Mililani head coach Jeff Yamamoto is interviewed following his final game against Hilo. Brien Ing | SL

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Well wishers came to see Mililani head coach Jeff Yamamoto following his final game against Hilo. Brien Ing | SL

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Mililani head coach Jeff Yamamoto poses with daughter Haley (left) and wife Dee (right). Brien Ing | SL

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The final day of the Outrigger Hotels and Resorts/Division I Boys Soccer State Championships Saturday brought another prep season to a close, but also meant the end of a long, successful coaching career for one individual.

Jeff Yamamoto, the man who turned the Mililani boys soccer program into a perennial powerhouse, stepped down following the conclusion of the Trojans' 4-0 win over Hilo in the consolation final Saturday.

"It's bittersweet," Yamamoto said. "It's been 20 years that I've been at Mililani and I'm very proud to have been a part of that program, but I think it was time to go."

During his tenure, Yamamoto guided Mililani to 16 Oahu Interscholastic Association Western Division titles, 14 league championships and five HHSAA state championships, including four straight from 2001 to 2004. He compiled a career coaching record of 262 wins, 31 losses and 20 ties.

"I feel good about it," Yamamoto said. "It wasn't all my doing, there were a lot of people involved with building Mililani High School soccer. We've come a long way since I started, so I'm proud to be part of this development and I think we have set a pretty high standard."

Yamamoto has coached hundreds of players since taking over the Trojans' program in 1994. Brent Murakami, a 2004 graduate, was among the many former players that attended Saturday's game to honor Yamamoto.

"He's touched so many lives and families — he's in a category of his own," said Murakami, who does color commentary of prep soccer games for OC16. "It's hard to describe just what he's done for me as a person and for the community as a whole — I mean, look at how many people came out to see him. You know he's done good things if this many people from years back are here."

One of Yamamoto's current players, senior Jeron Cunningham, said he learned much from his outgoing coach.

"It's like learning from another teacher in school," Cunningham said of Yamamoto. "He knows a lot and he helps us through everything. All the questions I had, he had answers for and he taught me how to get better as a player and a person."

Yamamoto said it was about more than just soccer.

"You have to put it into perspective that this is just a soccer team and in the context of just the soccer game and the soccer team itself, the kids experience different things in the classroom, outside the classroom in sports and we wanted to give them a good experience in that portion of their life, you know, give them good role models," Yamamoto said. "We just try to be good role models and teach them to have good ethics, make good decisions and to be good citizens."

Perhaps the only person who truly understands the sacrifice that Yamamoto has made in his coaching career is his wife, Dee.

"It's been 20 years and our kids grew up with this big family," Dee Yamamoto said. "It's bittersweet — we made a decision a couple years ago that 20 years would be it. It's been hard, our family has had to share him, but when you have someone so special and with so much integrity, you've got to share him and these are all my kids, too, so it's hard."

So what's next for Yamamoto?

"He has lots of hobbies — he loves to surf, he loves to do wood work and I don't know if he can just be all the way done with soccer," Dee Yamamoto said. "They've got to make JV in the OIA, then he'll coach, but in the mean time, I just hope he doesn't drive me crazy — that's all I'm worried about.

ScoringLive reporter Stacy Kaneshiro contributed to this report.