Lee Leslie resigned as the football coach at Kahuku High School on Thursday after one year on the job.

Leslie, who took the Red Raiders to the state semifinals last year after it missed the tournament the year before, said the time away from his family in Idaho became too much to handle. 

He distributed a team workout calendar last Friday and boarded a plane for Utah for spring break with every intention of returning. He called principal Pauline Masaniai on Thursday morning to inform her that he resigned.

“I just chose my family,” Leslie said. “I was away from them for 257 days and I never thought I could do that. I loved my time at Kahuku and I feel strongly about the support system there, those kids are second to none in the country.”