UCF players: Ereck Plancher died following intense mat drills

[flsportsfan83]

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/college/knights/orl-bk-ereck-plancher-041008,0,2707873.story

Sad

[SANJAY]

As for the "motivational" techniques, I thought all football coaches were like that.  Tragic result.  Not enough information to know if their staff did something all staffs do not do.

To me the problem is that it appears the school did not put out an accurate portrayal of what happened.  Maybe they did not know all the facts when the original articles were written?  No need to start a ****storm with incomplete facts out of something tragic like this.

[Joe]

Guys why harp on this or even suggest UCF might have been at fault.

It was more than likely a heart condition. Every football player from HS to pro has done intense mat workouts.

Of course UCF wasn't forthcoming about details, a student athlete died on thei watch, that has ever ambulance chasing attorney looking into it.

We did the same thing with Keely's death and his family threatened lawsuit because they said we were hiding facts.

I could only imagine the rage on here if  UCFer or anyone tried to blame USF for Keey's death.

Oh wait, we did, after a newpaper reported we had no defibulizers in the facility, and it was a very long thread.

I haveno problem giving UCF ****, but a student athelete of theirs died. Things like this are best left alone.

[Goldenbuc]

Thanks Joe.  You're right.  Nobody can really mention anything until they know all details.  The drills are the same as any other school.  FSU got a lot of heat from the "mat drills" that the kid was doing who died there.  It is sad...and I'm sure there are legal procedures each school has to go through when something like this happens.

[___ Eats It]

You knew the truth was going to see the light of day eventually... the only question is how deep will it go.

PS - Kudos to Kyle Hightower for having the juevos to publish this.  He just scored major points on my respect-o-meter.  You know this is big because the Sports Editor Hoppes is in the byline as well.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/sports/college/knights/orl-bk-ereck-plancher-041008,0,2707873.story

UCF Players:  Ereck Plancher Died After Intense Mat Drills

By KYLE HIGHTOWER, ILIANA LIMÓN and LYNN HOPPES |  Sentinel Staff Writers

UCF football player Ereck Plancher showed signs of distress during "mat drill" workouts last month before he collapsed and later died, four of Plancher's UCF teammates told the Orlando Sentinel.

Plancher, a 19-year-old receiver from Naples, was taken to a hospital on March 18 and was pronounced dead about an hour after the drills.

A preliminary autopsy was inconclusive. Further tests are under way to determine the cause of Plancher's death.

The UCF players, who asked for anonymity because they fear retribution from football coaches, said Plancher's final practice was more intense than the basic conditioning workout described by UCF officials.

In an interview with the Sentinel, UCF Coach George O'Leary and his football staff disputed the four players' account of Plancher's final practice.

"I did not see him struggle on the field," O'Leary said of the morning Plancher died. "From my professional opinion, what should have been done for his care was being done."

The players said they decided to talk to Sentinel reporters because they were upset about the school's portrayal of a "10-minute, 20-second" workout that included a "weights component" described by UCF Athletic Director Keith Tribble in a news conference the afternoon of Plancher's death. UCF Executive Associate Athletic Director David Chambers a week later clarified Tribble's statement, saying the workout lasted about 20 minutes.

"We were acting on the best information we had available in the hours immediately after Ereck's death," UCF spokesman Grant Heston said of the discrepancy between the players' statements and initial statements made by UCF officials on the day Plancher died. "Subsequently, we learned that the workout was lengthier than we originally believed."

Players said the March 18 workout included:

- Multiple agility work stations that lasted five minutes each.

- A 200-yard obstacle course that players had to complete twice.

- Two timed sprints from sideline to sideline.

They said those drills, conducted in the Knights' indoor fieldhouse, came after players lifted weights for an hour, also a supervised activity.

"Everybody was struggling at times," one player said of the workout. "...But he [Ereck] was running, and I could tell something wasn't right. His eyes got real dark, and he was squinting like he was blinded by the sun. He was making this moaning noise, trying to breathe real hard."

The four players said Plancher fell during the final sprint and members of the UCF coaching staff yelled at him to finish the drill.

"Ereck took off running about five yards and fell; the coaches were yelling at him to get up, and of course he came in last," one player said.

O'Leary said he didn't see Plancher fall, but did see him get up during one of the two runs.

Offensive coordinator Tim Salem said he saw no signs that Plancher was having problems during the workout. "When he was coming through my station, he actually was passing people. He was not struggling at that time. He was working harder than other kids."

After the workout, the team huddled in the middle of the field, where O'Leary singled out Plancher and cursed at him for lack of effort during the final sprint, the four players said.

All four players recall that O'Leary said to Plancher, "That's a bunch of [expletive] out of you, son," in the huddle. O'Leary denied cursing at Plancher but recalled telling people around him, "He's better than that."

"Ereck was in the back when O'Leary was yelling at him, but Ereck couldn't even look at him," one of the players said. "He was trying to catch his breath the whole time and he never could."

Plancher was noticeably woozy and staggering as he tried to participate in the final jumping - jacks' drill, the players said. The team finished those exercises, then huddled one final time. Plancher collapsed while walking away from the huddle, the players said.

Kyle Hightower can be reached at khightower@orlandosentinel.com. Iliana Limón can be reached at ilimon@orlandosentinel.com. Lynn Hoppes can be reached at lhoppes@orlandosentinel.com.

A full version of this story will be available in Friday's Orlando Sentinel.

[DawgPound]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, Matt, but all coaches are like that.  I dislocated my shoulder and I got torn into by my coach when I played.  They thought I was dogging it until I failed the physical for the next season cause my shoulder wouldn't stay in the socket.

At that practice, no one there had any idea something was seriously wrong until it was too late.  That fact that you and Mr. Live for All Things UCF are so quick to jump to conclusions makes it sound like you guys wish that foul play is involved.  I'd expect it from the loser who started this thread, but not you.

Sanjay, I think it was more shock than anything else.  In a state of shock, the last thing you want to do is go on the record and say something that can be twisted badly without knowing all the facts.  This article can be viewed in another light because players saw what coaches couldn't because the players were running with Ereck.  Perhaps the players could have spoken up for Ereck during the practice?  We can only speculate based on what people tell us.

And for the record, Lynn Hoppes hates UCF.  It's no surprise he got involved on a negative article.

[___ Eats It]

At that practice, no one there had any idea something was seriously wrong until it was too late.  That fact that you and Mr. Live for All Things UCF are so quick to jump to conclusions makes it sound like you guys wish that foul play is involved.  I'd expect it from the loser who started this thread, but not you.

Four players at the practice had an idea that things were seriously wrong, according to the article.  If they could see it, why couldn't the coaches?  I'm sure the players feel terrible that they didn't say anything, much like I'm sure O'Leary feels terrible that the actions of his staff could possibly be the reason for the kid's expiration.

It's a fair question.

Aside from my comment that I think UCF is covering something up (multiple inconsistencies revealed in what they said between the incident and now), my post is pretty much the transcript of the article.

[DawgPound]

I can't blame the admin for wanting to keep things quiet.  It's never good when a player dies on your watch, especially when it was involved with a practice.

[Guest Mr. AKA]

Let him rest in peace and quit trying to place blame, if someone did do something wrong their conscience

will eat at them for eternity.

[KB]

I can't blame the admin for wanting to keep things quiet.  It's never good when a player dies on your watch, especially when it was involved with a practice.

Rest in peace to EP...I don't think anyone is trying to spread blame. 

It's one thing to keep quiet about his death, it's another to lie about it.  Being dishonest about it dishonors this young kids tragic death.

Having players go the media is bad.  Having players go to the media in fear of retribution is worse.