Joe and Josephine Fan might not understand the value of what Stephanie

Kara Harmon works on the leg of basketball player, Joey Newland. (Photo by Harold Hamilton/ www.hehphotos.com)

Hankish and Kara Harmon do for Genoa High School, but you can bet the Comets’ athletes and coaches do.

Hankish and Harmon, both seniors, are training aides for the football and boys basketball programs.

“The amount of time they put in is actually more time than our players spend at school,” Genoa boys basketball coach Jeff Overmyer said.

Overmyer, in his 10th season, is a big fan of what the trainers bring to the table with their dedication and work ethic. As training aides, Hankish and Harmon do not get paid or earn school credits.

Both girls report directly to Genoa Athletic Director Mike Thomas and the school’s athletic trainer, Darci Thompson, who is contracted to work with Genoa’s athletes through Bay Park Community Hospital in Oregon.

“Our head athletic trainer is not always at our practices because she only works so many hours a week, so our aides are always at our practices,” Overmyer said. “They take care of the training needs of our players. They put in an inordinate amount of time and they don’t get a lot of recognition for what they do. They are there early and they stay late. On game days, they’re there for the freshman game until the end of the varsity game.”

Harmon’s day starts when the alarm goes off at 5:30 or 5:45 a.m. After a 10-minute drive to school from her home in Curtice, she goes to school from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

“The majority of time, I have two brothers I have to pick up after school,” Harmon said. “I drop them off at home and then go to basketball practice or a game.”

Hankish gets up at 6 a.m. every day and sometimes doesn’t get home until 16 hours later if Genoa plays a game on the road. Harmon is in the same boat.

“It’s usually pretty late,” Hankish said, “depending on where we go. Last week, we went to Otsego and I didn’t get home until 10 or 10:30.”

Hankish, who has a 3.3 GPA with a curriculum that includes some honors courses, plans her study time around the Comets’ basketball schedule.

“I spend at least a solid hour on homework every day,” she said. “I can do it at practices if we don’t have games. Otherwise, I have to do it at home after basketball.”

Both girls’ jobs cover just about everything, from taping players’ ankles and fingers to filling water coolers and making sure the water bottles stay full during the freshman, junior varsity and varsity games. Depending on the Comets’ schedule, that could cover as many as six games a week.

“I go to school from 7:30 to 2:30 and I don’t have a chance to go home,” Hankish said. “If it’s an away game, I get all the supplies together. We get on the bus and when we get there we watch the freshmen game. We refill water bottles and then get the jayvee players taped and watch that game. In between the jayvee and varsity game, we tape the varsity guys.”

Some of Harmon’s recent duties have included taping 6-9 senior center Richard Wonnell’s pinkie and reserve player Andrew Nutter’s knee.

“He had a scab by his knee that is rather large,” Harmon said. “We put tape or gauze around that, so if he falls it won’t bust open. Darci and Stephanie do most of the ankle taping. If a player goes down, Darci is the one to go out there.”

Overmyer added, “If we have any issues with anything from taping ankles to bloody noses, they’re more than willing to step in and help out and assist our players. As coaches, that makes our jobs a lot easier. They tend to the needs of our players while we work with the rest of the team. They enjoy what they do. The service they provide to our athletic program is invaluable.”

Thompson, a Toledo native who has been at Genoa for two years, worked alongside Hankish and Harmon as many as 20-25 hours a week during football season. The three work together about 10-15 hours a week during basketball season.

“They’re both very reliable girls and very personable,” Thompson said. “When I was new in Genoa, which is such a close-knit community, I was a little nervous but I felt welcome immediately when I started working with them. I don’t have to ask them to do anything. They know exactly what to do.

“I’m only there 20 hours a week, so I can’t always be there for practice. If something was to happen, I know they could handle it. I just never worry when I’m not around. They were a great help to the football team, especially during two-a-days. They are going to be missed a lot next year, by all the teams.”

Harmon has been a training aide for three years.

“I was offered it back in my eighth grade year, but I was doing cheerleading,” she said. “My best friend was doing it, so it wasn’t like I was going to be doing it alone. It was kind of my alternative after cheerleading. I like it because you’re spending time with the players and the coaches and getting to know them more outside the school atmosphere.”

Harmon and Hankish attended a camp for athletic trainers last winter at Ohio State University. Harmon said the camp taught both girls a lot about taking care of athletes.

“It was a one-day thing and they had different stations, like stretching different parts and taping things,” said Harmon, who plans to become a kindergarten teacher. “You have to be taught how to tape an ankle. If you do it too tight, you can see their foot start to turn purple.”

Hankish, who played basketball in elementary school and was a cheerleader in middle school, began working as a training aide as an eighth-grader during football season.

“My dad (Steve Hankish) suggested it,” she said. “My eighth-grade year, he was a football coach for Genoa and my little brother (Jacob) was a water boy. My dad suggested I help my brother and the athletic trainer and I really liked it. I’m into science and that type of stuff, so doing something medical was fun for me.

“My whole family is involved in sports, so it was kind of in my nature to be involved in sports. For me, athletic training is the closest way for me to be involved in football and basketball. The athletes and coaches make you feel a part of the team. They make sure you feel welcome and are involved.”

Hankish said she considered pursuing a job as an athletic trainer a few years ago, but her plans have changed.

“That’s what I wanted to do, but now I see how much Darci puts into it,” Hankish said. “I want to do something in the medical field, so I picked nursing. I have all my stuff ready for college.”

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