Softball coach sent team on scavenger hunt to find him dates
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SEATTLE -- A local high school coach is accused of sending his female players on a scavenger hunt to find pretty girls for him to date, and it's not the first time he's been accused of being inappropriate with his team.
Coach Troy Hennum has already been suspended, and now he's trying to apologize to the woman his softball players found for him.
Twenty-five year old Kat Aagard admits being flattered at first when a group of giggling teenage softball players took her picture and got her number for their coach at Roosevelt High School. The girls said it was part of a scavenger hunt to bring photos of girls back to Hennum.
Later, Hennum sent a text to Aagard.
"He said, 'This is Troy, the Roosevelt softball coach," she said.
Then, when Hennum asked her out via text, Aagard told him using players to find girls was just too weird.
"He goes, 'Right? Genius. Great way to meet a girl. Use my girls. LOL. Gotta be careful,'" Aagard said. "(I texted) 'You're a creeper.' He's goes, 'Really, I'm a creeper?'"
Aagard began to realize that what Hennum was doing was wrong and decided to alert Roosevelt administrators, who suspended Hennum and launched and investigation.
This isn't the first time Hennum has gotten in trouble with text messages, either.
Last year, when he was coaching softball at Lake Washington High School, he violated district rules by texting an individual student. School district officials confirm he texted a female player and asked to meet her alone at an out-of-town tournament.
Hennum is not accused of making any inappropriate physical contact with the girl.
After word got out about his recent scavenger hunt, Hennum called Aagard to apologize for his actions.
"I want to call and, first off, sincerely apologize for any inconvenience myself or the team caused you," he said in a voicemail.
Officials from Seattle Public School say Hennum submitted his resignation on Friday.
Coach Troy Hennum has already been suspended, and now he's trying to apologize to the woman his softball players found for him.
Twenty-five year old Kat Aagard admits being flattered at first when a group of giggling teenage softball players took her picture and got her number for their coach at Roosevelt High School. The girls said it was part of a scavenger hunt to bring photos of girls back to Hennum.
Later, Hennum sent a text to Aagard.
"He said, 'This is Troy, the Roosevelt softball coach," she said.
Then, when Hennum asked her out via text, Aagard told him using players to find girls was just too weird.
"He goes, 'Right? Genius. Great way to meet a girl. Use my girls. LOL. Gotta be careful,'" Aagard said. "(I texted) 'You're a creeper.' He's goes, 'Really, I'm a creeper?'"
Aagard began to realize that what Hennum was doing was wrong and decided to alert Roosevelt administrators, who suspended Hennum and launched and investigation.
This isn't the first time Hennum has gotten in trouble with text messages, either.
Last year, when he was coaching softball at Lake Washington High School, he violated district rules by texting an individual student. School district officials confirm he texted a female player and asked to meet her alone at an out-of-town tournament.
Hennum is not accused of making any inappropriate physical contact with the girl.
After word got out about his recent scavenger hunt, Hennum called Aagard to apologize for his actions.
"I want to call and, first off, sincerely apologize for any inconvenience myself or the team caused you," he said in a voicemail.
Officials from Seattle Public School say Hennum submitted his resignation on Friday.
Poor judgement, desperate, lazy and a loser. Explains why he can't find his own dates.
This stupid Aagard girl is calling him a pedofile? How? Because he texted a girl? Have you looked at her history and seen what she has done in the past. she is an attention whore. And for those of you who KNOW him you would know that the Lake WA inncodient never came of anything and that entire teams families were behind him 100%. He was helping out a girl on the team who had some problems. So he has a caring heart... teaches special needs kid, and a great coach and your going to go off some random girls side who felt "threatened" because he asked her out for drinks? Makes no sense. YET he didnt do anything witht he girls on his team. Bottom line it was a silly joke took WAAAY out of hand.
@JeffsinsKat has a sweet profile picture! https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=517831318226964
@Jeffsins
Interesting. You only just signed up to comment today, only comments are on this partiucular story, yet the only thing you have to say is to belittle Ms. Aagard & call her an "attention w*or*".
The issue at hand is NOT Ms. Aagard - it is the fact that Hennum chose to ask his team to go find him a date, to use them as "p*mps" for himself. A completely unethical & inappropriate action on the part of someone who is "supposed" to have better judgement since he was the "adult" in the situation.
Since he apparently DOES have a state teaching credential issued by the state of Washington (according to one of the pothers of his fan club on here slamming Ms. Aagard), I think I will make it a point to contact OSPI to see what they have to say about the situation. I am sure with 2 "questionable" incidents in 2 years, both for misconduct, they are probably going to be VERY interested to hear about it (if they have not yet already).
@JeffsinsÂ
Interesting. You only just signed up to comment today, only comments are on this partiucular story, yet the only thing you have to say is to belittle Ms. Aagard & call her an "attention whore".
The issue at hand is NOT Ms. Aagard - it is the fact that Hennum chose to ask his team to go find him a date, to use them as "pimps" for himself. A completely unethical & inappropriate action on the part of someone who is "supposed" to have better judgement since he was the "adult" in the situation.
Since he apparently DOES have a state teaching credential issued by the state of Washington (according to one of the pothers of his fan club on here slamming Ms. Aagard), I think I will make it a point to contact OSPI to see what they have to say about the situation. I am sure with 2 "questionable" incidents in 2 years, both for misconduct, they are probably going to be VERY interested to hear about it (if they have not yet already).
If these girls were all 18 years old and on a rec team, not a school team, it wouldn't be news and nobody would care. Â The only reason this is getting news time is because they are probably 17 or 18 years old and in school. Â Let's remember, he didn't do anything to any of the girls (like some coaches do). Â And what's with all of you who say it's creepy? Â It's no more creepy than a guy taking a cute dog to a dog park to meet a girl. Â What if this guy's wife died a year ago and "his girls" came up with the idea to get him a date, would we be hating on the coach or praising the girls for being so nice and cute? Â
@girlgoil You equate intelligent high school athletes to a puppy? Don't you think these young women have more important things to do? Study, prepare for SAT's, maybe at the least hang out with their own friends and family? They are not there for his entertainment. GAWD.Â
@girlgoil It is creepy, because taking a dog to the park is entirely different than asking the girls on the team to go find a date for him.   And if the girls came up with it?  I would expect as a coach, he would thank them, get a good chuckle and decline their offer.  That is what a adult in a leadership role of authority should do.Â
@Joy Whitney  Even you say, "get a good chuckle" so, see, it's not that bad or creepy, it's kinda cute.  But "cute" is subjective, not everyone has the same sense of what is funny and what is creepy.  I'm not saying the coach made the best judgement call, but I do know one thing; I wasn't there and I don't know exactly how it went down.Â
@Joy Whitney @girlgoil Yes I would say its ;  the way the media depicted it as him intentionally ( sending girls out to find him a date is very creepy. However that is not what happened, and that's all I am going to say. His side will come out soon enough
well said, and i would rather him do this and be a weirdo then have the story about him raping the girls. He's a 25 year old male sounds like something they do. Heck i remember my buddies in their 20's.
@girlgoil excellent point....very well said
And I am not saying texting and following through with miss aagard was the right thing to do. But this is obviously a situation where this young lady needs attention and is willing to over stimulate the story for her benefit. What she needs to show is the text messages where she insults Mr Hennum for being a Christian, and states her distain towards religious people. She also needs to show the text message where she refers to him as a " faggot".
For those defending him (or making light of it)...would you want this guy coaching your girl, and being out of town with your girl during tournaments, etc?
Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, no.
Mr. Hennum more recently just completed his Masters degree in special education, he has worked for several years with several different charities as well as with children with disabilities. All he ever wanted to do was become a special ED teacher & coach high school sports. As a parent I can understand the negative things that are being said about him and seeing this does portray Mr. Hennum in a very negative light. But like I said, someone who is very close to the situation AND KNOWS ALL THE FACTS IN DETAIL! I suggest you wait to make an opinion on this story until Mr. Hennum himself comes out and states his side of the story. If that is something that you can't do, then quite frankly ....you're ignorant.
@Delano2013 You had me until you jumped to the low road and labeled someone ignorant.:(
@Delano2013Â
You *claim* that not all the details are known.
So, why not? Why is Hennum not speaking up, telling "all the details, "his side of the story"?
You seem to have no problem trying to impugn Ms. Aager, yet you have posted absolutely nothing that shines a favorable light on Hennum.Â
You *claim* he has always wanted to be a spec ed teacher & a high school coach. So what? My brother has & is both, and he ALSO had the guts to do get HIS Masters while ALSO serving in the military. He has NEVER, in 20 years of teaching, EVER been accused of ANY sort of improper or inappropriate behavior. Yet your boy Troy appears to have only been a teacher/coach for a couple of years and has TWICE been accused of such actions.
So, we the "ignorant" are waiting for Hennum to tell "hist side of the story"
@Delano2013Â If this guy has a masters degree, then it is highly likely he had to take an ethics course along the way. Also, it is highly likely he would have been an intern at some point during his education and would have had a mentor to help guide him along. I doubt any sane mentor would have supported his actions.
There is too much good information readily available for people to help them guide their careers and avoid damaging their 'brand'. He took a gamble and lost. Makes one wonder what he might ask of someone special needs.
@Delano2013Â I am not sure what your point is about the degree? Â
@Joy Whitney @Delano2013 Well Joy the point is that he has worked very hard towards a career choice that is very admirable and it should serve as an example to who he really is. You don't know the whole story, I saw the entire text conversation, some of the things that this lady said attacking his belief in god and even calling him a " homo sexual" slur was never mentioned. This shouldn't be overlooked. I will tell you this, he should have never let this happen and never should have even texted her. However,  how he is being depicted in the media is horrendous.
@Delano2013 Again, you are trying to shift the focus & the blame. Hennum is the one who started this whole thing by sending his softball team members out on his little "scavenger unt". THAT is what caused the uproar, not who he ultimately contacted and what was aid between them. It is NOT "her fault" - HE is the one who thought it would be a great way to find a date. THAT is what got him in trouble, and THAT is what the whole conversation is about.
@Delano2013Â if it turns out you are right about your friend, great, but do you realize you sound just ike all the people who enabled Sandusky to continue to prey on victims for years at Penn State - Not him, he's great, look what he does for the children. . . don't believe that accuser, that one's got issues, he's just trying to help. Â
@Delano2013 @Joy Whitney I don't think the media is depicted him in any light, other than telling the story.  I think the public however is giving their opinions on his actions.  And I have known several coaches with degrees who were fired for inappropriate behaviors with the students.  His education makes it worse not better.  He knows the difference between appropriate behavior with students and inappropriate behavior.  As far as the lady he was texting?  He could have stopped that anytime he wanted.  He chose to have the conversation and be insulted.  It does nothing to lessen his choice with his students.  He's choices in God are between him and God.  Has no baring on his behavior with his students...But you are a good friend to stand by him..Â
@Delano2013Â You are sooo right. People dont know even what this girl is doing to him, jeaporizing his career. She just loves the attention. Shes a bikini barista for pit sakes, you think she looooves attention
@Jeffsins @Delano2013 is she really a bikini barista?
@Jeffsins @Delano2013 and you know all about this attention she likes?  Â
this just looks bad.. he hangs around little underage girls as a coach, and uses them 2 get dates? Â is just sounds creepy to me! Â now days ppl cannot even appear to be a weirdo around little girls. Â they may think he is a pedo or something, probably not, but like i said it just looks bad.
I think it's funny how some of your ignorant people have based your opinion of Troy after only hearing one side of the story. As someone who is very close to the situation and have known troy for several years  I can tell you that this story is so beyond over exaggerated to the point where troy needs to take legal action. What they also fail to leave out is that Miss Aagard has been to court several times over the last few years for various different reasons, which needs to be looked if she is going to present herself as credible . Also what the story fails to report is that when he was accused of wrong doing at lake Washington every single player, coach, & parent involved 100% supported troy. As all he was trying to do was to reach out and help a player in need, he just went about it the wrong way. I can't believe the ignorance of some of you.
@Delano2013Â We can't believe how ignorant Troy is. I don't work with teenagers but I know you have to be careful and considerate of your interactions.
You claim to know him after two years? ROFL. Ok well you go with that. Good riddance to him, sounds as if a disaster as been averted by his risky behavior.
If he wants a girlfriend so bad, tell him to use a dating site.
@Delano2013Â
Really? You think that by smearing Ms. Aagard on his behalf, it will make others think better of Hennum? What SHE did has absolutely nothing to do wiyth the issue at hand - that Hennum used under aged girls to go out & find him dates. Sorry, but that stinks to high heaven, and is completeely inappropriate.
A coach is supposed to coach the team - nothing more, nothing less. And I happen to have over 15 years expoerience in youth sporyts, enough experience to know what the proper role of a coach is. My brother is ALSO a school (middle & high) coach - he would NEVER have dreamed of doing anything as assinine as what Hennum did.
I am jjust sorry they did not FIRE him before he could resign. I truly hope that IF he has an actual teaching credential (doubtfulo) that somebody in Olympia flags his records & investigates him thoroughly. Seems like he is making some awefully stupid choices.
@Delano2013 I hear what you're saying. But I know as a female coach of teen boys in soccer, that as they get their own phones and ask to be texted instead of their parents, I have been ever so careful to make certain that nothing I say or do can be misconstrued. Always be above reproach. And, unfortunately a few sick coaches do take advantage of their players as you hear in the news all the time, so it puts people on high alert.
Ok, two strikes you're out. Â I wouldn't want him around my kids. Â What a pathetic sicko.
"Rules are for other people!"
I fail to see how this is creepy. Â All the romantic comedies we love are just like this. Â If anything is out of place here it's that men are learning how to be a man from these movies and from women and not from a solid father figure.
Scavenger hunt? Sounds like the coach has about the maturity of a high school kid. Time to grow up and find a new job.Â
I'm sure he thought it was fun (and sounds like his team did too). But the lesson to take away here is, as a coach, you must be overly careful and remember anything you do can and will be misconstrued to the worst degree. You must have a high degree of professionalism at all times. He will hopefully learn a life-lesson; the hard way.Â
@Thunder Really, misconstrued to the worst degree?  All he had to do was his job.  And it appears it was difficult for him.
@Joy Whitney @Thunder No need to overreact. I was not specifically talking about his case at all. Just stating that it is imperative as a coach to know that unless you are just texting "game time 2pm Sat" your texts can be misconstrued. In other words, keep it professional and related to the coaching stuff only.
I think it's funny. People are way too delicate now. Â Heck, this would be a Disney movie.... Â lighten up, folks. High school girls are NOT 2nd graders. Â Geez.... Â you all would faint dead away if you knew the stuff the kids from the 60s and 70s experienced, and we actually turned out WAY better than the pampered little misfits today. Â
@DT I dont think the issue is the girls or how they behave today..  The focus is a man on the our tax dollar payroll  not doing his job.  You think all these kids are pampered?  Try growing up in a drug house where the sales have lasted through generations and everyone is so busy they have no time for you or your problems?  Yep, pretty pampered.  Anyway back to the actually topic, the coach.  He isnt doing his job or showing leadership qualities.  Oh yeah, they are living a Disney movie life anyway so lets treat these girls anyway we want.  That attitude right there is the problem. Â
@DT My father helped out coaching a select soccer team for my brother. The main coach was a man from Greece. He was in his late 20's perhaps. I was about 15 give or take. It was the '80's. He used to ask me out on dates right in front of my father all the time. It was a combo of his European outlook and the times. No one panicked and I just kept saying no.
@DTGreat post, what you said is true. Â Pampered little misfits can also translate to "sissies". Â My nephews will sit inside on a sunny weekend and play videos games until their eyes are bloodshot, then stuff their mouths with junkfood and go to sleep at 2am then wake up around noon and do it again. Â They think the idea of playing outside is funny.
Creep. Â Goodbye. Â Be a man and go find your own girlfriend.
Gee, just think if he had gotten into the Oval Office somehow.....he could have used his position to extract sexual favors from young girls (or boys) Â pages, that would really suck, eh?
Inconvenience? IMO, this guy is one brick short of a full load, when it comes to propriety and professionalism! I am tired of finding out these teachers and coaches are associated w/ unseediness at every end of the spectrum. As a society, we don't deserve to continue to have to put up w/ these types of behaviors w/ a simple "I'm sorry". State education departments need to pass hard and fast rules that WILL fire these people when acts of impropriety are found out...!
@takncarabizniz he resigned on Friday, probably because he was told to resign or he would be fired.  If we made new laws we'd have to make a million laws to cover every single thing we could possibly think of that would be inappropriate.  Today's kids are so over sensitive and their parents are worse to the point where teachers and school staff have to walk on eggshells.  On top of that they don't get paid much... I think we ask a ton of teachers and for the most part get a good return.
@girlgoilÂ
He should never have been given the option to retire. He was caught in a complete violation of rules & standards - he should hgave been FIRED.
And you talk like you thoink you are some sort of authority on what teachers have to face day to day. Are you a teacher? Doubtful. My brother IS a teacher (after spending 30+ years in the USMC), he has been coach as well. He would NEVER had even thought of doing ANYTHING like this, simply because it violates ALL boundaries & common sense.
PLEASE quit trying to justify Hennum's actions, or trying to make it seem like parents are "pver reacting". Neither is the case. He was WAY out of line, and parents have every reason to be completely p!$$ed off about it.
so you don't believe in the process of investigation? Â it's common for employees to be placed on leave pending an investigation.Â
Is he really drinking beer with a straw?
@Beckyann31Â Â
That's bud light, not beer.