Outlaws football coach loves to mentor kids

As the Outlaws gear up for the fall football season, they are looking to a new leader. Selected after an extensive search, Gary Thorson brings with him years of experience, both as a player and a coach.

Thorson played at running back for Toledo High School and, after graduation in 1986, went on to play for Linfield. Gary was part of the 1986 National Championship team his freshman year and was named All-Conference his senior year.

Thorson says that playing football was a rich learning experience.

"I can honestly say that playing football was probably the best classroom experience I had in terms of building work ethic, teamwork, accountability, and handling adversity," he said. "That's all huge in people's lives, and very few places in education can bring all that together, and football is one of them."

Thorson also brings 24 years of coaching experience, including six seasons as assistant coach at Linfield, and head coach at Grant, Dallas and Dayton High Schools. Thorson took Dallas and Grant to the quarterfinals and Dayton to the finals in 2011.

After 24 years, Thorson is still driven to coach and mentor kids.

"I do love the game, but what drives me the most is to see players improve and have success," he said. "It's easy to say you need to give your best effort, but to really dig down on a consistent basis is a tough thing to do."

Thorson told The Nugget he has followed Sisters' football program over the years and always hoped that someday the time would be right for him to interview for the head coach position. The timing this year proved to be right; Thorson took a shot and applied and was thrilled he was chosen.

"I feel blessed that it worked out," said Thorson. "I am excited to be a part of it. We are going to hang our hat on the concept of developing a character and work ethic in our players. That will be our top priority. We are ultimately in the people-building business, and that will be our emphasis, and hopefully the other pieces will fall into place; learning the system and developing a weight program."

Thorson doesn't limit his love to working with kids to the football field. In 2013, Gary stepped away from football and went on a mission trip to Kenya with Open Arms International.

He, along with several others, stayed at the Open Arms Orphanage which housed children ages 4 to 15.

The group lived at the orphanage and spent lots of time with the kids, reading to them and getting in some great games of soccer. They also worked in the nearby community of Eldoret, where they took part in a feeding and outreach program to help kids who lived on the streets and in the dumps. A medical camp was set up and free care was provided.

Thorson said, "I knew I had to take a break from coaching to have the experience I wanted to have. I had to give it my full attention."

Thorson has brought his focus back to football and is excited to pour his heart and knowledge of the game into his players, and told The Nugget he could not have done it without the support of his wife, Lisa.

"Lisa has been a huge part of this," he said. "I couldn't coach or be the person I am without her. She's so supportive and an absolute trooper!"

The family recently made the move over to Sisters and look forward to becoming part of the community. Gary and Lisa have three children, Hannah (sophomore), Odin (freshman), and Oly (Olivia), who will be in fifth grade.