Lone Peak High School

Lone Peak baseball/girls soccer head coach Mike LaHargoue resigns

Lone Peak baseball and girls soccer coach Mike La Hargoue has submitted his resignation from both positions, effective immediately, but said he's just stepping away for a time to test his resolve to continue coaching.

Principal Chip Koop confirmed the resignations and added that they were accepted with reluctance. La Hargoue will continue in his teaching capacity at the high school.

There have been some rumors of misconduct swirling in the community. Both Koop and Alpine School District officials said that there are no criminal or sexual allegations against the coach but that some parents had expressed concern over certain coaching practices.

La Hargoue said he'd been contemplating this move for a while and decided the time was right to take a break from the grueling schedule involved in coaching year-round.

"I'm going to take a year off and then see if I still have the drive to coach," he said. "If I do, then I may consider coming back.

"My younger son is going to be a sophomore this year and I would like to have a chance just to watch him like any other parent," he said.

"I've spent a lot of time coaching other people's children, which means I've had to sacrifice time with my own family. It was also hard coaching my other son when he was on my team, and I haven't decided yet if I want to do that again," he added.

La Hargoue coached the Knight baseball team to a 22-8 record in 2011 and a 5A state championship in 2010.

He also guided the Lone Peak girls soccer team to an 11-6 record in 2010 and three straight 5A state title game appearances in 2005-07. Before that, he had a long and successful coaching career at Mountain View High School.

Here's the official press release from Alpine School District:

"Mike LaHargoue, baseball coach and girl's soccer coach at Lone Peak High School is resigning from his coaching duties effective immediately. The LPHS administration expresses appreciation for his years of service in both sports."

Both Koop and Rex Brimhall, assistant principal over athletics, are out of town at the moment and will post the job openings a bit later on when they are ready to meet with applicants.

Beky Beaton can be reached at bbeaton@heraldextra.com .