Saydel football coach on leave

DES MOINES - According to the Des Moines Register and KCCI television, Saydel High’s football coach Austin Stubbs was placed on administrative leave Monday. Creston plays Saydel Friday for Creston’s homecoming game.

The reports state players had complained that the coach had punished them, allegedly practicing them to exhaustion, over $100 of the team’s coaches believed a player had stolen from him. The alleged theft happened last week but there are no known suspects. Stubbs allegedly asked the team members to explain what happened to the money. When no player admitted any knowledge, players were told to run sprints and hold weights over their heads.

A parent of a Saydel player told the television station Stubbs made the players run for about an hour. Some players informed their parents and asked them to pick them up early from practice. Another player’s parent said the description is not correct. The sprints were ran for 15 to 20 minutes and the weights were 5 pounds. Polk County Sheriff’s had been sent to the school, but no arrests were made.

The Polk County Sheriff’s office has reports stating players with upper-body injuries run sprints. Players with lower-body injuries were to hold the weights over their heads.

After the sprints, Stubbs sent junior varsity players and injured players home because there were not enough coaches to monitor everyone at practice. Other players’ told their parents they were removed from the team. Some parents attended a practice an attempted to get the attention of coaches to determine what happened to their child after the players were asked to leave practice. School administration escorted coaches after practice finished.

Saydel Superintendent Todd Martin told the television station the district won’t comment on personnel matters.

Saydel is 0-6 this season. The game at Creston starts at 7 p.m.