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was part of HR for District 118 then . He remembered me and when Larry Piper resigned as athletic trainer and Tracy Cherry moved from PE to Administration , both an athletic trainer and PE teaching position opened up .
“ Now , I graduated in August because my program takes extra time to get through . I went to junior college at Kaskaskia Community College and I was taking classes at EIU and was doing hospital internships . When you graduate , you take a national exam and there are three parts and you have to pass all three parts . I was one of the lucky ones to get all three parts because a lot of people have to retake at least one part . So I moved into Danville right before school started . It was a pretty quick switchover from college into being a trainer right away .”
Hemkler said Eastern was a great program and allowed him to experience many different sports . He also played sports in high school so was ready for whatever challenges were ahead , including one that could have led to tragedy if it wasn ’ t for quick thinking .
“ A kid had a head injury that was not an concussion and it was serious . The trainer from the other school and I worked together to get him care ,” Hemker said . “ Danville almost always has an ambulance available and we were able to get this kid to the ambulance and he was able to get to Champaign and he came out just fine . I think it was an aneurysm not related to football . We didn ’ t notice anything and there was no disability after he was treated .”
Hemker said trainers take care of everyday injuries , but it is always good to have someone that can see if something is getting worse for athletes very quickly .
“ We had great EMTs help us . I teach a sports medicine class at Danville and there are a lot of questions about what was some of the worst injuries that I have come across and to see someone that you were talking to having a seizure and not being responsive within a small time is up there , but it is what we train for and , like any job , we are trained to take care of that .”
Hemker left in 2021 for Carle because of family obligations , but he has still been around in the county thanks to Carle . “ In the past few years , it has been Georgetown-Ridge Farm , but this year I will cover a lot of St . Joseph-Ogden ,” Hemker said . “ I loved being in Danville and talking to the coaches and the athletics directors . I enjoyed seeing my students as athletes , but it was very time-consuming because I was there every day . Switching over to Carle gives me leeway to say that
“ You don ’ t get into this for the recognition . You get into it because of the athletes and to make sure that they are safe to get back on the field .”
— Dale Hemker
someone else can cover if I am busy . … It lets me have a better relationship with my family and I have more freedom .”
Hemker still teaches and is the department chair for physical education , health and drivers education at Danville .
“ We try to help people physically and mentally ,” Hemker said . “ We teach PE and hopefully a likeness for activity in students and help them understand that activity works physically and mentally .”
In his over 20 years of service , Hemker has seen a lot of changes in the field .
“ Things change all the time and there are many ways to do things ,” Hemker said .
“ In high school , it is tough to be a trainer compared to college or pro . It is hands on to see the signs head on about what a kid is going through . There used to be a lot of paper work and there are some ways online to put the kids name in and it is always loaded into the server . Communication is much better with cell phones more available .
“ With PE , you can do your normal activities and we can let them choose sports . We are using heart rate monitors and we started to experiment before Covid and students use the watch to measure their heart rate during a workout . It gives us an objective view to see what they are doing . The monitor will send an email to the student and parents and we would like to use them all the time and a get better outlook on where they are at .”
Hemker said that his teaching at Danville has influenced some former students to think about following him into the profession .
“ I have had students who went into athletic training and have been back into training in town ,” Hemker said . “ I have had some students get into it and then turn back because athletic training is a big undertaking and some jobs are very unforgiving in the limelight .
“ Training has had a lot of support lately because of what happened with the player in Buffalo ( NFL football player Damar Hamlin ) and the trainers saved his life and he ’ s doing really well . You don ’ t get into this for the recognition . You get into it because of the athletes and to make sure that they are safe to get back on the field .”
It is that dedication that has kept Hemker in a teaching and part-time position in the profession , but his dedication to his family has leaped ahead .
“ It takes away from family and that was a big reason for the tough choice to leave ,” Hemker said . “ I missed a lot of events with kids and family . Family has been a big inspiration and my wife ( Courtney Hemker ) has been an inspiration because she got her masters while I was working and she ’ s been wonderful through it all . My son Dillion is a senior at Schlarman Academy and my other son , Dane , is in 8th grade . They are great students and they are into sports .”
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