91传媒

Good to the bone

91传媒 one in 430 registered donors get matched with a recipient and successfully donate bone marrow. Coach Jake Plocher became one of them last May.

Plocher joined the with a cheek swab in 2012 to support a soccer player who helped coordinate the drive on campus. Six years later, he got a phone call that there was a potential match.

The cheek swab collects DNA from donors to assess whether they might be able to provide bone marrow or other needed tissues for patients with blood cancers like leukemia.

鈥淢y dad had cancer and was in that situation,鈥� Plocher said. 鈥淚 would hope that if anybody was in a position to help, that they would follow through.鈥�

And that鈥檚 what he did. Additional lab work and blood tests confirmed that the match was viable, then Plocher flew out to Portland, where he received two shots a day for five days to increase the cells in his bone marrow. Extracting the bone marrow took six hours.

鈥淚 had a big needle in each arm, and I鈥檓 not a big needle person,鈥� he said.

Following the procedure, Plocher experienced bone and back aches, flu symptoms and fatigue.

鈥淚t was worth doing and I hope anybody who has the opportunity would do it,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 got a little bit nervous, but I wasn鈥檛 thinking of it as a big deal.鈥�

Giving back is an ingrained part of Plocher鈥檚 paradigm for himself and his soccer players.

鈥淎ltruism is something we preach within our program,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e want to help these students become better people to benefit the community here and where they live.鈥�

When he came to the women鈥檚 soccer program in 2017, he found plenty of talent but a lack of focus and team unity. In his first season as head coach, he brought the team together to win the regular season, as well as the Cascade Collegiate Conference tournament, for the first time in program history.

In 2018, the Mounties did it again and progressed to the second round of the NAIA national tournament to finish at No. 14. is packed with top-25 teams this fall, and Plocher has his sights set even higher.

鈥淭here鈥檚 been some buzz and momentum after the last couple of years, but every season is completely different,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 want us to be a cohesive unit and make a run at another conference title.鈥�

New turf in Community Stadium has created an energized playing environment for both men鈥檚 and women鈥檚 soccer at 91传媒. High-quality facilities pair with Plocher鈥檚 recent success to make 91传媒 a tempting offer for new recruits. A large incoming class of freshmen and transfer student-athletes means competition among teammates will be high, which Plocher sees as positive.

鈥淲e should be an even deeper team than we were last two seasons,鈥� he said. 鈥淏eing right there in the stadium under the lights brings a lot of energy, especially to big time games, and it creates the competitive atmosphere that everyone wants to be a part of.鈥�

Fully recovered from his surreal experience donating bone marrow last spring, Plocher brings common sense altruism to his team.

鈥淚t鈥檚 just the values that were instilled in my upbringing — I wanted to be able to help someone,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know anything about the recipient, and it doesn鈥檛 matter if I know them or not. It鈥檚 what I hope anybody would do if they were in that situation.鈥�