Coach (in jail ) teaching his players how to hurt opponets

[sarahpalin]

down here where i live outside of Destin on HWY 30A in Santa Rosa Beach

where my daughter attends high school and plays basketball the coach did this....

 

SANTA ROSA BEACH — South Walton High School football coach David Barron was arrested Wednesday on a charge of child abuse after allegedly striking a player twice in the throat during an October practice, according to a Walton County Sheriff’s Office report.

 

The report also says that Barron taught his players to use tactics not within the rules of football and wanted them used in a game against a rival school.

 

Read Barron's arrest report. »

 

Barron, who is also the school’s athletic director, was booked into the Walton County Jail on Wednesday afternoon. He is scheduled for his first court appearance this morning. The charge he faces is a third-degree felony.

 

According to the report, Barron instructed his players to use a hand thrust to the throats of opposing players and utilized a medical neck brace on his own players to practice the technique. The report said that the technique employed by Barron called for players to strike the throat of an opposing player with the part of the hand between the thumb and index finger and that Barron had asked the reported victim to use the thrust technique in the Seahawks’ game against Freeport on Oct. 8.

 

Barron allegedly struck a Seahawk player twice in the throat in the same manner he had instructed his team after the player missed a tackle during a practice on Oct. 12. The report said Barron approached the victim “yelling and screaming profanities at him,†then tried to strike the player a third time, but the victim blocked his attempt.

 

The Walton County Sherriff’s Office launched its investigation the next day on Oct. 13.

 

“Football coaches traditionally serve as role models who teach students the value of discipline, competitiveness and sportsmanship,†Walton County Sheriff Michael Adkinson said. “Mr. Barron’s actions go far beyond the toughness expected in football.â€

 

The victim told investigators that Barron’s strikes were hard enough “that his eyes began to water and he had some trouble breathing for a short period of time,†according to the report.

 

“It took courage for students to speak up when they knew someone they trusted was in the wrong,†Walton County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Mike Morrison said.

 

“These acts could have caused severe bodily injury to students,†he said. “Football is an aggressive game, but it is still played with rules.â€

 

Barron declined comment Wednesday when contacted by the Daily News.

 

Barron has not appeared on the Seahawks’ sideline since the incident, and two days after the launch of the Sheriff’s Office investigation, Maj. Graham Fountain reported that “the school system has reassigned the employee that the accusations were made against, pending the outcome of the investigation.â€

 

Walton County Superintendent of Schools Carlene Anderson said that no final decision had been made on Barron’s future with the school, saying that the board’s own internal investigation had not yet been completed.

 

The police report stated that witnesses interviewed said they did not use the technique in the Freeport game because they felt “it was not proper.â€

 

Freeport coach Jim Anderson declined to comment on the matter.

 

Barron arrived at South Walton in 2004 to take over as the team’s defensive coordinator. Then, one year later, he was named the Seahawks’ head coach and athletic director after the non-renewal of the contract of Steve Castle.

 

In 2008, Barron guided the Seahawks to the program’s first-ever winning season, its first-ever district title and its first playoff win before being named the Daily News small school Coach of the Year. Last season, Barron led the Seahawks to a second straight postseason berth, capping a two-year run that saw the Seahawks post a 17-6 record.

 

Prior to landing at South Walton, Barron had worked as an assistant on staffs at Walton (2001-04) and Niceville (1999-01) after being an assistant coach in Alabama with four different programs from 1977 to 1998.

[CoachBray]

Haha, he used to be at "Niceville."

[blueangel51]

Can't say it surprises me. Some coaches will do anything to win. However, the move he is teaching to his players does work. I got it used on me once my junior year and got nailed straight in the Adam's apple. Really painful.

[lowkee]

Teaching players techniques that are questionable is different from putting your hands on kids. That should not occur on any level of amateur sports.

[tnsparty]

down here where i live outside of Destin on HWY 30A in Santa Rosa Beach

where my daughter attends high school and plays basketball the coach did this....

 

 

Maybe you can get your boy Smitty down there if they fire the coach.