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Parents and students urge MSD Boone Township to let dismissed coach present awards
Summary
Multiple parents, students and community members told the school board they believe Coach Ryan’s removal was unjust and asked that he be allowed to hand out end-of-season awards to the boys soccer team; the board advised parents to speak with the athletic director and noted personnel confidentiality limits.
Parents, students and other community members addressed the MSD Boone Township School Board during public comment to urge that the dismissed boys soccer coach, referred to in testimony as Coach Ryan, be allowed to present end-of-season awards.
"He had done so much work with these boys for him not to be able to do the award ceremony. I feel it was an injust for his dismissal," said Adam Coffer, who said he has known Ryan since 2014 and described the coach’s contributions to players’ development. "He did wonderful things... to take that away from him just to give them the awards."
Student speaker Bradley Silus said the coach had personally encouraged him after a missed penalty kick. "For him not to be able to give me an award would just be a disgrace," Silus said. A parent, Carrie, told the board her son went from a timid player to a confident athlete under the coach and said it would be a "big disservice" to seniors if the coach could not present awards. Another parent, Stephanie, said the coach "gave my son the platform to lead" and argued punishing the team for one parent's complaint would unfairly affect the entire roster.
Board members responded by advising parents to first contact the athletic director, referred to in the discussion as "Mr. Adam," and encouraged team members to raise their concerns directly with administration. Superintendent Dr. Brooks acknowledged parents’ disappointment but reiterated that personnel matters limit what administrators can disclose publicly: he said personnel decisions are made "thoughtfully and only after careful consideration of all available information."
The board did not reverse or announce any personnel action at the meeting. Members said program plans were in place to ensure athletes would be recognized at Friday's awards, but did not state that Coach Ryan would be allowed to present. The transcript shows parents were encouraged to follow up directly with the athletic director and with school administration for further clarification.
The board moved on to other business after public comment; no vote related to Coach Ryan or the awards was recorded in the meeting transcript.
