Stephen F. Austin State University

Volume 2, Issue 4August - October 2011

2011 Homecoming Fun Run • Page 2 Bass Team Wins National Title • Page 9

The department celebrates its 4th birthday! See more on Page 3

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Welcome to the 2011 Fall edition of the Rec Insider!

As the staff and I gear up for another great year at Campus Recreation, we feel honored to celebrate the completion of our 4th year in the new facility. While we may not break out the bal-loons, party hats and cake (OK, maybe just a little cake), we are certainly excited to see all that has been accomplished and are looking forward to a new year and new opportunities.

Inside, you’ll have the chance to hear from other campus staff members about how Campus Recreation has grown and the positive affect it has on the campus. You can also see a time-line with some of the major accomplishments over the last four years and hear from some past student employees and partici-pants about their memories while at SFA.

You may also want to take note of the success of one of our sport club teams. We are very proud that the Bass Fishing team has won the 2011 College B.A.S.S. National Championship. Be sure to check out that article as well as the others that highlight some of the great things our sport clubs are doing.

Thanks for keeping up with what is happening at SFA Campus Recreation. Check out our fitness and wellness tips and watch for opportunities to join us for events such as the Homecoming Fun Run or simply to pay us a visit.

As always,

Axe Em’ Jacks!

Letter from the Director

1817 Wilson Drive • Nacogdoches, Texas 75962Phone: (936) 468-3507 • campusrec@sfasu.edu

2011Campus Recreation

Staff

Ken MortonDirector

Janice CasperOffice Manager

Kelley ConsfordAdministrative Asst.

Kenneth NorrisFacilities

& Membership Services

Debbie NorrisFitness, Wellness,

Aquatics, and Safety

Brian MillsIntramural Sports,

Sport Clubs, & Camps

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IMPORTANT EVENTS

The 2nd Annual Campus Recreation Alumni Homecoming Fun Run is al-ready in the planning process! Don’t miss your chance to be involved in this exciting tradition. Last year, 72 participants competed in the 5K walk/run early Homecoming morning, earning T-shirts and other fun prizes. This year, our goal is 125 participants, so invite a friend to join you!

Registration will begin September 5. The cost for this event wil be $10 for students, $25 for SFA Faculty/Staff/Alumni, and $30 for the Nacogdoches community. We will have a new course and a new theme, which this year is “No Place Like Home.” Shirts will be available until the registration dead-line, October 14th. You can still register until the day of the run, but T-shirts may not be available. Check the website at www.sfasu.edu/campusrec for more information. Mark your cal-endar for Saturday, October 29! This is one event you do not want to miss!

Campus Rec gearing up for 2011 Homecoming Fun Run

Be American Red Cross certified and learn to save lives with Campus Rec!

Campus Rec is offering several classes to certify you to be a Pro-fessional Rescuer in CPR, AED, and First-Aid. These courses combine lecture, demonstrations, and video with hands-on train-

ing. These classes are open to the SFA and Nacogdoches communities. The course fee is $55 for Campus Recreation members and $100 for non-members. Course fee includes pocket mask and certification cards. Full certification classes for the fall semester will be held October 1 and December 3. If you are interested in becoming CPR, AED, and First-Aid certified or are looking to become re-certified, please contact the Campus Rec Administration Office at (936) 468-3507. You can also find more information on these and other classes Campus Rec provides, including Lifeguard Certification and Challenge classes, on our website at www.sfasu.edu/campusrec.

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EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT

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Fitness and WellnessFitness and WellnessMuch of the exercise that people do, such as running and cycling, focuses on the lower body. Not much attention is paid to the trunk, or core, of the body. It is the muscles of the core—the abdomen, chest and back—that stabilize the rest of the body. Think of your core as a strong column that links the upper body and lower body together. Having a solid core creates a foundation for all activities, and is especially important when you add a heavy load, such as weights, to your workout. It is important when you are strengthen-ing the core that you create balance between the muscles of the abdomen and the back. Many people will naturally have an imbalance between the strength of their abdominal muscles and the lower-back muscles. Making sure you include lower back exercises with your abdominal exercises will help to develop and strengthen the symmetry of those muscles.

Here are three exercises that can be performed with a standard stability ball that target all three major sections of the abdominal muscles:

The Stability Ball and Your Core

Supine Trunk CurlStart with the top of the ball beneath the center of the back. Press the lower back into the ball and tighten the abdominals as you curl the rib cage toward the pelvis. Slowly return to the starting position.

Supine Oblique CurlStart with the top of the ball beneath the center of the back, then stagger your feet and rotate your hips to one side. Anchor the lower hip to the ball and move the rib cage in a diagonal direction toward the legs (for exam-ple, right elbow to left inner thigh). Make sure your neck and pelvis are stable.

Forward Transverse RollKneel on the floor and place your forearms on the ball, mak-ing sure your hips and arms form a 90-degree angle. From this starting position, roll the ball forward as you simultane-ously extend your arms and legs. Contract your abdomi-nals to help support your lower back, which should not be strained. Roll as far forward as possible without compress-ing the spine, drooping the shoulders or rounding the torso. Return to the starting position.

American Council on Exercise: Stability Ball Training by Sabra Bonelli: http://www.acefitness.org/acestore/p-292-stability-ball-training.aspx About.com: www.exercise.about.com/cs/exerciseworkouts/l/aa121200b.htm American Council on Exercise—ACE Exercise Library: http://www.acefitness.org/exerciselibrary

Additional Resources

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Wendi Whipkey started working for SFA Outdoor Pursuits in May of 2008 as an Outdoor Center Assistant. She advanced to Outdoor Center Manager in October 2008, a position she held until she graduated in May of 2010.

Wendi’s best experience while working for Campus Rec was attending the 2010 Texas Outdoor Leadership Conference (TOLC) in Commerce, Texas. She and the other OP staff presented workshops and gained valu-able speaking experience. They also competed together in an adventure race against other schools at the conference, which helped the OP team get to know each other as more than just co-workers. Wendi stated, “It was an unforgettable weekend.”

Wendi is now a first year student at the Florida Coastal School of Law in Jacksonville, Florida. When asked how working at Campus Recreation prepared her for her plans after graduation, she responded, “While I want to argue that almost nothing prepares you for the crazy law school life, I know that my experience as Manager in the OC had a huge impact on building

my confidence in my ability to be a professional. I was allowed to take on as many roles and administrative tasks as I could handle while working in the OC. That range of experiences helped me walk into law school, though not knowing what to expect, with the confidence that I could begin in unfamiliar professional territory and merge into the way things worked without too much trouble. The transition from undergrad to a professional program would certainly have been more difficult were it not for my exposure at Campus Rec.”

Wendi’s advice for current Campus Rec employees is to take on everything. She said regarding student devel-opment, “What I loved most about the professional staff at Campus Rec was their willingness to “hand you the keys” if you showed an interest in leading. They invest in students who show interest and investment in Cam-pus Rec, and that can lead to so many opportunities.”

BLAST FROM THE PASTWhere They Are Now

An update on former Campus Rec employees

If you are a former Campus Rec employee or participant and want to be featured in this newsletter, please contact us at ejross@sfasu.edu or 936-468-5844. Please include your experiences working at SFA Campus Recreation and what you’ve been doing since your time at SFA. If possible, please also include a recent picture.

Who Am I?

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Wendi keeps a close eye on participants at the OP Adventure Race January 2010.

Shane Curry worked for Campus Recreation as both a fit-ness assistant and service assistant. He graduated from SFA in May of 2009 with a degree in Public Administration. He played for the inline hockey team for four years and was the captain for three of those years.

Shane remembers winning the Intramural championship in soccer in 2008. His favorite memory while playing in Intra-mural Sports is “beating the frat teams in soccer, softball, and football.”

When asked for advice for current Rec employees, Shane said, “I strongly suggest staying as heavily involved in Campus Rec sports while you can. Once you graduate you have to work every day of your life and play sports on a limited basis...lame.”

Shane now works in Austin, Texas, in logistics and dispatch for Texas Disposal Systems.

Shane obliges to an impromptu photo shoot with inline hockey teammates.

Where Are YOU Now?An update on former IMS participants

Who Am I?

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Do you know these past Campus Rec Intramural participants? Is it you? Help us remember those who have helped keep the strong IMS traditions of SFA by sending us what you know! If you know the names of these players, please email us at millsbrian@sfasu.edu or call 936-468-1434.

Pat Eitel remembers his Intramural days as if they were yesterday. In-tramural sports were at quite a high point at SFA in his time. “I’ll never forget,” says Eitel. In the early 80’s, there were over one hundred men’s softball teams and close to 100 men’s flag football teams. Just as exciting was the participation of those not on the field. “It was amazing how many people lined up the field to watch the championships,” Eitel notes.

When asked his favorite memory, Eitel recalls his love for the competition. “We wanted to beat the frats,” says Eitel, “We won the first year I played.” Eitel quickly fell in love wth flag football, playing with the Bandits then later playing for the L.O.T.T. Goats team that dominated SFA In-tramurals for many years. “I’m

short. I couldn’t play college ball,” Eitel says, “Flag football was perfect for me; we’d play all weekend long and travel to lots of places. It was a great way to meet people.”

Eitel attended SFA 1981-1986 and majored in Education. He still keeps up with some of his flag football teammates, inlcuding David Kelly and Allen Hensler. Eitel and Allen played high school football together at J.J.Pearce High School in Richardson, Texas, and “stay in touch quite often.” Eitel is now a teacher at Hallsville Middle School and is the head softball coach at Hallsville High School, where his daughter plays on the team. He was the 2007 12-4A Softball Coach of the Year.

Eitel (back row, middle) with flag football team the Stallions, who won the flag football championship in 1985.

Eitel (front row, second from right) with the L.O.T.T. Goats water polo team, who won the championship in 1986.

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Sport ClubsNOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS

Want to get in touch with old club members? Please email us at millsbrian@sfasu.edu or call 936-468-1434 and give us some details about your experience with the club program, when you were a part of the club, and who you are looking for. We will do everything we can to help.

Bass Team Wins National Title

Club Tennis Team Hosts Annual Public Tournament

Rugby Team Gears Up For 2011 Alumni Game and Rugbyfest

The accomplished team of Ryan Watkins and Andrew Upshaw competed in the 2011 College B.A.S.S. National Championship on July 7-10, winning the national title after finishing 3rd on day one and 2nd on day two. After winning the championship, Watkins and Upshaw went head-to-

head to compete for a berth in the 2012 Bass-master Classic. Upshaw edged out Watkins on “Lake Classic” and will compete in Shreveport next February.

The duo has had much success as of late in the FLW National College Fishing series, with three Top 3 finishes between February and May of 2011, earning $6,000 in club money.

Rugby will host their 32nd Alumni game on Saturday, September 24, on the Rugby Field, which is located next to the Intramural Fields at SFA. Kickoff will be at 2 p.m. SFA Rugby t-shirts and possibly Alumni-only t-shirts will be sold this year.

They will also be host-ing the 24th Annual Rugbyfest on Saturday, October 15. Last year, women’s teams included Texas State University, the University Texas at Austin, and the Dallas Diablos. For the men’s division, Lamar University, Sam Houston State University, Texas State University, and SFA were represented, with Texas State winning against SFA in the finals. UT Austin won the women’s division.

This year, Texas State, Sam Houston, the University of North Texas, UT Austin, and the University of Houston will have teams in the men’s division. Two out-of-state teams from Lousiana and Oklahoma have also shown interest. Womens teams will include Texas State, UT Austin, and possibly Texas A&M University.

The Rugby team had a pretty successful season this past year, beating Baylor for the first time in five years. The team almost reached the post season, missing a playoff berth by only one point.

This year, SFA Rugby will be in Divison II and will play against other division teams including Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Angelo State University, St. Edward’s University, and the University of Dallas.

Andrew Upshaw displays a keeper at the 2011 National Championship.

The SFA Club Tennis team will host their annual tennis tournament on October 15. This tournament will be open to the public. Sign ups start early September. There will be different divisions. Check out the Campus Rec website at www.sfasu.edu/campusrec for upcoming details.

SFA Rugby team members hold onto possession at a spring match.

The SFA Club Tennis Team poses for a team picture Spring 11.

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Sport Clubs Donate to the

Dr. Raymond Lee Worsham Scholarship FundThe Campus Recreation Department is excited to announce the creation of the Dr. Raymond Lee Worsham Endowed Scholarship. This scholarship is created to provide finan-cial assistance to current student employees of the Campus Recreation Department.

Dr. Raymond “Ray” Worsham was the Intramural Depart-ment Director at SFA for 43 years prior to the creation of the Campus Recreation Depart-ment. Dr. Worsham was the keystone to Intramural Department for more than four decades and his dedication and lasting impact is something that we will celebrate for decades to come with the creation of this scholarship. Under Dr. Worsham, intramural sports flourished to the highest numbers the program has ever seen. Thousands of students spent nights playing on the intramural fields, in the HPE and around campus over Dr. Worsham’s tenure. The strong intramural tradition lives on through our current sport offerings, THE intramural champ shirt, the contact we have with former student athletes in the program and we are privileged to honor him with this scholarship.

For more information about the Dr. Raymond Lee Worsham Endowed Scholarship, please contact Brian Mills, Assistant Director for Intramural Sports, Sport Clubs and Summer Camps at millsbrian@sfasu.edu or call 936-468-1775.

If you would like to donate to the Dr. Raymond Lee Worsham Scholarship Fund, please follow these simple steps:

1. Visit www.sfaalumni.com/donations/2. Select “Donate Online” next to SFA Alumni Association Scholarship Fund.3. Select Alumni Scholarship Fund as the donation type and specify “Dr. Raymond Lee Worsham Scholarship.”4. Complete all required information.5. Submit your donation.

You can also join the Alumni Interest Chapter on the SFA Alumni website to follow Nacogdoches Alumni Chapter events.

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In the next issue of the

REC INSIDER,Campus Rec’s committment to

student development

Upcoming Events:

Jacks On Belay

NIRSA Region IV Flag Football Tournament