By definition, an athletic director is someone who “supervises and oversees athletic programs at colleges, high schools, or private institutions. They are responsible for budgeting, promotion, and scheduling for any sports teams.”
D’anne Kroemer, Pleasant Valley’s athletic director, not only fulfills her position, but she also exceeds in it. Students who are under the impression that she doesn’t do have many duties, may learn that Kroemer takes care of many important issues at PV.
One of the largest responsibilities that Kroemer has is developing all sorts of schedules, especially for sports. Kroemer tries to schedule out events two years in advance, which takes a lot of communication. She has to talk with other administrators and the school board constantly to make sure things are organized.
Besides scheduling, Kroemer also has a long list of other responsibilities that correspond with sports. She takes care of game officials, tournament entry fees, budgeting, transportation, equipment, facilities, fundraising, coach meetings, parent-player meetings, academic eligibility conversations and traveling to events with all sports teams.
Whether sports are in season or out, “It’s constant communication with coaches about what they need, student issues, and scheduling,” Kroemer stated. Before school was called off on Monday Nov. 26, she had to talk with all of the coaches about their practice times and whether or not they could still have practice on not only Sunday, but Monday as well.
For example, the Platinum dance team was supposed to have practice on Sunday, as well as a performance later that night at St. Ambrose all while preparing for State Dance Competition that was happening the following weekend. They ended up canceling due to conditions, but before they could do that, a long chain of communication had to occur. They had to discuss whether it was safe for travel and had to wait as long as they could to make the final decision.
It’s a very time consuming job to have, but Kromer really enjoys it. “I love what I do”, she said. It may not be easy all the time, but she does a great job of staying on top of things and tries hard to make sure that all sports needs are met.
