The only coach the Todd Beamer High School boys soccer team has ever seen won’t be back next spring. Adam Kulaas resigned last week after five years at the helm of the successful program.

“It is sad to leave the boys and their families,” Kulaas said. “But as the first Beamer boys soccer coach, they played a role in developing my aspirations and held me accountable in expecting, demanding and achieving greatness.”

Kulaas is resigning to take an assistant principal job in the Kent School District. At Beamer, he worked as an administrative intern and an instructor in the school’s AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) Program. Kulaas was also the activities coordinator in Beamer’s Northwest College Preparatory Academy.

Kulaas was named the Seattle Post-Intelligencer’s Coach of the Year in 2005 after he coached the then, 2-year-old school to a 10-4-3 record and the South Puget Sound League South Division championship. In total, Beamer has won two SPSL South Division titles and qualified for the postseason all five years they have been in existence.

The Titans’ best season came last spring when Kulaas’ team finished up in fourth place at the 2008 Class 4A State Boys Soccer Championships in Lakewood. Beamer lost to Puyallup in the semifinals, 1-0, and were beaten by Eastlake in the third-fourth match, 2-1.

The appearance at the 2008 tournament was the third-straight season Kulaas has led his team to the 16-team state championships. The Titans were eliminated in the first round in 2006 and lost to Federal Way in the state quarterfinals in 2007.

Kulaas also worked as an assistant coach for Carrie Hentchell and the Beamer girls program. The Titan girls played in the state championship game in the fall, losing on penalty kicks to Eastlake High School.

But Kulaas also endured some tough times as the Beamer head soccer coach, including the tragic death of former player John Lentz. The 2007 graduate was killed in August when the car he was driving crashed into a billboard in Edgewood.

Kulaas retired Lentz’ No. 16 Beamer jersey and hung it inside the school’s gymnasium. The Titans also wore red warm-up shirts during the 2008 season honoring Lentz’ memory.

“Nobody will ever wear 16 again,” Kulaas said. “It will stay as a permanent thing and be hung under our two SPSL championships in a glass box.”

Sports editor Casey Olson: 925-5565, sports@fedwaymirror.com