When a High School Coach Becomes the Target

High school football coaches in Orange County and throughout the Southland reacted with shock and dismay this week upon learning of an alleged postgame assault that was waged upon South Torrance Coach Brett Peabody by members of a player’s family.

“It’s totally unbelievable,” Corona Centennial Coach Matt Logan said.

“Sometimes you think you’ve seen it all, and then it reaches a new low,” Lakewood Mayfair Coach Mike Fitch said.

John Martinez Sr., 34, and his brother, Anthony Martinez, 23, both of Lomita, were arrested after the incident that occurred about 10 minutes after South Torrance’s 24-21 loss Friday at North Torrance.

John Martinez’s son, John Jr., is a senior running back and defensive back for South Torrance. John Jr. gained more than 1,000 yards last season, but his role on offense has been diminished by the presence of a talented sophomore.

The elder Martinez was reportedly angry that his son had only three carries in the loss Friday night and allegedly confronted Peabody as the coach walked across the field.

According to police, after a short conversation between the men, Martinez, without provocation, hit Peabody from behind and knocked him to the ground where he was also struck by Anthony Martinez.

Peabody sustained several blows but was not seriously injured, according to police. Chad Nammack, a South Torrance assistant who tried to aid Peabody, also suffered a black eye.

Torrance police booked the Martinez brothers on suspicion of misdemeanor battery and released them. A Torrance police spokesman said detectives are continuing their investigation and more serious charges could be filed.

“It’s very open-ended right now,” Sgt. Kevin Kreager said. “There is a probability that more charges might be brought. We’re not closing the door on anything.”

Neither Peabody nor Martinez could be reached for comment.

Peabody is expected to be on the sideline for South Torrance’s home game Friday against Compton Centennial. John Martinez Jr., who quit the team Monday, has decided to rejoin the Spartans and is expected to be in uniform Friday.

In a written statement, Arnold Plank, superintendent of the Torrance Unified School District, said the district is “taking this misconduct very seriously. Anyone who attacks a coach, or any school employee, is committing a very serious offense. This type of behavior is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. . . .

“Fortunately, this is an isolated incident for our district. Our parents are generally very supportive of the coaches and students.”

Most coaches said the overwhelming majority of parents at their schools are also supportive, which is why they found the incident at South Torrance so disturbing.

“There is just no excuse for a father to do that--I don’t care what it was that made him angry,” Franklin Coach Armando Gonzalez said. “You can’t do that as a parent.”

Torrance Coach Rock Hollis said the incident, “reflects what’s going on in society,” and that it likely will not be the last of its kind.

“It’s not going to happen every week or every other week, but it’s going to happen,” Hollis said. “Just because we’re high school athletics does not mean we’re immune to it.”

For decades, high school coaches enjoyed almost unquestioned authority about their methods and personnel decisions. But longtime coaches say dealing with disgruntled parents about their child’s playing time has become a more delicate and time-consuming issue in the last 20 years.

“Their kids, in their eyes, are all Heisman Trophy candidates,” said Palisades Coach Ron Price, who has been coaching for 37 years.

Jim Brownfield, past president of the California Coaches Assn., said the problems begin at the youth sports level.

“The parents don’t seem like they respect the authority of coaches or anybody anymore,” said Brownfield, who was a high school coach for 25 years. “They’re ready to do war right there on the field.”

As schools ask for more help to fund their athletic programs, parents seem to want more say in coaching decisions.

“I have a good situation here,” Villa Park Coach Pat Mahoney said. “But generally it has become more like Little League, ‘We paid our money and we expect to get three innings.’ Every coach fights that a little bit.”

Said Irvine Coach Terry Henigan: “The bigger issues, parents have a right to question, but I don’t know if the number of carries a kid gets is a big issue.”

Many high school coaches say they meet with parents as a group before the season to discuss team rules and procedures for addressing concerns with coaches.

At Irvine, coaches are required to have parent orientation meetings in the spring and again before practice starts in the fall.

“We communicate as much as possible the philosophy and make sure they understand what goes into the decision-making process,” Henigan said. “There has to be a little trust between parents and coach. I don’t know many relationships, whether it’s husband and wife or parent and coach, that lasts without trust.”

Some coaches have parents and athletes sign a code of conduct.

However, none of those measures can stop concerned parents from taking to the field, especially at game’s end.

Some coaches are open to immediate discussion.

“I usually talk to the parent as long as they are calm,” Westchester Coach Larry Wein said. “If they get to be insulting or out of control, I tell them the conversation is over and I leave.”

Other coaches will not address playing-time concerns without a cooling-off period first.

“No one wants to say something they will regret right after the game,” Edison Coach Dave White said. “We try to encourage parents--and ourselves--to have a 24-hour cooling-off period and talk about it the next day.”

Said Sylmar Coach Jeff Engilman: “I tell them, ‘Talk to me on Monday,’ mainly because I’m probably as hot-headed after a game as the parents.”

Many coaches said the best way to avoid confrontations is to keep parents and spectators in the stands while teams exit the field to their locker rooms or to awaiting buses. The extra minutes for reflection are often enough to avoid ugly scenes.

Logan, 33, has been the football coach at Corona Centennial only four years and said he hopes to enjoy a long career. But incidents such as the one involving Peabody are enough to make any coach pause.

“Things have changed,” Logan said. “I remember, a long time ago, when it was perfectly acceptable for a coach to smack a player. Now you have parents smacking coaches.”

Staff writer Chris Foster contributed to this story.