Suburban Track Coach Hit in Head by Shot Put at Elgin Meet, Seriously Injured

A 42-year-old Marmion Academy track coach was seriously injured after he was hit in the head with a shot put during a track meet Friday evening in Elgin, according to a Saturday Chicago Tribune article. 

Coach Ed DeGeeter, a contract coach at the school, was looking at his clipboard outside the shot put-throwing area "when a participant's errant throw struck him in the upper left forehead," acceding to the article. 

Marmion’s athletic director Joe Chivari compared getting hit with the 12-pound shot put to being hit by a canon, according to a Chicago Sun-Times article. 

DeGeeter was hospitalized in critical condition but appeared to be improving. He was listed in stable condition Saturday night at Saint Joseph Hospital in Elgin, according to the Daily Herald. Chivari said DeGeeter was conscious on Saturday and talking a bit more, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

Elgin Police Cmdr. Glenn Theriault told the Daily Herald no criminal charges will be filed and referred to the incident as "just a horrible accident."

The Class 3A Sectional at Elgin High School included several local teams, including: Marmion Academy, Metea Valley, Bartlett, Batavia, Dundee-Crown, Elgin High School, Larkin, Geneva, Hoffman Estates High School, Schaumburg High School, South Elgin, St. Charles East, St. Charles North, Streamwood and West Chicago High School.