Involvement in athletics and other school activities are an important part of the high school experience. Many students choose to be involved in things such as clubs, sports, show choir, band, etc, but we often forget the people that work behind the scenes to keep these activities running smoothly. Joe Romano is a manager for the boys basketball team, football team, as well as the baseball team, and has been for the past 4 years. He is a senior this year and has enjoyed his time at AL to the fullest.

Romano has become a crucial part of our sports clubs and has brought many smiles and laughs to these teams throughout the years. There are many people who have lots of positive things to say about Romano.

Tyler Brietzke, history teacher and the head baseball coach at AL had many things to say about the positive impact Romano has made, both on and off the field.

“The cool thing about Joe is that everyone loves him on the team and he has almost sort of become a player on all of the different teams he is a manager for. Everyone respects him for everything he does for them and the team as a whole.”

Joe’s teachers, peers, and teammates can all vouch for Joe’s selflessness when it comes to thinking of others. This was a huge reason many people nominated him for 2021 homecoming king, a title which he ended up winning. 

Joe has many other hobbies than his large interest in sports. He loves woodworking and cabinetry which is something he was first taught and introduced to through the Tradeworks program at AL. He enjoyed his time doing these things so much he is currently continuing this knowledge through classes he is taking at IWCC and will continue to learn about after this year. He has decided he wants to continue this passion and eventually find a job in cabinetry after high school.

“I plan on going to Iowa Western and trying to find a job in sport management. I also plan on doing some Iowa Western management for their football team,” said Romano. “After this, I plan on finding a long-term job involved in cabinetry or woodworking.”