By Meredith Winter

Arnold resident Dr. Alan Sokoloff has been a practicing chiropractor for 38 years. He has been the Baltimore Ravens’ team chiropractor since 1999 and has been with the University of Maryland since 1997. He also works with the Baltimore Orioles.

“Dr. Sok,” as he is widely known, has also devoted much of his life to educating rec league coaches and parents about best practices for the health and safety of student-athletes. He has done coaching clinics throughout the county for over two decades, and for the last eight years, he has supported the Greater Severna Park Athletic Association (GSPAA), or Green Hornets, with education about concussion awareness and hydration.

Working with the Ravens and Terps, he said, “I get all of this knowledge from the best of the best … So, you know, (I’m) taking what I’m learning at one level (and) bringing it down to the masses. And at the end of the day, for me personally, it’s all about preventing injuries with kids.”

In past years, Sokoloff did smaller things with Green Hornets coaches. Years ago, his daughter played soccer with the organization when they were Chartwell residents. When he was given the opportunity to do more to educate coaches and parents, he said, “Why not?”

Sokoloff hosts three different workshops with the Green Hornets – for kids, for parents, and for coaches – that all have similar messages delivered in different ways. Most recently, his volunteerism has been focused primarily on educating parents.

The two main topics he addresses are concussion awareness and prevention and preventing heat-related illness and dehydration.

“You can pick up a newspaper and you can see how many kids have been injured and, God forbid, passed away because no one knew CPR, no one knew the warning signs of heat-related illness. It happens every day. Young, innocent kids, that all they want to do is play,” Sokoloff said. “And being able to help at the youngest level, being able to give them a chance to get to the next level – you know, that’s what I want as a parent with my kids, and I’m sure that’s what parents want with their kids.”

He added, “And if we can do a better job of increasing awareness of those core people and parents, there’s going to be that many more kids that we save.”

Sokoloff noted that working with the Green Hornets benefits both parents and coaches, too. Coaches can make better decisions about whether athletes should or should not play under certain circumstances, and parents are better educated about what their children should eat or drink prior to a game, as examples.

Sokoloff finds it rewarding to work with the Green Hornets because they are eager to learn and apply the information presented. Likewise, the Green Hornets are grateful for his service.

GSPAA executive board member and vice president of sports Larry Sells shared, “We are so fortunate to have Dr. Sokoloff living in our community. He has always supported the Green Hornets organization by presenting his hydration and concussion awareness talks annually with athletes, coaches and parents. He is a community treasure.”

Last fall, Sokoloff was recognized for eight years of supporting the Green Hornets with citations from Senator Dawn Gile and Governor Wes Moore. He shared that he was surprised and thankful, but he would do what he does for the GSPAA without any recognition.

“To tell you the truth, I don’t look at it as volunteering,” Sokoloff said. “It’s more of like it’s (my) obligation. It’s kind of like retiring. For me, I don’t think I’ll ever retire because as long as I have a skill set that I can help people with, I’m going to do it. It’s kind of like that with the coaching clinics and education.”

He shared, “The athletes I treat at the professional level – they made it there because they were child athletes too. And if it is that kid’s dream to make it to that level, then why not give them the best chance to get there?”