Not only is the school (and district) protected, but its employee's--like coaches for who school employees (rather than volunteers)--are protected to. There are fouir main exceptions to the protection, three of which are not applicable here: 1) a deliberate wrongful act, like a crime directed against a student (e.g. sexual abuse); 2) negligence involving a school vehicle; 3) injuries from excessive force in discipling a student.The fourth one also may not apply, but at least there's a chance you could make it fit: if an employee acts outside his/her professional capacity. An oft-given example is a gym teacher giving out medical advice. Here, you'd have to try to make out the claim that by using such a manifestly inappropriate item as a base, the coach had gone beyond the reasonable scope of his job. This would seem to be a very uphill argument to make, but at least you could attempt to make it. You are advised to consult with a personal injury attorney to see if you can make out a case that will circumvent the extensive protection given by your state to schools and their employees.Note that if the coach was not an employee but was a volunteer, it is a different story--the immunity wouold not extend to him.Ã¯Â¿Â½