Dedication shines through for coach

PALMER — Nothing is more important to Don Malone than family.

Malone and his wife of nearly 40 years, Ellen, are the proud parents of eight adopted children, ranging in age from 10 to 35.

But Malone also has an extended family, his wrestling family, and the longtime head coach of the Palmer Junior Middle School wrestling program is a big reason why athletes on the Palmer end of the Valley are once again finding success.

Malone grew up with the sport in his home state of Minnesota, but a serious injury ended his own career in high school. He later moved to Alaska and after his two oldest sons — Glenn and Chad — got involved in the sport, Malone found his way back to the mat.

“We moved up here in ’82, but until my boys were in seventh and eighth grade I didn’t do much,” Malone said.

But since about 1992, Malone has been a Palmer wrestling staple. Malone helped out the Palmer High program during his sons’ careers, giving him the chance to be a part of Palmer’s state championship team in 1996. He also watched Chad win a state title at 215 pounds that year.

After his boys graduated, he started coaching at PJMS in 1999, and has missed only one season since.

“I’m one of those guys, this is totally entertaining to me,” Malone said. “I’m amazed by the young minds of people.”

Malone has had the chance to help countless young Palmer area wrestlers advance in the sport, and in life. He’s coached three teams to a title in the Tanana Tournament, the unofficial state championships for middle school wrestling in Alaska, during his 10 seasons with the PJMS program. He’s also coached numerous individual state champions. PJMS placed third last season, and produced a trio of state champs.

“Overall, I really enjoy watching them improve, watching them come into the room as sixth- or seventh-graders, maybe underdeveloped physically, and go out as eighth-graders looking pretty good,” Malone said. “That’s the kind of stuff I really like to see.”

He’s also competitive. Very competitive, he said.

“This is also my way of expressing my competitive nature,” Malone said.

Palmer High was once an Alaska wrestling power, winning the state title in 1996, under former head coach Lennie Zalesky, a three-time All-American at the University of Iowa. The Moose won a number of Northern Lights Conference championships and finished as the state runner-up three straight years, 1997-99.

As participation dropped in later years, Palmer wrestling had its lean years. But Malone has forged a relationship with Palmer High head coach Dale Ewart, which has the middle school and high school programs working together to build interest in the sport in the Palmer area.

“That’s part of the dream,” Malone said. “We feel like we’re creating an interest.”

Malone said by working together, the middle school and high school coaches are able to ease the transition for the grapplers graduating from eighth to ninth grades. It’s always rewarding, he said, to see those young wrestlers who he mentored at the middle school level find success in high school.

“The kids adjust and feel at home pretty quickly,” Malone said. “I think that’s huge in our case.”

Malone also coaches in the Mat-Su Matmen club, a youth wrestling program founded in 2008. Malone said the addition of the club also has been important to the success of the local athletes. Wrestlers have been able to stay active outside of the school seasons, he said, and can start at a young age.

“Now we pretty much have everything we need to keep trying to help kids improve and stay active,” Malone said.

Malone has had the chance to coach alongside some of the state’s best, including Zalesky, who has moved on to coach at the college level. He also had the chance to be a part of his son’s Chad’s accomplishments, a state individual and team title.

“That was a dream come true, a feather in the hat for the whole family,” Malone said.

But the longtime coach also cherishes the reward of seeing his athletes have success, and watching their families enjoy that success.

“Now I get to see the parents through the middle school state champions, full of pride for them and their family,” Malone said.

In addition to the time he spends with the local wrestling program, Malone has also spent countless hours helping out at Academy Charter School. Malone and his son, Glenn, host a fishing day for Academy Charter students every year. Malone, a local contractor, also has assisted the school with a number of projects.

But as important as wrestling is, family provides Malone his primary drive. Malone and his wife adopted all eight of their children. Their two boys and six girls were brought to them from places such as Alaska and Minnesota. One of Malone’s daughters is from South India.

“We wanted children and that is how we decided to do it,” Malone said. “(A big family) is very natural for us.”

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.