Coupeville High School football coach Jon Atkins resigned Monday, Jan. 8.

Atkins was Coupeville’s fourth coach since Ron Bagby stepped down in 2009 after 26 years at the helm.

The Wolves were 6-13 during Atkins’ run.

Atkins, who teaches and coaches girls basketball at Oak Harbor High School, said, “It has become increasingly difficult teaching at a different school and coaching at another. I have found myself with less time to accomplish the things needed to get done to be a successful head coach.”

He added that he wants to spend more time with his family.

“Both of my children play soccer in the fall and basketball or baseball in the spring and I needed more time to be there for them and watch their games.

“For me, being a father is the most important job I have, and both of them would like me to attend more of their functions.”

Atkins said he “loved” his two years working with the student athletes, parents and administration at Coupeville and wishes them “all luck and success in the years to come.”

Coupeville athletic director Willie Smith said, “I felt like the program was moving in a positive direction: he had a very good staff — young, energetic, and willing to develop kids fundamentally.

“He had some bad luck this year with all of the injuries, and we were all looking forward to seeing what this team was capable of doing, and that’s just really unfortunate for all involved.

“Being an off campus head coach definitely has its challenges, and, unfortunately, it seems that’s the direction we are moving more and more with our coaches. So I understand the difficulty of raising a family and trying to put in the amount of time required to build programs and be a successful coach, and I can appreciate the dilemma that he was in and why he made the decision he did and wish him all the best.”