School district to conduct review after OKM coaching scandal

A coaching scandal at a Kelowna high school has prompted a review of the way adult volunteers are entrusted to oversee sports teams, district superintendent Kevin Kaardal says.

“We will be reviewing our athletics handbook with an emphasis on ethics and eligibility rules for student athletes,” Kaardal said Tuesday.

But Kaardal said recent events surrounding the OKM Secondary football team, including the resignation of volunteer coach Johannes Van Leenen and suggestions some players received special treatment or were improperly declared eligible to play for the school, represent an unusual situation.

“We have hundreds of volunteer coaches in our system and this is our first violation, which we discovered and self-reported,” Kaardal said.

While a review will be undertaken, the district has a comprehensive process for trying to ensure coaches follow all relevant rules and regulations, he said.

“Our current process for recruiting and vetting volunteer coaches includes an interview, criminal reference check, athletic coaching certification, experience reference checks, and review of an athletics handbook,” Kaardal said.

Coaches are expected to regularly review and abide by codes of conduct set by both the district and the B.C. School Sports Association, he said.

When questions first arose earlier this year of ineligible OKM football players, and suggestions that some players were improperly offered rewards, school administrators passed the concerns along to B.C. School Sports.

“We can confirm that Okanagan Mission Secondary discovered numerous concerning activities from within their football program and self-reported these immediately to BCSS,” executive director Jordan Abney said in a statement released April 25.

“With the support of the school district, OKM conducted an investigation and shared with a summary of the findings.

“While clearly there is a need for increased oversight and we wished these situations to have not occurred at all, the athletic director and principal at OKM have been entirely forthcoming and transparent throughout this process,” Abney said.

Van Leenen has been suspended from coaching for five years, Abney said.