Former Park Center activities director charged with theft by swindle

By JASON GONZALEZ of the Minneapolis Star Tribune:

"The Brooklyn Park Police Department charged former Park Center High School activities director Larry Lawler with one count of aggravated felony theft by swindle for more than $1,000 this week, the department confirmed Friday.

Lawler was terminated from his position on April 29 after an investigation found that more than $3,500 had been skimmed off event ticket sales since January.

 

Barb Olson, District 279’s director of school/community relations, gave three reasons for Lawler’s termination: theft of public funds, failure to hold the appropriate license for his position, and failure to maintain records in accordance with the Minnesota Data Retention Act and the records retention schedule adopted by the school board.

 

Lawler, who could face up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine, had been Park Center activities director since July 2005 and earned a salary of $106,432. The district said Lawler did not have a Minnesota teaching license but led people to believe he was pursuing one.

 

“Our investigation and action regarding the former employee has been completed and now is a criminal complaint,” Olson said.

 

The district also has begun identifying any corrective actions that need to take place and applying safeguards. It found no issues at other District 279 schools and has plans to implement an electronic fee system to limit the amount of cash coming into schools.

 

Before being hired at Park Center, Lawler was the women’s basketball coach at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, for three seasons until resigning for family reasons. Earlier he was a women’s basketball assistant at Rutgers University for seven seasons.

 

Robert Carpentier was hired as Park Center’s new activities director on June 13."

 

Vaughn: 'Never satisfied'

By JASON GONZALEZ, Star Tribune 

Robbinsdale Cooper's Rashad Vaughn

In between shooting simulated jumpers with the Knicks' Carmelo Anthony in NBA2K13, Rashad Vaughn imagined what it would be like to have his name on an NBA roster.

The 16-year old Cooper junior, wearing a school sweatshirt with "Mr. Showtime'' plastered on the back, still has several years until that is even a possibility. But his big imagination motivates him.

"I ain't never satisfied," Vaughn said after defeating his younger brother in the video game. "If I can't be No. 1 [in recruit ratings], I have to be No. 1 in the draft."

The flashy nickname doesn't seem to match Vaughn's personality off the court, where he's soft-spoken and gentle. With a basketball in his hands, it's a much different story. Before he developed his highly sought-after jump shot, Vaughn was known for his two-handed dunks and even a 360. These highlights earned him the nickname that used to identify him on Twitter. He also has been known to oblige random requests for dunks from the star-struck student body.

"There are a lot of people in his ear," Cooper coach Steve Burton said. "But he's handled it well. It makes a difference when you're relaxed and happy."

For about 26 minutes on Jan. 5 at Target Center, he managed to steal the spotlight normally directed at top-touted recruit Tyus Jones in a game against Apple Valley.

The 6-6, 201-pound shooting guard made nearly everything he threw up that day, scoring 35 points. Jones was just as impressed with Vaughn as the big-time college coaches in the crowd.

"Any time you're in the same state as the No. 1 player in the country, it's tough to get more attention," Vaughn said. "All the hard work is paying off. But I have to keep grinding and move up [in the rankings] and be the best. Every player would like to be No. 1. And I feel like I can get to that."

He calls his mentor, assistant coach Pete Kaffey, at 1 a.m. to find a gym to shoot in. He wakes up Kaffey for church every Sunday. He takes cones to a park on a 30-degree day to get in extra agility work. It's all part of the work ethic and discipline that Vaughn believes will get him to the top. Kaffey is confident Vaughn is already there.

Once ranked at the bottom of the top 60, Vaughn has climbed 50 spots. That rise has helped draw a couple dozen high-profile scholarship offers. Climbing higher will be tough, but Vaughn already can boast about being the top- rated player at his position.

Cooper point guard Billy Kellogg said Vaughn is much more than that.

"He's steady and humble," Kellogg said. "You can argue it. But honestly, I think Rashad [is the best in the country]."

 

SOCIAL MEDIA IN HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS

By  Jason Gonzalez: Minneapolis Star Tribune:

"A sign on the locker room doors at Bloomington Jefferson jumped out at Tom Dasovich. Big, bold, underlined words, in all capital letters, some of them underlined for emphasis:

"Treat every conversation you have on TWITTER or FACEBOOK as if it were a NATIONALLY TELEVISED PRESS CONFERENCE."

The Minnetonka boys' basketball coach spotted the note during his team's recent visit and snapped a picture on his phone. Then he posted it on Twitter with the message "Players take note." Nearly half of his 173 followers retweeted or favorited the message.

Such warnings have become a staple of high school team meetings and huddles at practice, joining longstanding warnings about alcohol and drug use.

With teenagers communicating, venting and celebrating with the lightning speed of social media, coaches and athletic directors are scrambling to cope with and limit negative effects of controversial tweets, posts or photographs. Fears of defamation, suspensions, forfeitures and team chemistry issues have led some coaches and administrators to fight the use of Twitter and Facebook by their athletes.

Others, such as Dasovich, are embracing the reality that teenage athletes will find ways to keep their social status up to date.

He manages two Twitter accounts and encourages his players to use them to follow team news and events. He also monitors or trolls through his players' tweets, on the lookout for anything that could taint the Minnetonka name.

"I thought about getting one of those teachable moments out of it," Dasovich said of posting the locker room door message. "Helping kids navigate that world, I think, is important. [Proper use of social media] is a big issue with schools and teams."

Huddle talk: Be smart online

DeLaSalle football coach Sean McMenomy's phone erupted the afternoon former Gophers wide receiver and DeLaSalle alum A.J. Barker posted his denunciation of Gophers coach Jerry Kill and the football program on the Internet. Though he didn't coach Barker, McMenomy still felt the effects of something he classified as an example of how far such statements can reach.

Daily reminders are now a part of McMenomy's battle against ill-advised social media use. The post-practice and postgame speech message to "avoid parties, drugs, alcohol" now includes "be mindful of what you're putting on the Internet."

"With what happened in recent months and last year, you worry about it," McMenomy said.

This past season a Breck football player began a Facebook quarrel with someone at DeLaSalle that led to his suspension and required an in-person apology to the downtown Minneapolis school.

"We are always trying to keep ahead of the game," McMenomy said. "A kid can put whatever the heck they want out there. We gotta figure out what we can do to protect ourselves, and that's educate kids and stay on kids."

Curtailing chatter in Edina

Edina boys' hockey coach Curt Giles made Barker's rant required reading for his team and asked his players to steer clear of such potential social media distractions.

Junior defenseman Tyler Nanne said he took the message to heart. The avid Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat user said he has sacrificed a lot of his social media freedoms.

Nanne and senior defenseman Matt Nelson agreed it's tough to operate under such limiting guidelines, but the consequences of misuse are much worse if left in the hands of their 1,000-plus Twitter followers.

"It can destroy a team and a program," Nelson said. "The guidelines are to protect ourselves and the program as a whole."

Nelson, who has committed to play hockey at Princeton, already has received social media guidelines from his future college. Many major colleges have taken similar measures. The University of Michigan recently formalized social media practices for all athletes and required each to sign an agreement. Associate athletic director David Ablauf called it a "reactionary" response to a growing problem.

Edina girls' hockey players Casey McGarvey and Shelby Anderson said they've learned you can't take back an ill- advised message once you've hit send. And Lakeville North girls' volleyball player Alyssa Goehner considers her 1,062 followers a serious responsibility.

"Sometimes kids send out things and they don't understand the end result, how far it reaches," said Giles, who requires his players to put all their phones in a box prior to games. "[Kids] are going to use it. You always see them on their phones, on Facebook, in Twitterland. We just have to make sure they understand how to use it."

Coach learning curve, too

Understanding the proper use of social media also can be a challenge for coaches and athletic directors. For some, it's overwhelming to even try.

While Bloomington Jefferson girls' basketball coach Andy Meinhardt is well-schooled on social media and took the initiative to post the warning sign on the school's locker room doors, boys' basketball coach Jeff Evens admits to knowing little about the social media world.

Former Southwest football John Biezuns embraced the new world by connecting with colleagues and players. In November, he suddenly resigned for personal reasons amid speculation of misusing social media. 

He recently said he could not speak on the matter, but acknowledged he has learned a lot from his social media use and called its integration with sports "probably not a good thing."

"Coaches need to be aware of anything social media and as a coach, you have to be careful what you say," Biezuns said. "Anything that gets written down, e-mailed or texted can come back to haunt you."

Bloomington Jefferson athletic director Brian Fell will implement a version of the University of Michigan's new social media guidelines for next year's Jaguars athletes.

Minnetonka boys' basketball captain Riley Dearring is convinced the Skippers' approach is best.

"We all try to look out for each other. If we feel there is something that should not be put out there, we let each other know," Dearring said. "I think it's a good way for players to connect with other players. It's a good way to get information out."