicing fall sports, not subject to the state Department of Education’s recent postponement of the season. Damien will likely name an interim head coach before the private-school Interscholastic League of Honolulu begins playing games.

“I think within his staff he made sure things would be taken care of temporarily, so there isn’t a worry there. Football’s a little bit on hold, though in the ILH we’re trying our best,” Atabay said.

In June 2o20, under different leadership, the school initially removed Klaneski as football coach while reassigning then-athletic director Rudy Alejo. Klaneski’s status was reestablished soon after, and he was promoted to the AD position.

On Aug. 4, two days before the regular season was scheduled to begin, the DOE postponed fall sports until Sept. 24 due to a spike in new cases of COVID-19. The DOE also mandated that all student-athletes, staff and volunteers will need to be vaccinated in order to participate. Damien’s first game had been scheduled for Aug. 7 at Radford.