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Orlando Sentinel: UCF player died following intense mat drills (UPDATED)

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by MU_was_not_so_hard, Apr 10, 2008.

  1. MU_was_not_so_hard

    MU_was_not_so_hard Active Member

    This might only be the beginning. Hell of a job by Orlando.

    ****
    UCF players: Ereck Plancher died following intense mat drills

    By KYLE HIGHTOWER, ILIANA LIMÓN and LYNN HOPPES | Sentinel Staff Writers
    7:43 PM EDT, April 10, 2008

    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.
    ****

    Story included a segment of four unidentified players saying O'Leary was calling Plancher out just before he collapsed (and after he'd already fallen down once), as well as a player saying Placher was making a bad "moaning" sound for part of the workout.

    More....

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

    Flying Headbutt Moderator Staff Member

    Re: Orlando Sentinel: UCF football player Plancher died following intense mat drills

    Will that go on his resume? (too soon?)
     
  3. BYH

    BYH Active Member

    Re: Orlando Sentinel: UCF football player Plancher died following intense mat drills

    That's hideous.













    I can't believe I didn't think of it first.
     
  4. Moderator1

    Moderator1 Moderator Staff Member

    Re: Orlando Sentinel: UCF football player Plancher died following intense mat drills

    Yes.

    Not trying to be a major dick. I have a kid about that age. This shit doesn't sit well with me - the situation, not your wisecrack.
     
  5. Smallpotatoes

    Smallpotatoes Well-Known Member

    Re: Orlando Sentinel: UCF football player Plancher died following intense mat dr

    I started a thread on this when the kid died and I don't think there were any replies.
    While I understand the importance of conditioning, sometimes I wonder if these brutal workouts that may go beyond what is really required to win football games might be counterproductive in some way.
    I know they're supposed to be a source of pride or something, but if they're literally killing people and chasing away athletes (including good ones) maybe they're doing more harm than good.
     
  6. Boom_70

    Boom_70 Well-Known Member

    Re: Orlando Sentinel: UCF football player Plancher died following intense mat drills

    But start a thread about "water boarding" or Chinese human rights violations and they will be 5 pages long in no time
     
  7. hondo

    hondo Well-Known Member

    Re: Orlando Sentinel: UCF football player Plancher died following intense mat drills

    This happened at FSU several years ago. You think people would have learned.
     
  8. Brooklyn Bridge

    Brooklyn Bridge Well-Known Member

    Re: Orlando Sentinel: UCF football player Plancher died following intense mat drills

    Sad story. I coach prep football and don't get this running these intense off-season conditioning drills. The player obviously had some difficultly in running and the coaches should have pulled him out. As a coach, you should recognize the difference between someone "dogging" it and someone who is having breathing problems and whose pupils were dilated. And doesn't an hour of running after an hour of heavy lifting seem a little extreme? I'll bow to those more in the know, but I would think it would be one day of lifting (and maybe some running) and one day of conditioning-running.
     
  9. Simon_Cowbell

    Simon_Cowbell Active Member

    Re: Orlando Sentinel: UCF football player Plancher died following intense mat drills

    He's a publicity snake.
     
  10. Simon_Cowbell

    Simon_Cowbell Active Member

    Re: Orlando Sentinel: UCF football player Plancher died following intense mat drills

    I did all those workouts... had coaches in my face at times. No problem.

    It just happens.
     
  11. Smallpotatoes

    Smallpotatoes Well-Known Member

    Re: Orlando Sentinel: UCF football player Plancher died following intense mat drills

    Well, there's the usual he-man rhetoric about it building team unity and pride and stuff like that, that it's not just a matter of being fit, but having some sort of mental edge.
    It also gives the middle-age coaches a chance to show the players how tough they are (and were).
    The problem, as I said, is not only that it could kill the players, but also it chases them away and it's not necessarily the worst athletes who end up leaving.
     
  12. deskslave

    deskslave Active Member

    Re: Orlando Sentinel: UCF football player Plancher died following intense mat drills

    The Georgia coaching staff, for one, swears by "mat drills." And I couldn't help but notice that the story says O'Leary and staff were shouting at him to finish the drill -- which has been one of Georgia's slogans ever since Richt took over.

    Clearly, something is producing results at Georgia, but I've also noticed that they've had a rash of injuries that have to be considered unusual. Three or four years ago, they had more than one player diagnosed with acute compartment syndrome, which I'm not sure anyone had ever heard of.
     
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