Saying his family had been subjected to what he called "unrelenting and vicious" verbal attacks from a group of parents, Stillwater girls' hockey coach Tony Scheid has resigned.
Scheid, who coached the Ponies to a pair of Class 2A state titles during his 14 seasons, announced his resignation in a letter sent in an e-mail Friday to District 834 Superintendent Denise Pontrelli. In the e-mail, Scheid criticized what he called a lack of support from her.
A district spokeswoman declined comment Friday, citing data privacy with personnel matters.
Scheid, whose team was 9-16-2 this past season, wrote that he had lost the support of school administrators who formerly "understood the nature of the sport and the context of any criticisms that may have been leveled at me."
He called the parent attacks "unlike any I could have imagined, much less seen before. Much of the joy of coaching in this program has been taken away by the need to defend my own family. … I simply will not put my family through anymore of this."
Under Scheid, Stillwater made three state tournament appearances. He had a 260-112-21 career record.
DAVID La VAQUE
