Inside HOKIE SPORTS | Vol. 12 No. 4 | March 2020

inside.hokiesports.com 11 99 Bradley Drive Christiansburg NRV Mall 540-381-8100 www.holidayinn.com/cburgnorth Full Service Restaurant Bar & Grill Game Day Catering. Dine in or Room Service Looking for a “HOKIE HOME” away from HOME? Work serves as the key word here and may be the most important thing that people from the outside must realize. Managers WORK, if not just as hard, then harder than anyone with an office or locker in the Hahn Hurst Practice Facility. “This job, you have to be really good at improvising because there are things that coaches want that you’ve never heard of before, or never thought you’d be asked to do,” Wimer said. The more time spent around this selfless group of managers, the more one realizes the truthfulness of that statement. These men are asked to get certain things done before the sun rises or well after it sets—things that many people simply lack the will power to do on a consistent basis. Cleaning a wet spot on the floor is not viewed as a life or death scenario, but the speed at which Wimer and his peers sprint to the spot gives you a different opinion. The program relies heavily upon managers, and one manager not doing his job probably messes up the flow of a practice, shootaround, or even a game. “You’re not going to do it perfectly, but you have to figure out a way to get it done,” Wimer said. “And if you don’t satisfy needs, you need to figure out how to approach a coach and ask how they want it done.” There is a lot of pressure involved with having that much responsibility at a high- major basketball program under well-respected coaches. But Wimer, and the rest of the Virginia Tech managers, handle this job almost effortlessly. Wimer knows the importance of his role and values every task, completing each as if it were his last. He wants to win just as much as the people with numbers on their backs and the ones with suits and ties on the bench beside them. He is an integral part to the success of the Hokies. “There’s a part to play, and in order to win a championship, it’s not just about the players and coaches,” Wimer said. “It’s about the support staff. Everybody has to have that mentality to want to win and want to give that same energy.” Wimer is a man who truly understands the meaning of the word “team”—a group of people who selflessly work toward the same goal. There is much to be learned from him, but one of the most valuable lessons comes from what both current head coach Mike Young and previous head coach Buzz Williams constantly emphasized: everything and everyone matters. Forest Wimer and the rest of the managers in the Virginia Tech men’s basketball program have played integral roles in the Hokies’ success over the past several years.