Delta Aquatics administrator, coach terminated following investigation into student complaints

Longtime swim coach Deryl Leubner is out as the administrator and coach of the Oswego School District’s Delta Aquatics program, following a district investigation into complaints made by students that he was verbally abusive.

According to a memorandum, part of a series of records obtained in response to a Freedom of Information Act request by the Oswego Ledger, Leubner was terminated from his position as administrator and coach of the district’s Delta Aquatics community swimming program, effective Aug. 19. He had been employed by the district since the late 1990s.

Afteran investigation by the district, Leubner was fired after he was found in violation of district policies governing ethics and conduct, maintaining school discipline and harassment of students.

Leubner filed an appeal of his termination on Aug. 19.

Theresa Komitas, Oswego School District 308 director of communications and public relations, confirmed in an email sent Aug. 24 that Leubner remains employed as a social studies teacher at Oswego East High School and is on paid administrative leave from his role as a swim coach for the district’s IHSA co-op swim team.

Leubner, reached by phone Aug. 25, declined to comment on the advice of his union. He has since been hired as a coach with the Aurora-based Academy Bullets Swim Club.

Delta Aquatics was started in 2004 by School District 308 and Oswego East High School with a goal to “provide comprehensive aquatics programming to the Oswegoland and surrounding communities,” according to the district’s website. Delta offers three main programs: swimming lessons, a diving academy and a competitive swim team.

In his time in District 308, Leubner has presided over one of its most successful sports programs. The district’s girls swimming team has had five consecutive top 10 finishes at the IHSA state meet, with state trophies for third place in 2016 and 2019 and second place in 2017. The program has compiled multiple event state titles, producing dozens of Division I swimmers and a 2021 Olympic Trials qualifier.

The investigation into Leubner began after the district received a complaint alleging that he had “acted inappropriately toward swimmers in Lane 8″ during a Delta Aquatics girls swim practice on June 15, the memorandum returned in the FOIA request reads.

The complaint alleged that Leubner yelled at the swimmers, telling some or all of them that they “Will never make it on the high school swim team,” that one was a “mental minimalist,” and that another was, “completely useless and should become a professional lifeguard.”

The memorandum reads, “At least two swimmers in Lane 8 did resign after the practice that occurred June 15, 2021.”

Leubner met with district officials July 27, when he was informed of the complaints.

According to a memorandum Kenneth Miller, District 308 executive director of human resources, payroll and benefits, sent to Leubner and included in records released in response to the FOIA, Leubner admitted to saying something similar to the alleged comment that the swimmer or swimmers “Will never make it on the high school swim team,” adding he “should have worded that differently.” He also denied saying the other two quotes reported in the complaint, but added, “that it’s not inappropriate to refer to a swimmer as ‘useless’ in the context of a joke.”

The memorandum of the district’s findings also confirmed that a female swimmer spoke to the district in Leubner’s defense, while also acknowledging that he was “ranting” at several swimmers on the date in question.

“She didn’t know what you (Leubner) were specifically yelling about because you rant at the swimmers so frequently that she tunes out your rantings,” the memorandum said.

The June 15 complaint against Leubner was not the first made against him. In 2019, an investigation was started against Leubner, resulting in what Miller called a “clear warning” that similar behavior could result in consequences “up to and including removal from your roles as the Program Administrator and Swimming Coach for Delta Aquatics.”

According to a separate memorandum sent by Miller and included in the FOIA, an investigation had been opened following reports of Leubner’s conduct during a Delta Aquatics swim practice Nov. 16, 2019.

In that incident, Leubner, while on the pool deck, reportedly engaged another coach in a conversation regarding his “perception of how the members of the District 308 boys swimming team had handled signing a poster to wish an unidentified member of the swim team good luck at the sectionals swimming meet the night before.”

Miller wrote Leubner had reportedly admitted using inappropriate language during his conversation with the other coach and pointed to two swimmers, telling them that the conversation he was having with the other coach was about them.

On Nov. 18, Leubner self-reported his behavior to then-Oswego East athletic director Kurt Weigt, and resigned from his role as head coach of the district’s boys swimming team. That afternoon, Leubner offered an explanation to the Delta Aquatics boys swimming team, apologized for his actions, and informed them that he had resigned his position with the district.

Parents, students voice concerns over investigation

The investigation has led to a public outcry from several parents and students in the Delta Aquatics program and the District 308 co-op swimming program who have voiced support for Luebner and their frustrations over the process and its effect on the program.

During the Aug. 17 Oswego Village Board meeting, Trustee Tom Guist, the parent of a district swimmer, criticized the lack of information provided to parents and swimmers by the district throughout the investigation, calling the matter “embarrassing to the community.”

“The lack of answers, in many people’s opinion, show just a complete lack of a feeling of obligation to communicate with the residents and the members of this school district,” Guist said, pointing out that swimmers have chosen to go to other communities and programs because of Leubner’s termination and paid leave status.

“[It’s] just something that doesn’t seem like it really needed to happen. In the world of public perception, when perception is reality, the lack of communication like this just breeds a lack of trust in the investigation,” he said.

Concerns also were voiced during public comment at a special meeting of the District 308 school board on Aug. 12.

Swimmer and student Madison Dietz wrote to the board that the removal of Leubner from his positions so close to the start of the season “has hurt the swimmers.”

“We are feeling the effects now, and I fear that this could also hurt us as we work toward our future swimming goals,” Dietz wrote, adding that she has been a swimmer under Leubner’s coaching since the age of 7 and had “never experienced anything but positivity from a selfless coach.”

Former Delta swimmer and OEHS graduate Georgia White, a five-time state champion under Leubner’s coaching, spoke to the board, saying, “No one is going to stand here and tell you he is not a tough coach, because that would be a lie, and frankly an insult to his abilities as a coach.”

“Tough coaches make tough, elite athletes,” White said. “It is undoubtedly a proven fact that Deryl has produced more Division I collegiate athletes than any other program in the community, or at any of the high schools.

“Some people are not built for tough programs and that’s OK. Some people don’t understand that if a coach isn’t giving you criticism, they don’t care about your performance.”

“Without constructive criticism,” White told the board, “There can’t be development.”

According to information included in the FOIA response, separate allegations “with respect to your (Leubner’s) role as the High School Girls Swimming Coach are still under investigation and will be addressed separately.”

The IHSA swimming and diving season begins Aug. 28.

• Sports Editor Joshua Welge contributed to this report.