HS football coaching staff dismissed after issuing nutritional supplements to players

HS football coaching staff dismissed after issuing nutritional supplements to players

Scott Allen, USA TODAY High School Sports


The Pasadena Star-News reports that Alhambra (Calif.) High School fired its football coaching staff Tuesday after school principal Duane Russell learned that the staff provided seven players with nutritional supplements, including low dosages of Creatine.

Chuck Leonardis, who was hired as Alhambra's head football coach in December, said the players had asked about the supplements.

"We were very up front and did not recommend it," Leonardis told the Star-News. "We had the kids talk to their parents. It's a legal over-the-counter supplement and we did not break any school rules."

CIF State rules prohibit coaches from providing muscle-building nutritional supplements. Creatine is a natural amino acid that provides energy to the body.

Leonardis met with Russell and athletic director Jerry DeSantis after practice on Tuesday after the parents of one of the players who received the supplements approached school officials. The entire coaching staff was fired during that meeting and Leonardis was forbidden from meeting with the team.

"This guy cares for the kids and now they're destroyed," an Alhambra football player's parent who wished to remain anonymous told the Star-News. "My son started crying last night. He said, `Dad, they care about us and are teaching us the game.' These are coaches who are not trying to harm kids."