Colleagues support SMUS coach accused of bullying student players

Island basketball coaches appear supportive of the St. Michaels University School coach at the centre of a controversy over coaching methods, but acknowledge that bench mores have changed over the years.

More than a dozen former student athletes alleged in 2012 that they were publicly humiliated by coaches who yelled and swore at them. Ian Hyde-Lay, the boys basketball coach, was identified as one of the coaches in a joint report by the Toronto Star and CTV’s W5 released on Saturday.

“Ian has nothing but passion and love for the game and is supportive of the players. All the players loved him,” said University of Victoria Vikes head coach Craig Beaucamp. Hyde-Lay worked with Beaucamp as an assistant coach for several seasons.

“Ian wears his emotions on his sleeve. [Coaches] are obviously under more of a microscope now and it’s an ultra-sensitive environment, especially with the new social media,” said Beaucamp, five-time Canada West conference coach of the year.

“We are passionate about teaching and coaching and can be passionate in our mannerisms when we talk to the players. We’re in an age now where you have to be careful. I say [to Vikes players] don’t mistake hard coaching for what I think of you as a person.”

Students in the report said they were called names like “f---ing pussies” and “f---ing retards,” and were held by their jerseys while being yelled at.

A sports psychologist interviewed for the report said he was treating one student for post-traumatic stress disorder.

Several Island high school basketball coaches were contacted for this story but declined to comment.

One coach, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the issue was “too hot” and that those still coaching are “too much under the microscope” to comment publicly.

“I don’t know the language that was used or the context in which it was used,” the coach said of the allegations against the St. Michaels coach. “But I am supportive of Ian Hyde-Lay and his coaching career.”

Muzz Bryant, who coached the Belmont Secondary boys basketball team for nearly three decades from 1979 to 2007, said he has “total and absolute respect” for Hyde-Lay, whom he called a great coach.

“I was mild-mannered as a coach,” Bryant said. “But I could find a dozen kids who didn’t like me.”

The story has opened up a broader debate about coaching and whether what may have been acceptable standards of bench conduct in previous eras still apply.

“Things have changed from old-school coaching,” Bryant said.

Ken Shields, who coached Hyde-Lay at UVic, called his former player “highly principled” and credible.

“It’s a sad scenario to have two young people who feel they have been wronged,” Shields said, referring to the former SMUS players interviewed by the Star and W5.

Shields, who also coached the Canadian men’s team, said both sides of the story have been considered to his satisfaction.

“Justice has been served. Four independent reviews have studied this case intensely and found no grounds for disciplinary action.”

The investigations were conducted by Saanich police, the Ombudsman of B.C. Independent Schools, independent investigator John Sanderson and the Teachers Regulation Branch.

In a letter sent to parents and students on Monday, the school said each of the investigations found that the allegations of abuse were “without merit.”

The school also said it has implemented a new code of conduct, provided professional-development training to coaches and invited those who complained to participate in a reconciliation process.

W5 and the Star released their reports on the same weekend that Hyde-Lay guided SMUS to the B.C. boys double-A high school championship and was named winner of the 2015 Ken Wright Award for coaching by the B.C. Boys Basketball Association.

Hyde-Lay told reporters on Saturday that he had not read the Star story or seen the W5 report and so could not comment about them.

He is now with the SMUS rugby team on an overseas tour.