Mike Boese threw out the first pitch at the Chris Moon Memorial held at the Oscar Romero Ballpark at Cherry Field. His years of steady dedication to honoring Chris made him a logical choice to stand on the varsity mound that rememberable spring day.

A graduate of Emporia State and the University of Arizona, Mike started on his long and fulfilling journey as an athletic trainer while completing his graduate studies at Tucson High from 1985-1987. Many have relayed to me that, once a person is a Badger, they will always a Badger, and this was proven to be true in Mike’s case.

He went on to be the Head Athletic Trainer, Health and Physical Education Instructor at Cactus High School in Glendale from 1988-1995 and he also served as the Sun Devil Baseball Camp Athletic Trainer from 1988-1996. Then, the Badger came home and he served as the Head Athletic Trainer, CTE Sports Medicine Instructor at Tucson High from 1996 to the final day of school this past spring. In all, 32 years at Tucson and nearly 40 years diagnosing and mending student athletes before a well-earned retirement to be with family came calling.

Mike lives in South Carolina now, where his grandchild lives, but his DNA can still be found in the gyms and football field at Tucson High and the baseball and softball fields at Cherry – literal, blood, seat and tears. Plenty of tears. When Chris passed away in 2010, Mike put a huge boulder on his shoulders and placed it on the upper landing of what is now known as Oscar Romero Ballpark. That boulder serves as a backdrop to a life size statue of Chris Moon. No one did more to honor Chris and he is still involved with the Chris Moon Foundation.

“My wife (Traci) was basically a single parent our entire marriage due to my job responsibilities so now it’s her time,” Mike said from his home in Lake Marion. “It was my honor and privilege to take care of so many wonderful high school athletes and I hope I positively impacted their lives. I am frequently asked what was the worst injury I ever encountered and I know kids that ask that question expect me to say something like an open fracture (bone poking through the skin) which I have dealt with a few times, but my answer is Joe Kay.”

Kay suffered a stroke as fans rushed the floor 2004 after a basketball game, ending his hopes of playing volleyball for Stanford. His injury put an end to fans being on the court after every game in the Tucson Unified District.

“His injury was the only life altering injury I cared for as a first responder. You just don’t expect a 17 year old athlete to suffer a stroke. I’m sorry it happened but I’m glad he was able to recover as well as he did. We are friends on Facebook and I was honored to take care of his niece Gloria Valencia last year and announce her name as Valedictorian at graduation.”

As an educator of 40 years myself, I understand all too well the feeling of teaching the kids, and a few grandchildren, of students I taught so long ago.

“I also encountered a few athletes at Tucson who would ask me if I remembered taking care of their mom or dad. There’s an old joke about that. It says, “You know you’re getting old as an athletic trainer when you’re taking care of the kids of the kids you used to take care of. Talk about my career running full circle!”

AWARDS: AzATA Warren H. Lee Award (Arizona’s Certified Athletic Trainer of the Year)-1994. AzATA President’s Award-2011.