Ex-coach pleads no contest to misdemeanor charges

DURANT, Okla. (AP) — A former junior high baseball coach has pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges after prosecutors accused him of throwing baseballs at players as a form of punishment.

Former Silo Junior High School coach Roy West had faced 14 felony counts of injury to a minor child. But on Wednesday, he pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges of assault and battery on a student.

The Durant Daily Democrat reports (http://bit.ly/1lGSbdB ) that West received a five-year deferred sentence. He is not allowed to participate in youth sports for two years.

In court records, West wrote that he threw the baseballs at players if they did not square up to a pitch correctly. West wrote that he did not intend to hurt any of the players, though some of the children received bruises.

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Information from: Durant Daily Democrat, http://www.durantdemocrat.com/