NORTH MANCHESTER - As girls basketball coach at Manchester High School, Jody Shewman was building a dynasty.

Now that dynasty will have to go on without Shewman.

Shewman, who led the Squires to their first regional title and first semistate appearance in 1998, resigned at Tuesday's school board meeting. Shewman will no longer teach phys ed or coach girls basketball or girls golf at Manchester.

The board voted 6-0 to accept the resignation.

Shewman coached Manchester's varsity team the last two years, guiding them to a 35-10 record. They went 14-6 two years ago and followed that with a 21-4 record last season. The Squires won their first sectional title since 1984 this past season. They then beat Lewis Cass in the regional to advance to the semistate, where they beat Bishop Luers in the first game. They lost to Bluffton 55-49 in the championship game of the Logansport 2A Semistate.

"I resigned due to personal reasons," Shewman said. "I built the program, and now I'm ready to seek another job."

The move was not one that caught Manchester Athletic Director Steve Shumaker off guard.

"I've been aware of the potential for what could happen for about six weeks," Shumaker said. "Then a month ago, I realized it was going to happen."

Indeed, the move happened, one that Shumaker wished could have been avoided. In a perfect world, Shewman would still be Manchester's coach; you don't get rid of coaches who are 35-10.

"Really, it's a sad day," he said. "I really liked her, liked what she was doing with the program. I was looking forward to what could happen in the future. It's disappointing." [[In-content Ad]]