Anyone who has attended and Nordonia High School athletic event, has seen our Unsung Hero of the Week, Jeff Kime. For the past 17 years, “Trainer Jeff” or “TJ” as he is called most often, has taken care of the Nordonia High athletes for all sports. Jeff is a jovial gentleman, who cares for the student athletes like they were his own children. Jeff goes beyond the call of duty (and job description) when you see him helping line the fields with chalk, or help landscape the fields to prepare for the games. Jeff kiddingly is known for his love of pizza and snacks. But when the whistle blows, and there is an injury to a player, referee, umpire, or even a fan, Jeff is the first one there on the spot, attending to their injury. His game day office is usually a golf cart, gymnasium, or the playing fields. He carries supplies to stabilize and reduce an injury. If the injury is serious, they then transport via an ambulance to a local medical facility.
Jeff Kime doesn’t seek notoriety or fame. He tells me this is his first interview, or featured article on his job ever. The affable Kime enjoys cooking and barbecuing, and is a homebody. During his two months off in June and July, he enjoys spending time with his wife and daughter. Jeff, as an employee of the Cleveland Clinic, works two (half days) at the Twinsburg Cleveland Clinic, working with aquatics and a medical practice. He does mention his official title is HEAD ATHLETIC TRAINER, a title that is well earned, and deserved. The following is our interview with Mr. Jeff (Trainer Jeff, TJ) Kime!!
- Jeff, give us a little background on yourself. Birthplace, family, education?
I was born here in Ohio and raised in Middleburg Heights and now live in Brook Park. I graduated from Midpark High School in 1987. The school has since merged with Berea High School and is now known as the Berea-Midpark Titans. After high school I attended Tri-C for a year then transferred to The University of Toledo and graduated in 1993 with a B.S. in Exercise Science with a specialization in Athletic Training. I have been married to my beautiful wife Karen for 23 years and have 1 daughter, Carlee who will be graduation from Berea-Midpark High School this year.
- At what age did you decide you wanted to be an Athletic Trainer?
I was in high school when I decided I wanted to be an Athletic Trainer. Originally while in high school I went to the Polaris Vocational Center, similar to CVCC here, and was taking Data Processing and Computer Programming. I was also the student manager for our football team and they sent me to a camp at Toledo to be a student athletic trainer after my junior year and that’s when I decided to make it my profession.
- You have been the Athletic trainer at Nordonia High for the past 17 years? What is your official title at Nordonia? What previous positions did you hold elsewhere?
My official title at the high school is Head Athletic Trainer. Before coming to Nordonia full time in 1999-2000 school year, I was the Athletic Trainer at Shaw High School in East Cleveland for 3 years. I actually started covering sports at Nordonia in 1994 with then Athletic Trainer Bob Sefcik. Then I was assigned to Shaw in 1995 but would still come out on Friday nights to help out Bob since Shaw played on Saturday afternoons.
- People might be surprised that technically, your are an employee of the Cleveland Clinic, not Nordonia High School. However you cover all Nordonia home athletic events. How does this occur?
A brief history of my employment: I was originally hired on as an Athletic Trainer at Brentwood Hospital in 1995. About a week later, Brentwood Hospital merged with Suburban Hospital right next door and became Meridia South Pointe Hospital. I was the first Athletic Trainer hired on by the newly formed Meridia Sports Medicine Center. I was assigned to Shaw High School and worked there for 3 years. In late 1998 I was promoted to the position of Coordinator, Sports Medicine for the Meridia Sports Medicine Center and was in charge of the Athletic Training contracts for the 7 schools we covered. Eventually, the Meridia Health system merged with the Cleveland Clinic. In 1999-2000 school year, we took over the Athletic Training contract for Nordonia and I have been here ever since. Recently, we have gone through several re-organizations at the Cleveland Clinic as we integrate all the different sports medicine departments into one cohesive unit. With that my title has changed at the Clinic and my current title is Senior Athletic Trainer. I have been with the Clinic for 20 years now and have been a Certified Athletic Trainer for 23 years.
The way the contract works, Nordonia High School contracts with the Cleveland Clinic to provide Athletic Training Services to the student athletes. Nordonia pays the Cleveland Clinic a yearly fee and the Cleveland Clinic pays my salary and benefits. Per the contract, I am required to be at the high school every day, usually 6 days a week in the fall and spring and 7 days a week in the winter with hockey coverage on Sunday nights at Gilmour. I get to the school around 1:30pm each day so I am not there all day long. In the fall season I start a bit earlier due to the set up required for practices each day and will stay until the end of football practice or the end of whatever event is going on that day. In the winter I have more set hours of 2pm-6pm on practice only days and then until the end of whatever event is going. Spring is 1:30pm to around 5 if there are no events or to the end of whatever game is going on. I am required to cover all home events for each season and all home and away games for varsity football.
- You have cared for at least four future NFL players while at Nordonia, (Rob Sims,Kevin Kowalski, Jason Trusnik, Jordon Mabin). What stands out in your mind while helping them become the great athletes that they were? Who in your opinion in all sports genres, would you consider to be the top 5 all time natural athletes that you have worked with while at Nordonia?
It is pretty cool to say that you worked with not 1 or 2 but 4 athletes that made it to the professional level. There are probably not a lot of high schools with 4 professional football jerseys hanging in their lobby. The greatest thing that stands out in my mind with each of those athletes was not how great they were on the field, and let’s face it, they were all pretty special. What stands out in my mind is what a great person each one of them is. All of them were polite, respectful and coachable. They all cared about the TEAM and not the person and each one still gives back to their communities. That’s what stands out to me. My top 5 all time natural athletes in no particular order: Jordan Mabin, Denzel Ward, Alex Alders, Kelsey Shirey, Jen Arnold. I have seen so many great athletes during my time here, its hard to just pick out 5. To all those that were not mentioned, please forgive me.
- Of all the Nordonia athletes you attended to, what was the most humorous event/prank you can recall?
There are so many things that I laugh at each day. The one prank that stands out in my mind, but I didn’t think it was that funny at the time, was when someone took the golf cart out of the stadium and drove it up on top the big mound of dirt behind the stadium. The not so funny part was the damage done to the stadium to get the cart out.
- What would you say might be the highlight of your tenure as trainer at Nordonia?
The 2002 football season. That was a great ride seeing the Knights turn around their previous losing seasons and go all the way to the state title game. The community support was amazing as well.
- The old timers might envision the trainer as someone who just taped ankles, and handed out bandages. What are some of the 2016 duties that a trainer has to do to prepare the athlete for an event?
While I do tape ankles and hand out bandages, so much more goes into the profession of Athletic Training to get athletes ready to compete. Most people see the boring parts, the standing on the sidelines, handing out water, etc, what they miss is all the action behind the scenes. A lot of people don’t realize that Athletic Trainers are highly qualified, multi-skilled health care professionals. I serve as a liaison between the student athlete, coach, school and team physician. I provide preventative care, like taping and bracing. I evaluate and treat athletic injuries, and rehabilitate them when they occur. I organize and perform pre-season concussion testing. I help manage each athletes return to play after a concussion. Athletic Trainers work under the direction of a physician, are required to pass a national exam administered by the National Athletic Trainer’s Association Board of Certification and hold a license to practice Athletic Training in the State of Ohio.
- You are well liked by not only the Nordonia athletes, but the student body as well. People know you as “Trainer Jeff”, or simply “TJ”. When is the last time someone called you Mr. Kime?
It was probably a telemarketer or at a doctors visit.
- I’ve witnessed for many years that you not only tend to the athletes physical ailments, but you also landscape the fields as well. I’m sure this is not part of your duties, but you always seem to do whatever needs to be done. What motivates Jeff Kime to have such a desire to help young student /athletes?.
Yes you are correct, that is not part of my regular duties. It is strictly volunteer. I did not always do that though, I didn’t start until after the new baseball and softball fields were built. They looked amazing that first year and I decided to do whatever it took to help keep them looking nice. It started out by just dragging the field after the game with the golf cart and just grew from there. It morphed into coming in early on Sat. to help the maintenance department get the fields ready the day after it rained. You can imagine the logistics involved in getting 2 fields at the High School and one field at the rec center ready to play on a soggy Saturday morning. The coaching staff and athletes got involved and would come in to provide some additional labor to get everything ready. Our maintenance department at Nordonia is amazing and do a fantastic job of getting the fields ready to play each day, but there are only so many hours in the day. Everything I do is after the game and mostly consists of repairing the holes in the pitcher’s mound and home plate then dragging the field. Coach Hosington has really gotten the players involved and they help out after each game raking out each base area and the plate, putting the bases in and putting them away, sweeping the dug outs. It’s doing the little things that frees up maintenance focus on the major things like doing the final drag and lining the fields and maintaining the grass. I think of it as ensuring player safety and injury prevention. My wife thinks I’m nuts, LOL.
- Many Nordonia athletes, past and present, praise the work you have done with them, and for them to get them back on the field of play. What one injury do you recall that the athlete overcame great odds, to come back to play?
There are literally so many of them it’s hard to single out just one. I give all the credit to the athletes, they do all the hard work, and I just try to push them in the right direction.
Whatever name he is called by… Trainer Jeff, TJ, Jeff or occasionally Mr. Kime, Jeff Kime has been the athletic trainer at Nordonia High for 17 years tending to our young athletes needs. We salute ” TRAINER JEFF” as our Unsung Hero of the Week!!