Lehi Sports
Football assistant completes suspension for inadvertent rule violation
Beky Beaton | Lehi Free Press
A Lehi High School assistant football coach will complete a three-game varsity suspension this week for a rule violation committed in the early spring.
Lehi Coach Andy Hadfield was unaware that his assistant had reached out on Instagram to a junior high student who does not live in Lehi boundaries. The contact consisted of a single direct message through the app.
Brighton High School made a complaint about the matter to the Utah High School Activities Association (UHSAA), and the coach was invited to a hearing. He was found in violation of the “undue influence” standards and received the three-game suspension. The school was also fined $1500.
The coach was not barred from practice or sub-varsity games. The student involved does not even play the position that the coach works with on the Pioneer staff and there has been no further contact.
“Our coach was under the impression that the rule he violated only applied once a student had entered high school,” Hadfield said. ““He realized where he was wrong.
“We have discussed this as a coaching staff and reemphasized that we don’t reach out to players on other teams. This is not only something we’re not allowed to do, it’s also something that we aren’t even interested in doing,” the coach continued.
“The player movement that is going on in the state right now is crazy,” Hadfield said. “We as coaches should not have any influence on what these kids decide.”
Lehi Athletic Director Quincy Lewis confirmed all of the facts of the incident. “There was a mistake made by one of our assistant coaches with the football team,” he said. “We have since gone through the process with the UHSAA and received a fair result to that process.
“This was a learning moment for our assistant coach,” Lewis said. “This is something that happened in the spring of last year and we’ve moved forward now from that.”
