Full Time Student Danny Larson Balances A Tough Schedule in Order to Follow His Dreams
Danny Larson balances being a full time student and a baseball coach, often having to miss class in order to fulfill his coaching duties
By Nick Bonnema | Clarion Correspondent
Like the TV show Jersey Shore, Danny Larson sat poolside on a hot Afternoon Monday afternoon in Arizona. It was 80 degrees in Arizona and 30 degrees in Minnesota. Like Ferris Bueller, Larson was supposed to be in class that day. But he had more important things to do.
Larson is a senior Organizational Communication student at Bethel University but he is also the Assistant Varsity Baseball Coach at Irondale High School, as well as a coach for a summer Legion team and a club team in the fall and winter.
Larson was in Arizona to coach his baseball team in a tournament. Though he was forced to miss a few days of school, he didn’t let that bother him.
“When I am gone to coach, I don’t really stress out about school,” Larson said “I am focused on coaching when I’m there. The stress hits me once I get back.”
The bigger issue has been registering for classes. Larson typically starts coaching at 2 p.m. during the season, meaning he has to take all morning classes.
“Planning my schedule is very hard, especially when I’m taking 18 credits.” Larson said “I definitely have to take more 8 a.m. classes than I’d like to.” Though he has to miss class sometimes, Larson says his professors are very understanding of his situation.
“Danny is gone quite a bit during the season.” Larson’s roommate Sam Newman said. “He’s always doing something, whether he’s coaching, or studying, he’s never just sitting around.”
“I’ve never had a problem with a professor about missing class for coaching.” Larson said “They all understand that coaching is what I want to do in my future.” Larson continued.
Larson does his best to work ahead, in order to stay on course with his school work. Though he never misses an entire week of class, he still feels as though he must finish the homework ahead of time. This helps his peace of mind when he’s on the road.
Coaching is definitely a passion for Larson but it hasn’t always been that way. When Larson first started to coach in 2016 as the freshman baseball coach St. Thomas Academy, it was more for money than anything else. (see if you can move this paragraph and the quote up some.)
“I thought I’d coach middle school basketball.” Larson chuckled. “I ended up having a connection at St. Thomas Academy who was in need of a freshman coach.”
Larson went on to coach one season at St. Thomas Academy, then taking a job at Irondale High School.
“Danny is great to have around the program.” Varsity Coach Bobby Lynch said. “The only thing bad about him is that he’ll soon get a head coaching job somewhere else.”
A head coaching job is certainly in the near future for Larson. This past summer Larson was awarded Coach of the Year when coaching his Legion team — Tri-City Maroon.
“It’s fun and encouraging getting an award like that.” Larson said. “With that being said, it’s an individual award and I am much more interested in winning a championship than an individual award.”
When asked where he’ll be in 15 years Larson had a quick response.
“I want to coach at the college level. Obviously D1 would be my first choice but any level, D1, D2, or D3 would be awesome.” Larson said.
Larson is extremely excited about the opportunity to recruit his own players. In high school you are dealt the players that come to you. In college you call players and recruit them yourself.
“Recruiting is something that I find really cool, and I would love to have the opportunity to do that someday.” Larson said.
Timeline information:
1. 2015 — Graduated from Mahtomedi High School
2. 2017 — Started coaching at St. Thomas Academy.
3. 2018 — Started coaching at Irondale High school as well as a Legion team and a club team.
Bio Box:
- Grew up in Oakdale MN
- Attended Mahtomedi High School
- Played varsity baseball at Mahtomedi
- In 2015 attended Joshua Wilderness Institute in California
- In 2016 Enrolled at Bethel University
- Minnesota sports fan
