INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A 14-year-old girl was hospitalized for second-degree burns after, her parents said Wednesday, her coach pushed her dance training too far.

“Trinity” is a freshman at Warren Central High School. Her parents told News 8 that she was excited to be on the dance team, but, on Sept. 18, her family said, “Trinity” was made to do bear crawls on a hot track surface when air temperatures hit nearly 90 degrees.

Photos from Travis Peagler showed the girl’s hands with blisters following that practice. Her dad said he took the photos immediately after picking her up and then he took her directly to urgent care. He also filed a police report.

Peagler said, “My hands have never looked the way her hands looked, period. I’m a guy. I’m a dude. I work out all the time. Play football. She’s only 14. Her hands should not look like that.”

Travis knows discipline well; he said he trained in the military and he says he’s never seen anything like this. “This isn’t discipline; it’s child abuse. I was really shocked. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing because my daughter is only 14 years old. She’s on the majorette dance team. She doesn’t play sports. So, I’m like, ‘How did your hands get like that?’ She said, ‘The coach had us doing bear crawls. She made me do extra because I got 3 F’s on my report card.’”

The child’s mother, Stacey Peagler, said she sent pictures of her daughter’s hands directly to the dance coach. “Immediately after I sent the pictures to her. I see a link go to the app first to all the parents, saying, ‘Hey the girl had a pretty hard practice. It was pretty hard for them. I’m proud of them, they pushed through. They’ll come home with some blisters.’ … and at the end there’s an attachment for how to treat blisters. These are for regular blisters, not burns.”

The family said other student dancers also came home with blisters.

The Warren Township School District shared a statement.

“We are taking this matter very seriously, conducting an active investigation, and remain in close contact with students and families to support their recovery. The safety and well-being of our student-athletes will always be our top priority, and we remain committed to listening to our students and families as we learn from this incident.”

The family hired an attorney, Dustin Fregiato. He said, “‘Trinity’ remains hospitalized as of today. She’s been told it would potentially take up to six months for her to heal.”

The Peaglers want to make sure that other children aren’t treated in the same way, and they want that coach to be held accountable.

About The Author

See author's posts