Being generous with Josh
KARNS CITY — Karns City High School coaches have always shared their athletes.
They've been particularly generous with Josh Wimer.
The Gremlin senior will letter in five varsity sports during the 2018-19 school year. He played football and soccer in the fall, basketball in the winter, and is playing baseball and doing track and field this spring.
“We've had kids do four sports in a year. Josh is the only one I can think of who's done five,” KC boys soccer coach Jim Grenninger said.
Wimer was a fullback-middle linebacker on the football team. He had played soccer through sixth grade, but did not return to that sport until last fall.
“When I saw that Clay Garing and (Jacob) Friel played soccer and football last year, it made me think about it,” Wimer admitted. “I have a couple of friends on the team and they talked me into it.”
Wimer said summer camp was more difficult than the actual season.
“For two weeks, I'd report for football practice in the morning and afternoon,” he said. “Soccer practice began at 6 p.m. and got over around 8.
“After a few days, I wondered why I was putting my body through this. I mean, no one was forcing me to do this. But I was getting a lot out of both sports, so I decided to stay with it.”
Wimer had 33 carries for 161 yards and a touchdown offensively in football. He had 33 tackles and a pair of quarterback sacks defensively.
He played defense in soccer, tallying a pair of assists.
“I scored one goal off a corner kick,” Wimer recalled.
“Josh was a natural when he joined our soccer team,” Grenninger said. “He looked like he's been playing with us all along.
“We led all of District 9 in least goals allowed. Josh's foot speed in the middle of our defense had a lot to do with that.”
KC football coach Joe Sherwin could not recall Wimer missing any of the Gremlins' heavy football practices.
“On the days when we did a lot, he was always there,” Sherwin said. “On a couple of our lighter days of the week, he'd head off to soccer.“The schedule worked out well for both teams. He never missed varsity games in either sport. I give a kid credit for being willing to do that.”Wimer was not a starter in basketball, but was the sixth man as a guard. He is hitting .400 this spring as the Gremlins' first baseman in baseball.“He hits anywhere from fourth to seventh in our lineup,” KC baseball coach Josh “Sluggo” Smith said. “Josh came out for baseball last year.“Because he only does field events in track, the practice schedules have worked out well for both teams. We never have a baseball game when the school has a track meet, so that works out as well.”Wimer throws the javelin for the track team. Track practice runs from 3 to 5 p.m. — right after school — while baseball practice runs from 5 to 7 p.m.“Even when he's running late, Josh still gets to practice in time to get some fielding work in and get his swings in,” Smith said. “He does what he has to do to stay ready in both sports and I respect that.”Wimer carries a 3.5 grade point average in high school and plans to attend Clarion University. His major will be in the medical field.And he plans on playing no sports in college.“Bradon Bastian (KC teammate) is going there for football and he tried to talk me into going out for the team,” Wimer said. “I thought about it, but I want to focus on school my first year there.“I have a lot of study halls this year because I took my more challenging courses as a junior. I've been able to use those study halls to stay up on my schoolwork, so I could play all those sports.“It's been kinda crazy, doing five sports, but I'm glad I did it. Playing on all those teams with so many friends ... It will be a nice memory,” he added.
