After three World Series rings and nearly 30 years as an athletic trainer for the Cincinnati Reds and Florida Marlins, Larry Starr, Ed.D., left Major League Baseball and was invited to join NSU’s Athletics Department. During his tenure at the university, Starr developed a vision for sports medicine at NSU. He also established the Sharks’ strength and conditioning department and designed the sports medicine clinic facilities in the Don Taft University Center. In 2015, he was inducted into the NSU Athletics Hall of Fame in recognition for his efforts.
In addition, he earned his doctorate in educational leadership from the university and began teaching sports medicine, all while continuing to help student-athletes.
“The opportunity to get my doctorate made me a better athletic trainer,” Starr said. “I could talk to the students and understand what they were going through, trying to get their own degree.”
Starr also recognized the talent and knowledge that existed at NSU outside of the Athletics Department. He created the sports medicine interdisciplinary team, bringing together sports psychology, sports nutrition, and orthopedic surgeons for the benefit of NSU’s student athletes.
“Larry is like a whole sports medicine ecosystem,” said Dustin Gatens, NSU assistant athletic director for sports medicine. “He not only affects student-athletes, but he also became a conduit from the athletics department to other NSU health entities. He’s a connector across campus.”
Originally hired by Starr in 2006, Gatens is now in the role that Starr once held, leading a team of athletic trainers while coordinating with physicians, physical therapists, and other members of NSU Health. He is grateful for the lessons that he learned while working under Starr when he first came to the university.
“The biggest impact that Larry had on me is to always carry a respect for the profession and carry yourselves like you’re the knowledge experts in the room. However, to do our job at our greatest, you have to have humility and an absence of ego,” he said. “This is a collaborative environment because we all have the same mission. And that’s how Larry carried it.”
In recognition of Starr’s lasting influence on NSU and the department, Gatens and Jason Palmateer, NSU’s head athletic trainer, wanted to establish a long-term connection between the university and Starr.
“They [Gatens and Palmateer] came to me and said they wanted to do something to cement my legacy at NSU,” Starr said. “We wanted to acknowledge a player who’s come back from a significant injury and acknowledge the work ethic and commitment required to make that happen. And just as important, I wanted to recognize the sports medicine staff, athletic trainers, orthopedic surgeons, physical therapists, and anybody who was involved in the rehab. And that’s how we came up with the Comeback Student-Athlete Endowed Scholarship.”
Starr and his wife, Linda, made the initial contribution for the endowment. Linda Starr is also an alumna of NSU—she earned her master’s degree in education from the university. Gatens and Palmateer then took the lead on fundraising to create a sustainable fund, giving themselves a little over a year to reach their goal to award the first scholarship. It took less than six months to bring the vision to fruition.
“Graduate assistants under us donated. They never met Larry, never worked with him, but knew the impact he had on us,” Gatens said. “The Cincinnati Reds donated. We received a donation from a bat boy who worked with Larry when he was at the Florida Marlins literally 25 years ago.”
“Everyone acknowledges the impact Larry has had on NSU, and he’s had a similar impact at all the different stops he made along the way.”
With the financial target reached, the next step was to determine an inaugural recipient for the award. The scholarship committee wanted a student athlete who had gone through a long-term rehabilitative process and had to stop playing a sport while recovering from an injury. They also wanted a student who had used the support of the sports medicine team, was in good academic standing at NSU, and was involved in campus activities.
Soccer player Paul Boos-Patton was a great candidate for the position. A native Floridian, Boos-Patton was a member of the team that won the conference and regional championships and made it all the way to the NCAA Division II Final Four. A freshman at the time, Boos-Patton tore his ACL shortly before the team’s final game. He missed nine months of play, recovered, and got back on the field the following season, only to experience the same injury on his other leg. His second stint of rehabilitation took 13 months.
He successfully recovered and returned to the pitch for his senior year. He played 1,335 minutes—more than anyone else on the team—and was named team captain for his final semesters at NSU.
“After having two torn ACLs, I was happy just being a part of the team,” Boos-Patton said. “But all the lessons that I learned from coming back made me a more well-rounded player. I don’t really think I could have done it without the belief of the coaching staff and the sports medicine team.”
“The biggest part for me is that my dedication and my work to get back was noticed by other people,” he added. “It is physically and mentally challenging. I always felt that my identity was a soccer player. But having an injury like that, things can change really quick.”
“I learned there has to be something about you that’s not just, I’m an athlete. Dustin really helped me realize that soccer is a game. It’s another experience in your life to help you become a better person,” Boos-Patton said. “So as much as it’s my award, it’s Dustin’s award. It belongs to the rehabilitation team, the sports medicine clinic, the weight room staff and my teammates. It’s about being recognized for the work that you put in and the community of people that have helped you.”
Starr was honored to join the NSU team in presenting the award to Boos-Patton. And he is grateful for the work that Gatens and Palmateer put into bolstering the scholarship that bears his name.
“I don’t dwell on it, but it is humbling to have people say how you moved them. It’s an honor to me that we were able to get this done and be able to give back to the university,” Starr said. “I think NSU gave me more than I gave it. The university gave me a doctoral degree, better skills as an athletic trainer, better skills as an administrator, and created relationships that I had never had before.”
“Paul’s going to be a hard act to follow,” he added, “but I hope the scholarship continues to grow and helps other deserving athletes.”