Parents urge review after youth baseball player injured; one parent alleges coach let injured child drive

During the call to the public at the April 14 meeting, parents urged the Santa Cruz Valley Unified School District board to investigate recent coaching decisions and to strengthen safety protocols after a reported serious injury at a baseball practice.

Jose Granados, speaking for parents whose children were at a game and could not attend, asked the board to review the district’s decision to remove the Eureka baseball coach known in the meeting as "Coach T," saying parents across varsity and JV support the coach and requested board review and reconsideration of that personnel action.

Parent Steve Cota then read a prepared statement detailing an injury he said his child sustained at a recent practice. Cota said his child suffered "excessive bleeding, and what was later confirmed to be a broken jaw," and alleged the coach allowed the injured child to leave and drive despite the seriousness of the injury. "Allowing an injured minor bleeding heavily with a serious fracture to operate a vehicle is not only negligent," Cota said, calling the incident "a significant failure in judgment, duty of care, and basic safety protocol." He urged the board to require mandatory first‑aid and injury‑assessment training for coaches, to establish strict rules prohibiting injured minors from leaving without medical clearance and parental notification, and to ensure parents are notified immediately when injuries occur.

The board did not take action during the public‑comment period. Board rules shared at the meeting state that during a call to the public members "may only respond to criticism, ask staff to review a matter, or ask that a matter be placed on a future agenda," and may not take legal action on items not noticed on the agenda. Several board members acknowledged the seriousness of the allegations and said staff would review the matter; the meeting record shows no immediate disciplinary or personnel action taken at the session.

Context and next steps: parents said some had already met with district staff (Mr. Laughlin was named during comments) to voice concerns. At the meeting Mr. Cota specifically asked the board to adopt written emergency response protocols, require first‑aid training for all coaches and staff, and adopt a rule preventing injured minors from leaving practice without medical clearance and parental notification. The district did not announce a formal investigation or timeline during the meeting; board members indicated they would ask staff to follow up and return any findings to the board if necessary.

No formal motion or vote on disciplinary action or policy change was made during the meeting. The board’s public comment procedures and district policy were read aloud before both speakers addressed the board.