Troy Hennum, 25, resigned from Seattle Public Schools last Friday after he was accused of using his girls on the Roosevelt H.S. softball team to find him dates.

Hennum was recently hired as the Roughriders’ softball coach, but was put on leave after a Seattle woman, Katharine Aagard, 25, notified Roosevelt administrators about the situation.

She told the Seattle Times and ABC News that she was approached by a group of girls at the sporting goods store where she works. The girls explained that their coach had sent them to find potential dates for him. Aagard exchanged text messages with Hennum, but she said she felt skeptical about what was going on.

Last spring, Hennum was a softball coach at Lake Washington H.S., but was put on leave after sending a player a text message, a violation of school district policy. During a softball tournament, it was reported that he reached out to the girl because she was having family issues. Hennum was not disciplined, but did not return to coach at Lake Washington.

Hennum, a 2006 Terrace graduate, was scheduled to be a student teacher at MTHS this spring. He was planning to become a learning support teacher. He was also a basketball coach at Brier Terrace M.S. this past winter.

“He was a student here and he was somebody who I liked,” Principal Greg Schwab said. “He’s a good guy in spite of what people may read about him in the media.”

The story has made numerous local and national headlines, much to the surprise of those who personally know Hennum.

Social studies teacher George Dremousis said, “He was a very energetic and hard working young man who was passionate about working with athletes and pursuing special education. I feel it’s unfortunate for him that a few decisions made in poor judgment have hurt his reputation. That’s the worst part about it.”

Hennum declined to comment on this story to the Hawkeye.