High school football player dies after working out at Camp Blanding
Published: Wednesday, August 13, 2014 at 7:00 p.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, August 13, 2014 at 7:00 p.m.
A 14-year-old high school football player from Sebastian in Indian River County died Wednesday morning after collapsing during a practice/workout at his school's football camp at Camp Blanding east of Starke.
The Clay County Sheriff's Office said it first got a call at about 11 a.m. Wednesday that the teen, William Shogran Jr., had become ill while training with the Sebastian River High School football team at Camp Blanding, a sprawling National Guard training base off State Road 16.
The football camp is held at the base but organized and run by the school's football staff/coaches.
Shogran was a home-schooled ninth-grade student playing for Sebastian River High. The school's football team was at Blanding conducting its start-of-season camp when Shogran became ill, Clay sheriff's officials said. Weather reports had a high of 89 with 89 percent humidity, officials said.
A coach called 911, and the player was transported from Camp Blanding to UF Health Shands Starke in Bradford County.
In a 911 recording, the coach reported that a player needed medical assistance for a "heat injury" and that he had vomited.
The dispatcher asked if the boy was awake. The coach said he was.
"They've got water on him, trying to cool him down," the coach said.
Shogran was pronounced dead upon his arrival at Shands Starke, according to Clay officials.
"Coaches are at the hospital, and coaches are also at the camp/base with the teammates," said Mary Justino, a sheriff's office spokeswoman.
Bill Fritz, an official with the Indian River County School District, said the 45-member team and staff were heading back to the high school and that grief counselors were being made available.
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