Students hurt in gym class

The Shelton School District is investigating the injuries of five Shelton High School students sustained Jan. 31 during a weight training class, when two football coaches substituting for the regular teacher ordered the students to perform football tackling drills without pads or helmets.

Four students reportedly suffered concussions, and one a dislocated finger when they were slammed to the mat and against padded walls in the wrestling room.

On Tuesday evening, four of the students told the Shelton School Board that the football coaches told students to get out of the way of the drills after they were injured. Parents told the board they are frustrated and angry about a lack of communication from the district about the incident.

Superintendent Wyeth Jessee spoke briefly about the incident at the board’s Feb. 13 meeting. He said an investigation has been launched. He did not speak about the incident at Tuesday’s meeting in the Mountain View Elementary School gym.

Ten people — all students and their parents — stepped up to the microphone to express their concerns about the incident during community comments at the board meeting.

Tracie Derrick read a letter from her son, a student in the class, describing what happened and added her own thoughts.

“The coach said you guys are going to do a tackling drill in the wrestling room, the running backs and the receivers were at one end, the defensive backs and others on the side, and the offensive and defensive lineman at the other end. The receivers had to run, and the defensive tackle backs were trying to tackle from the side, and if they got by them, the linemen were tackling head-on from the other direction. No helmets, no gear, doing two-on-one tackles. There were kids that got tackled into the wall during the drill ... they were very much injured. The coaches were just laughing and telling hurt kids to get out of the way for the next group. Brader was tackled into the wall and was lying there for a moment holding his head, and the coaches just told him to get out of the way for the next group.”

Bryson Rooks is a student in the class.

“No one was given padding, helmets or other equipment we would normally be required to wear in full-contact practices or games,” he told the school board. “At first, no one got hurt, but as the drill progressed, they got more and more aggressive. Kids were thrown on the mats and against the wall. Eventually, kids started to get hurt. One kid dislocated his finger, others were picked up and thrown to the ground … when it came time for my turn, I was fortunate that the drill hadn’t got out of control yet. As my second turn approached, I was concerned for my personal safety. I was trying to think of a way to get out of it. Luckily, the period was over before that happened. In closing, I want to appeal to the school board to please find a new football coach for Shelton High School. I love football. I’ve been playing for six years and I want to continue throughout high school, but I cannot do it for someone that I no longer trust to keep me safe on the field.”

Sophomore Jackson Leth suffered a concussion when his head bounced off the floor, and then bounced against another student’s head, giving that student a concussion.

Leth said the injury caused him to miss a week and a half of school, the rest of the basketball season and the upcoming baseball season.

His mother Desiree Leth told the board her son was left alone sobbing on the floor before he was taken to urgent care.

What happened “was negligent and 100% avoidable,” she said.

Student Marshall Gard suffered a dislocated finger. “Honestly, I think it was a dumb and unsafe drill that we probably shouldn’t have done,” he said.

His father, Chris, who has two sons who are in the class, said that in a conversation with one of the coaches, he was told “he was trying to teach them evasive skills.”

“I’m pleading with you guys, don’t let this guy come back,” he said.