Punahou School boys basketball coach Dan Hale announced yesterday he has resigned and will move with his family to Northern Virginia to be closer to his retiring father, Ralph.

Hale notified Punahou staff and parents yesterday about the move. He said he plans to return to Hawai'i with his family "in about a year."

"We'll be back, but this is an opportunity for me and my family to be close to my dad as he transitions into retirement," Hale told The Advertiser last night. "It'll be a good experience for my (four) kids to live somewhere different and spend time with Grandma and Grandpa. The hardest part was (leaving) basketball, because we had a really good summer, I really enjoyed this group of kids. But the program is going in the right direction and I know they'll find somebody good to take over."

Hale, 46, coached for two seasons at Moanalua and was named O'ahu Interscholastic Association Eastern Division Coach of the Year in 2006.

He took over the Punahou program later that spring and guided the Buffanblu to a state runner-up finish in 2007 and the state title in 2008.

Read his prep sports blog at http://preptalk.honadvblogs.com.