Kale Ane steps down after winless tenure at McKinley

After two seasons, Kale Ane’s run with the McKinley Tigers is done.

Ane stepped down from his position as head football coach. McKinley is accepting applications to replace Ane, who coached at Punahou for 22 years before retiring in 2021.

“I just talked with the kids a couple of hours ago. I just got back from Seattle. I spent Halloween with my grandchildren, and part of the trip was I wanted to think about what I wanted to do,” Ane said. “I was disappointed I wasn’t able to turn it around, to be fair to the kids. They’ve worked hard. Hopefully, someone else can make those adjustments.”

The Tigers were 0-8 in his first season. That squad didn’t lack for offensive action, scoring 149 points (18.6 per game) despite the winless campaign.

McKinley went 0-8 again this fall, struggling offensively while improving somewhat defensively. The Tigers scored 63 points total (7.9 per game).

“Coach Kale is awesome and I loved having him here,” McKinley athletic director Bob Morikuni said. “He brought a lot to the program and I really enjoyed working with him. Things just didn’t work out as he stepped down. I appreciated all that he and his family and coaches have done.”

Roster numbers were up to 53 players in ’21 as Ane and his staff tried to bring life to a struggling program.

“Our numbers improved every year he was here,” Morikuni said.

The program had 28 varsity players and 25 at the junior varsity level. The JV didn’t have an official team, but practiced with the varsity under one coaching staff.

Ane doesn’t plan to stay idle.

“There’s a lot of things out there. I still enjoy coaching. I would still like to make an impact,” he said. “I want to continue to give back. I wouldn’t mind being a position coach or coordinator. The relationships are always great,”

Ane has a career record of 159-90-1 (.638), including state championships in ’08 and ’13 at Punahou.