California high school football coach fired after booting ball into player's groin in fit rage

California high school football coach fired after booting ball into player’s groin in fit rage originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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While football season is certainly a stressful time for players, coaches and parents alike, one coach in Simi Valley, Calif., took things a bit too far during practice.

Adam Brubaker, a second-year coach for Royal High School, was captured on video kicking a football at one of his players. The ball, unfortunately for the player, hit him in the groin, causing him to go down writhing in pain. He was promptly checked on by his teammates and other coaches, but Brubaker was nowhere to be seen in the footage.

Just hours before the school’s season opener on Friday, Brubaker was dismissed after a meeting at the Simi Valley Unified School District.

Here’s a look at Brubaker’s outburst and what the coach said about the incident.

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California high school football fired after booting ball into player’s groin

On Wednesday afternoon, a brief moment of anger cost Brubaker his coaching post at Royal High School. After a player allegedly tackled an offensive player during practice, something Brubaker adamantly was not in favor of, the coach kicked a football into the player’s groin.

Here is the video, caught on a camera used for capturing videos for HUDL, a player recruiting platform:

High school football coach in California fired after kicking a football into the balls of one of his players during practice.

The player needed help getting off the field after getting pelted in the balls.

“I kicked the ball and it hit him in the groin area and instantly I felt… pic.twitter.com/QtmLF3cKy3

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) August 22, 2026

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How long was Adam Brubaker at Royal High School?

According to the Ventura County Star, Brubaker was in his second year with the Highlanders. Last year, during his first campaign with Royal High School, Brubaker led his team to a 3-7 record.

Brubaker also coached Panorama High School during the 2012-13 season, but did not return for another season after he went 1-9, according to MaxPreps.

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What did Adam Brubaker say about the incident?

According to Sports Illustrated, Brubaker was fed up that one of his defensive players brought an offensive player down on the turf. After an animated talking-to, the coach kicked a football towards the defensive player.

“He’s a great kid, but he’s intense. We’ve had at least a dozen conversations about not taking kids to the ground during team drills,” Brubaker said, according to Sports Illustrated. “It got to the point where I’d had enough.”

“I had a chance to delete the practice film and I didn’t. I felt that tampering with the footage would be worse,” said Brubaker. “I walked up after practice and apologized. I explained myself to him, and he accepted my apology.”

ABC 7, a local news station, spoke with the former Royal High School coach about his outburst. Brubaker called the outburst “a one in a million shot,” and claimed it to be an accident.

“I kicked the ball and it hit him in the groin area and instantly I felt like I was going to pass out,” Brubaker said, per ABC 7 Eyewitness News. “I feel obviously a great deal of remorse for what happened. It’s a one in a million shot.”

“When we finished practice, I went back over to him. I apologized,” said Brubaker. “Nothing has been harder in my life than the last three days. It has been an absolute trying time for me, my wife, my kids.”

The principal of Royal High School released a statement regarding the Brubaker incident, per ABC 7:

I want to provide you with an update regarding our football program. The District has completed its review of the incident from earlier this week. As a result, the leadership of Royal High School’s football program will immediately change. Cody MacArthur will serve as Head Coach for the Royal High School football team tonight. An interim head coach will be named shortly. Our focus now is to support our student-athletes, provide stability for the program, and help the team move forward together. We appreciate everyone’s patience and understanding throughout this process and look forward to supporting our players and coaches for the remainder of the season. Go Highlanders!