Lehi's athletic director takes girls coaching job

LEHI — The Lehi Pioneers have a new girls basketball coach.

The school's athletic director, Lynn Allen, will take over the program for the upcoming season.

"Coach Allen is tremendous coach, and he's been very successful working with girls athletics," said Lehi principal Sheldon Worthington. "Our girls will do very well under his direction."

Allen's appointment comes more than a week after Worthington released three-year head coach Mike O'Connor from the job. O'Connor's firing came after a yearlong struggle with parents who went to Worthington and the Alpine School District alleging verbal abuse by the coach.

After a spring meeting with parents, players and the coaches, Worthington assigned Allen to be one of O'Connor's assistants in the 2004-05 season. In August, however, the situation escalated when a group of parents and several players went to the Alpine School Board meeting with their complaints.

Several weeks after that meeting, Worthington decided to fire O'Connor, who still teaches at the school. O'Connor then filed suit Wednesday against 31 people who sent letters or spoke at that meeting and Worthington accusing them of defaming him.

The suit asks for not less than $1.5 million from each of the defendants.

Worthington asked Allen to take over the program for the upcoming season, but the school will advertise for a new coach at the end of the year.

"In the spring when we see what positions are available at our school, we'll advertise," he said.

Allen came to Lehi in 1981 from Grand High School, where he spent seven years coaching both girls and boys basketball, softball and track. He currently teaches math at Lehi, in addition to leading the school's athletic programs.

Worthington was very pleased that Allen accepted the position.

"He knows the game and the players, so I think he'll do very well," he said. "I'm just extremely pleased he accepted the job."

Allen was the head softball coach at Lehi and led the team to a state title in 1997. He was the boys basketball assistant coach from 1981 until 2003.

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