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Love of the game, and the kids keeps Doc Schoeberl energized |
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By Charlie Warner
Argus News Editor
As he entered the front doors of the local high school, Doc spotted one of his athletes. “How’s your ankle doing?” he asked the Caledonia senior, who is a member of the Warrior girls basketball team. “Getting better,” she replied.
The tall, athletic man moved down the hallway, greeting the young athletes, as they moved in and out of the training rooms and practice gyms.
“Hey Doc, I like your hat, another athlete noted. It makes you look like a cowboy!” The silver-haired man smiled, tipped his brown, broad-brimmed hat and said thanks.
“Doc, I don’t need my ankles taped tonight. We’re not going to practice real hard,” said a member of the Warrior boys basketball team. “Yes you are Zach. We need to keep those ankles in good shape. Jump up on the table.”
Zach Gran did what Dr. MJ Schoeberl told him and jumped up on the training table. Doc, who has been a chiropractor in Caledonia for more than 40 years, put his hands to motion. In less than three minutes, he had the young athlete’s ankles taped, and ready for practice.
Doc has seen a lot of excellent athletes move through the ranks at Caledonia Area High School. For the past 23 years, he’s served as the “unofficial” team trainer for the boys and girls basketball programs. Since 1984, Doc had been leaving his Sunset Blvd. office each afternoon to tend to Warrior cagers. During the past 23 years, he’s taped thousands of ankles and attended hundreds of games, mainly because he loves the game of basketball and the kids who play it.
Salaried at $1 per year
It’s certainly not for the money. He started out getting paid $1 per year…you read it right, $1 per year.
“I had a daughter and son who were just getting into high school athletics and I felt there was a need to have some type of trainer to help with injuries and preventing them,” he explained. “None of the high schools around here had sports medicine trainers in the early 1980s like they do today. So I took some sports medicine classes with the Minnesota Vikings, and also in Iowa and Wisconsin. It took about two years. Then I went to talk to Dr. Miles Miller, who was the superintendent here.
“I told Dr. Miller I wanted to be the team trainer for both the boys and girls basketball teams,” Doc continued. “I told him I could be at most of the practices and games. He asked me how much I wanted to get paid. I told him I just wanted to do it for the enjoyment. He said the school district had to pay me something, so we decided on $1 per year.”
Doc continued to serve as the boys and girls basketball trainer for a number of seasons, receiving $1 per year. As sports medicine became more popular, and more school districts started hiring trainers originally to attend football, wrestling, hockey, and other contact sports, the school district decided they needed to compensate the Caledonia chiropractor who had been volunteering his services for many years.
“They started paying me the same amount for each game the other sports medicine people were getting. That was fine, although I’m not doing it for the money. I just love being around the kids and the game,” Doc noted.
Some nasty injuries
Over they years, Doc has seen his share of nasty injuries. He recalled how Bobby Schieber took an elbow to the face, which broke his nose so badly his nose was flat against his cheek.
“Bobby’s mom and dad were at the game. There was blood everywhere. I tried to get the bleeding stopped and had his father Joe come down to look at it. I told Joe we needed to send Bobby to La Crosse to have it straightened and set properly. He asked me if I could do it. I told him I could try. So I set Bobby’s nose right there, it looked good to Joe and me, so we sent Bobby up into the stands to have his mother Carol look at it. She said ‘It looks good to me.’ That was the first broken nose I ever set.”
During the 1997 state championship year for the boys, Andy Foster turned his ankle in phy ed class. “It was swelled up pretty bad when I first saw it. We worked pretty hard getting that back into playing condition.”
The same year Aaron Middendorf caught an elbow to his eye, which cut it wide open. Doc recommended double stitching it to make sure the wound didn’t reopen during the Warriors’ championship run.
Support from home
Doc said he wouldn’t have been able to do what he’s done for the past 23 years if not for the support of his wife Sharon.
“She’s supported this from the beginning,” Doc said. “When I first told her my plans to take up sports medicine and volunteer my time, she told me if that’s what I wanted to do, I should do it. And even during all the years I’ve been away at night, traveling with the teams to away games, or up at the high school for home games, she’s encourage me to continue doing this as long as I still enjoyed it.”
A special thank you
Dr. MJ Schoeberl will be honored this Saturday, Feb. 16 during halftime of the girls game with St. Charles. The game will be played at the high school gym, beginning at 7:30 p.m.
“We wanted to thank Doc before he decided to retire and we wouldn’t be able to publicly thank him,” longtime friend and CHS Athletic Director Ken Van Den Boom said. “Doc has been so good to our program. He really enjoys the kids and high school sports. And the kids really enjoy him. And that’s what makes this so special.”
You can contact Charlie Warner at
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I do remember that ankle sparin, it was ugly. Doc took good care of me though. always did.
Great artical, and it is much deserved.