Docs bring their best to the field

WASILLA — Late in the fourth quarter of last Friday’s Wasilla-Colony high school football game, Wasilla senior Shane Green sprinted off the field and called for the team’s athletic trainer.

“Doc Larson, I need my ankle taped!” Green yelled.

Dr. Dan Larson, who had spent much of the game prowling the sidelines yelling encouragement to the Wasilla players, quietly sprang into action. Green hopped up on a training table, and within two minutes had a freshly-taped ankle.

He returned to the game, where minutes later — on the game’s final play — Green helped force a Colony fumble that sealed Wasilla’s dramatic 28-21 overtime win.

On the Wasilla sidelines, Dr. Larson — or “Dr. Dan,” as he’s known — joined the jubilant players and coaches in celebration.

Across the field, where the post-game emotions were much more subdued, another Dr. Larson — Dan’s son, Kris — wore a frown as he shared in the Knights’ defeat.

That’s how things usually go for the Valley’s first family of sports medicine, which handles the athletic training chores for all four area class 4A high schools.

“It’s sort of an odd family legacy,” Dr. Kris said after the game.

In addition to the father and son, trainers from Larson Chiropractic in Wasilla also include Dan’s nephew, Dr. Brian Larson — who handles the duties at Palmer High — and Carolyn Bouchard, who serves as the primary trainer at Houston High. Bouchard also lends her time as a volunteer trainer for the Alaska Avalanche junior hockey squad. Physical therapist Sherri Sandefur is the final member of the team, which Dr. Dan estimated attends hundreds of high school practices and games — free of charge — each year.

“We’re pretty busy,” he said from his Wasilla office, the walls of which are covered with pictures of high school sports teams and plaques recognizing the clinic for its service. “I haven’t been moose hunting in 10 years.”

The unique arrangement between the chiropractic office and area high schools began pretty much as soon as Dr. Dan and his wife, Sue, moved to the Valley in 1986. The couple raised nine active children, meaning the Larsons were always shuttling between games and practices.

“I was automatically at the games,” Dr. Dan said.

When he started his own practice in 1991, Dr. Dan said he wanted to find a way to combine his professional and personal lives. So he began volunteering his time as a trainer, taping ankles and handing out ice packs along the sidelines.

As his practice grew, Larson began to allocate more resources to the project. Today, nearly every high school event in the Valley — ranging from junior varsity basketball games to state wrestling tournaments — has at least one member of the team in attendance keeping an eye out for the health and safety of the young athletes.

“It’s a big focus for us in our life,” Dr. Dan said.

In addition to volunteering time, Larson Chiropractic also provides athletic tape (sometimes as much as three dozen rolls a game), first aid kits and training tables for each team it works with.

Dr. Dan said he wants to ensure that young athletes in the Valley have access to the best possible medical care.

“One of my goals when I started doing this was to provide Division I level care to high school athletes,” he said.

And it’s not just home games where Valley teams have access to Larson’s care. Trainers also travel with athletic teams on road trips — both in and outside Alaska. Last winter, Dr. Dan took two trips to Florida with the Wasilla basketball teams.

“I’m just lucky I have a wife who loves basketball,” he joked.

The trainers aren’t just impartial observers. Each shows an obvious bias toward his or her team, and each wears team colors on the sidelines. At last year’s state basketball championships, Dr. Dan even went so far as to dye his bushy mustache a shade of Warrior red.

Dr. Kris Larson said the arrangement pairing a specific trainer with a specific school has led to some friendly rivalries in the office.

“It’s usually Fridays when the heckling goes down,” he said.

The crew has even gone so far as to sabotage each other’s training bags for away games. Dr. Kris said the other trainers once decided to switch out Dr. Dan’s items with some of their own.

“He only had blue and green in his bag,” Dr. Kris said, referring to the school colors of Palmer and Colony. “He was a little mad for a couple weeks.”

Having a dedicated trainer on hand at all times is a big benefit not just for the kids, but for the Valley’s coaches. Wasilla girls head coach Jeannie Hebert-Truax said having what amounts to an on-staff trainer has made a big difference for her.

“I think it’s a great, great value to me,” Hebert-Truax said.

The coach said having Dr. Larson at games frees her up to focus on the coaching.

“It eliminates me from having to tape their feet,” she said.

In addition to providing his training expertise, Hebert-Truax said Dr. Dan attends practices and even offers suggestions to help the team.

“He puts in his two cents here or there,” Hebert-Truax said.

While coaches love having a qualified trainer on hand to tape ankles, school administrators are pretty fond of not having to pay for such a high level of care.

Wasilla assistant principal Dan Michael said it’s hard to put a price on value of having a reliable, cost-free trainer at all games.

“It’s huge,” Michael said.

Michael came to WHS in 1994, and said in his time at the school, Dr. Dan has never turned down a request for help. He even donated a large chunk of money to help pay for a new scoreboard at the school’s Veterans Memorial Field.

“He’ll volunteer for anything we’d ask him to,” Michael said.

All told, Dr. Dan said he and his staff volunteer well over 1,000 hours each year at local sporting events.

And while there may be some bit of rivalry between the schools the clinic serves — as well as some good-natured ribbing around the clinic’s water cooler — the trainers said there’s no doubt about what’s the highest priority.

During the Wasilla-Colony game, that cooperative spirit was evident. In the fourth quarter, a Colony player went down with leg cramps near the Wasilla sideline. As Dr. Dan was closer to the action than his son, the elder Larson was the first person on the field attending to the injured Knight.

By the time Dr. Kris arrived from the other side of the field, Dr. Dan was already helping the rival team’s player get ready to go back in the game.

Dr. Kris said that when it comes to taking care of the athletes, it doesn’t really matter if the player is wearing red, blue or green — the bottom line is the health of the student-athletes.

“All in all, it’s about the kids,” Dr. Kris said.

Contact Matt Tunseth at 352-2265 or matt.tunseth@frontiersman.com