Nine years with Manawa School District
By Holly Neumann
After nine years of serving the Manawa School District as its athletic trainer, Jill Timm has made the decision to step down from the position.
Her main responsibilities were to cover football and wrestling, as well as weekly injury clinics.
“Generally speaking, I am a dual credentialed physical therapist/athletic trainer,” Timm said. “I had stepped away from the athletic training side of my career when I had children. When Nate Ziemer, then the athletic director, found out that I had a child playing sports in the school district, it moved fast from that chance meeting to my boss at Orthopedic & Spine Therapy embracing the position. This began my nine years of being on the football sidelines, first with my son Jake and then with my two daughters, Megan and Jensen. They have all served in some role on the football sidelines: ball boy, water girls and student athletic trainers.”
Timm’s fondest memories are the time with her kids on the sidelines.
“My poor husband (Aaron) was the only one who didn’t have a football role over the last four years,” she said. “He found a way to be involved by making sure that he brought us water or hot chocolate at halftime. My absolute favorite times were when former athletes would seek me out to give me an update on their lives.”
The decision to step down was not an easy one, Timm said.
“My decision to leave was based on a few different things,” she said. “Most of all, it came down to just being a mom. I want to see my girls play high school sports. I want to be a fan in the stands. I love sports, but for years, I have watched it from the perspective of looking for potential injuries. I never know the actual score of a game. Now, I just want to sit back and enjoy the game.”
While her son just graduated from Little Wolf High School, Timm’s twin daughters will be freshmen this fall.
“I have two daughters entering high school, both of whom are multi-sport athletes,” she said. “I won’t have free time. I want to go to a Friday fish fry in the fall. It’s been a lot of years since I have been able to do that.”
Her hope is that the next athletic trainer cares about the Manawa student-athletes like each one is a member of their own family.
“Each of those kids are so much more than just their athletic talents,” Timm said. “I want the next athletic trainer to help each kid grow into the next phase of their life.
“I really have enjoyed my time at LWHS,” she added. “I have seen the care and concern that the teaching and coaching staff has for each student in that building. I have seen coaches take a bunch of average athletes and make them into something way more than average, but more importantly, I have seen coaches who care about their athletes beyond the field or court. It has been an honor to be a part of that.”