High school notebook: WPIAL wants Highlands boys soccer coach suspended

By: HSSN Staff
Tuesday, September 19, 2017 | 12:27 PM

Highlands must suspend boys soccer coach Brad Walker for three games or the WPIAL will ban the team from the postseason.

The discipline comes after a Highlands player was ejected and suspended by the school for “unacceptable language” directed at the officials, WPIAL executive director Tim O'Malley said Tuesday.

“It was the consensus opinion of the board that the coach permitted it to happen,” O'Malley said, “and as a person of authority, didn't interact in anyway.”

The WPIAL cannot suspend coaches directly but can leverage who qualifies for the playoffs. Walker must be suspended three games and complete a coaching education program, O'Malley said. The school can appeal and request a hearing before the WPIAL board.

Highlands athletic director Chuck Debor said he's “still trying to digest it and work through it,” and declined comment for now on how the school will respond.

The Golden Rams were 4-4 overall and 2-2 in Section 1-AAA entering Tuesday's game against Hampton.

Transfers approved

Cali Konek, a former Imani Christian basketball star now enrolled at Southmoreland, was among 92 transfers the WPIAL declared eligible Monday. Konek, a Division I recruit, averaged 45 points for Imani before transferring last season to Riverdale Baptist High School in Upper Marlboro, Md.

Also officially declared eligible were:

• Pine-Richland senior Thomas Burns, who's the younger brother of Steelers cornerback Artie Burns.

• Washington junior Daniel Walker, a transfer from Georgia who lists a football scholarship offer from Louisville.

Cool-down period

The WPIAL board voted to recommend a 10-minute “cool-down period” after all games before coaches conduct media interviews, O'Malley said. The idea was to allow “coaches and players the opportunity after tough losses to gather themselves before they say something,” O'Malley said. “We will make the schools aware that there is a responsibility on their part. If (the coach) voluntarily enters into a conversation, then that's on them.”

Board business

• The WPIAL board once again discussed the Penn Hills boys basketball situation from last winter when a Plum locker room was damaged after a playoff loss. The WPIAL did not take any further action Monday, but is concerned with “the inability of the two districts to come to a resolution in regard to the damage,” O'Malley said.

• The WPIAL ruled Chartiers Valley's John Allen eligible after a hearing Monday in Green Tree. Allen, who plays football and basketball, transferred from Virginia, O'Malley said.

Chris Harlan is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at charlan@tribweb.com or via Twitter @CHarlan_Trib.

Tags: Chartiers Valley, Highlands, Imani Christian, Penn Hills, Pine-Richland, Southmoreland, Washington