WESTBROOK (AP) – A teacher-coach who moved from Mississippi to Maine to escape the ravages of Hurricane Katrina said he has resigned as softball coach at Westbrook High School, citing threatening notes found on his truck and desk.

Steve Vowell, who teaches health at Wescott Junior High, said one of the messages read, “Go Back to the South. We don’t like your softball. We know your wife’s and kids’ schedules.” The second note, he said, was laced with profanities.

Police were investigating the threats.

Vowell said he tried to turn Westbrook’s struggling softball program around by instilling a strong work ethic and stressing fundamentals. But he said he encountered parental criticism, especially on issues like playing time and disciplinary action against players who missed games or were late for practice.

During his two years as coach, wins were scarce. The Blue Blazes were 2-14 the first year and 6-10 the second year.

“I tried to teach the players accountability,” Vowell told the Portland Press Herald. “If a girl comes to me and says she can’t play because she has Red Sox tickets or that she has to be somewhere else, I don’t think those are legitimate reasons to miss a game.”

Steve Keites said he and other parents had no objection to Vowell’s holding players accountable, but felt the coach was out of line on one occasion when he called his players to the pitcher’s mound during a game to reproach them for lack of effort.

“He raised his voice and kind of put the girls down,” Keites said. “I didn’t think it was appropriate and a group of us told Todd Sampson, the athletic director. The coach didn’t need to do that in front of the parents and the other team. That’s the only problem I had with him. I liked the intensity he brought to the team. It’s what this program needed.”

Gary Groves, the Westbrook athletic director who hired Vowell, said he was impressed with his background, which included a stint as a head coach at a community college in Mississippi. Vowell also had been a special teams coach in football for Delta State University in Cleveland, Miss.

“He is just what the Westbrook softball program needed. He’s an excellent role model and his integrity is at the highest level. He understands kids,” said Groves, who is now athletic director at Deering High School in Portland.

“This is a case of parents driving him out and having no support from the administration. If the school administration had dealt with this situation a year ago instead of looking the other way, Coach Vowell wouldn’t have been subjected to this,.” Groves said.

Vowell, who uprooted his family from Biloxi, Miss., said his wife and three daughters have found Westbrook residents to be “more than welcoming.”

“Undermining this all is a lack of support from the administration, which is disappointing,” he said.

Sampson said Vowell has not submitted his resignation in writing. He said he could not comment on Vowell’s statements because of confidentiality issues regarding school personnel. Principal Marc Gousse had no comment.

—

Information from: Portland Press Herald, https://www.pressherald.com

AP-ES-05-31-07 0849EDT