Come Display Your Softball Might

When I think of softball I think of overly competitive older men whipping large balls at one another and cranking them out of the park. A close friend of mine once played a season in a recreational league filled with teams that fit the aforementioned description.

He was known as “Red Shorts” due to the fact that he wore the same red shorts to every game. Red Shorts and his team were a bunch of twentysomethings, most of which worked at the same pizza place or knew those who did. They assumed their youth would carry them to victory.

Well, the old men dominated Red Short’s team in every conceivable way. They were ‘run-ruled’ numerous times and never won a single game. The lesson: practice and dedication yield victory, and it is a challenge if one is learning softball while competing, like Red Shorts’ team.

Friday, April 1, intramural competitors will have their own shot at softball glory, as the IMS midseason softball tournament starts at 3 p.m. and the following day, April 2, at 10 a.m.

Registration for the midseason softball tournament began this past Monday March 28, but continues through Thursday, March 31, until 2:00 p.m. Registration costs $10 per team.

There are three different divisions in the competition: men’s, women’s and co-rec.

The registration costs will be put toward the Dr. Raymond Lee Worsham Endowed Scholarship, which in the future will be awarded to deserving campus recreation employees. Dr. Raymond Lee Worsham was the IMS director for 43 years and gave a great deal to the program and the students of SFA. He retired in December 2006.

So sign-up r the midseason softball tournament not only for the glory of your team, but for the worthy cause dedicated to continuing the same generosity and zeal for SFA Intramurals that Worsham exhibited.

Jack'd Up - Zachary Overfield

Empowerment Tip#19: Empower Yourself FINANCIALLY by applying for a job at Campus Rec!

Empowerment Tip #19: Empower Yourself FINANCIALLY by applying for a position with Campus Rec!

Campus Recreation is looking for summer and fall 2011 employees!

But how do you go about getting such a cool job?

First of all, attend the Campus Rec Job Fair Thursday, March 31 from 3- 6 p.m.

Wear PROFESSIONAL attire and bring a resume if you have one.

Coming to the Job Fair ensures one on-site interview for every interested student. Those who seem like a good fit will be called back for a second interview.

What exactly is a “good fit” for SFA Campus Rec?

Different program areas require different skills and interests, but here are some general tips:

One common quality of Campus Rec student employees is a POSITIVE ATTITUDE. We pride ourselves in creating an enjoyable atmosphere with excellent customer service.

Campus Rec employs about 200 students every semester so another expectation is STRONG COMMUNICATION skills. It is vital that student staff members get along with each other and communicate effectively.

New employees are not expected to know everything but they must be WILLING TO LEARN NEW THINGS. One of Campus Rec’s goals is to develop students professionally so they will be prepared for the real world after graduation. Student staff must be open to receiving help and advice as well as expanding their scope of skills.

When I came to the Campus Rec Job Fair two years ago I was looking for nothing but something to fill my extra time with. Two years later I have a direction for my life and many new skills to add to my resume. It wasn’t always easy, but I listened and learned and soaked up as much information as I possibly could. So BE COACHABLE…not a know-it-all.

Remember to express your LUMJERJACK PRIDE. In a sense, student staff members are ambassadors for the university, so make sure you can handle the responsibility of bleeding purple every day.

Before applying, think about out your schedule and decide whether you can make a TIME COMITMENT to being a Campus Rec employee. Supervisors are always flexible with your school schedule and any other commitment you may have, but make sure you can designate a reasonable amount of time to the Rec Center.

Be willing to WORK HARD. It’s a part time job so be willing to give it all you’ve got. Think about what you’ll get in return: respect, friends and great references.

If you possess these qualities than it’s safe to say your chances of employment with Campus Rec are pretty good! So come to the Job Fair March 31 from 3-6 p.m. and give it a shot!

YOUR inside connection to Campus Rec- Steph

Discover Spring through the trails of Nacogdoches

Spring is here already, I can’t believe it. Spring Break is over and the end of the semester looms ahead of SFA students, as they look forward to their final projects, papers and tests.

As the summer draws nearer and Texas threatens its residents with the coming heat, we need to spend every spare minute outside. So how contradictory is it that during this short season we are enjoying, spring, we get our workout indoors?

This Spring Break I had an epiphany, jogging outside is actually more enjoyable than running on an indoor track.

All this time I’ve professed this hate of jogging, but really it’s the scenery that is boring and hateful. As soon as I got outside and started jogging, the experience was 10 times more invigorating. I was getting my vitamin D and breaking a real heat-induced sweat. I felt alive.

The medical effects of jogging are mostly in the strengthening of your heart. Jogging helps prevent future heart disease. The endorphins jogging creates in your body give you energy and help improve productivity.

So my suggestion to all you readers is give OUTDOOR jogging a try. I surprised myself and you might be surprised too.

There are trails all over Nacogdoches. The routes Campus Rec offers are Jogging Jacks, Scenic Stroll, Campus Crawl, and Tejas Trail. For maps and details about these trails, please visit the Campus Rec website: http://www.sfasu.edu/campusrec/104.asp

Breathe in Spring!

Just grindin’ the ax- Liza

Empowerment Tip #18: Empower yourself PHYSICALLY, by eating right with color!

This is the month of March. In case you hadn’t looked at a calendar in 11 days. March is national nutrition month. And this year’s theme is eat right with color.

Right about now is the time that New Year’s resolutions have failed and your job, school, and life is weighing down on you. The last thing on your mind is whether or not the color wheel is reflected on your dinner plate.

So how do you get the nutrients you need, and live your life in a non-health obsessed manner?

I decided I’d sit down and have a coffee with the current dietetic intern at Campus Rec, Natalie Overstreet, and see what she had to say about nutrition. Overstreet is a graduate student at SFA, getting her master’s in nutrition and dietetics.

I’ll admit It, I was nervous. I avoid nutritionists like the plague. I’ve never enjoyed having anyone analyze a specified area of my life whether it be personal training, my grades, or nutritional counseling. But as I sat at a table at Tabú sipping coffee waiting for Natalie I took a deep breath. What did I have to lose? She is a struggling student just like me.

As it turns out Overstreet is the first to admit that, “eating right takes a backseat in college.”

March’s theme this year is “eat right with color;” meaning that your meals should incorporate a variety of colors, foods, fruits and vegetables.

The more I talked with Overstreet the more I realized how much we had in common. No I have never counted calories the way she does but we both “try” to make healthier choices because of how our bodies feel when we do.

Eating healthy is a natural high. When you feel healthy it completely transforms your life. The analogy she gave for college students is that “fruits and vegetables are nature’s fast food.” So if you don’t have time to make elaborate meals grab an apple on your way out the door, instead of a doughnut.

When I expressed my feelings toward dietitians Overstreet laughed she will tell you without reservation, “Do you know what I had for dinner last night? A Totino’s Pizza. Really healthy right? But I wanted one… It’s ok to treat yourself.” Nutrition is often seen as restrictive and judgmental, but for Overstreet being a dietitian is all about, “helping people help themselves.”

Diet is extremely cultural, why do we think dieting is so hard? The media! Overstreet is adamant about correcting the media’s false perception of nutrition and health. “Nutrition is not that detailed. You just have to think about it.” Over and over again Overstreet looked me in the eye and said you don’t have to “diet” the way the media tells you. Just think about what you’re putting into your mouth. And be active about making food choices.

The American paradox is that we are over nourished in calories and undernourished in nutrients. Your lifestyle makes all the difference.

So if you sit down and really think about your own lifestyle how hard would it be to tweak certain habits you have? Not a lifestyle overhaul just slowly making the changes you need to live stronger and healthier.

Campus Recreation offers a free nutritional screening, $5 assessments and $10 analysis. You can sign up for any or all of these at the Administration Office inside the Rec Center .

And for quick tips and info about health and nutrition check out the booth set up in the Rec Lobby.

Enjoy National Nutrition month, challenge yourself physically by making a lifestyle change!

Just grindin’ the ax- Liza

Team Build Campus Rec Style

Drivers zipping down University, passing the campus, may not notice the tall structures in the woods across from the commuter parking lot. They don’t know that on occasion people are doing some zipping of their own from these mysterious structures.

These zip-line towers are one element of the SFA Experiential Learning Center or ELC. The ELC provides organizations with the opportunity to promote teamwork and build leaders through the unique physical challenges presented by the zip-line, high ropes, low ropes, and various other activities run by Campus Recreation’s Outdoor Pursuits department.

This past Saturday I observed these exciting activities while a student group from Lufkin First Assembly of God ascended challenging ropes, climbed rigorous rock walls, and made literal leaps of faith. Their Student Pastor Jim Ramsey led the charge.

The students had to communicate efficiently with one another to solve various problems. On the high ropes students climbed the obstacles while their peers belayed. The rest of the group provided encouragement, urging those that struggled to fight the temptation to quit.

So far this semester the ELC has hosted a handful of events, but the department has ambitions to be working every weekend. The ELC is available to any organization that is interested.

The ELC offers various levels of programs to fit different budgets.

One to three hours of low ropes and teambuilding initiatives cost $10 per person for an on-campus organization, $12.50 for a non-profit organization and $20 for off-campus organizations.

The high ropes and rock climbing program for one to three hours cost $12.50 for an on-campus organization, $15 for a non-profit organization and $25 for off-campus organizations.

The largest package runs for three to six hours and includes low ropes, initiatives, high ropes and rock climbing. This all inclusive package cost $17 per person for on-campus organizations, $20 for a non-profit organization and $30 for off-campus organizations.

The next Experiential Learning Center event takes place March 25. The intramural staff will be stepping up to challenge the zip-lines and thwart the ropes courses.

Interested parties may contact Michael Maningas, Assistant Director for Outdoor Pursuits, at (936) 468-6234. Also, Graduate Assistant George Glavasis is happy to help anyone wanting to schedule ELC activities. He can be reached at (936) 468-6054.

The teamwork skills required to overcome the ropes courses and master the initiatives of the ELC apply directly to the workplace. The ELC seeks to inspire a belief in one’s self and a trust in one’s peers. With the ELC one will hone interpersonal skills and utilize them at the workplace.

Jack’d up – Zachary Overfield

Empowerment Tip #17: Empower yourself SOCIALLY, by participating in a national phenomenon!

This is your time, join 10 million people all over the world participating in the Zumba phenomenon.

Thanks to Alberto Perez, a native Columbian, Zumba was created in the mid-90s, when Perez forgot his fitness music at home and improvised by using his favorite latin jams. The class used sultry and spicy music and movement that was initiated by the individual’s movement rather than by spoken counts.

Since its introduction to the U.S. in 2001, Zumba has evolved into a huge fitness trend. And almost every rec center you visit is guaranteed to offer a Zumba class.

In the spirit of experimentation, I decided it was about time for me to go and participate in this fad. So Monday night at 6:30 p.m., I commenced on my one-hour Zumba journey.

Once 7:30 p.m. rolled around I had two gallons of sweat saturated into my shirt and a very tired body.

In essence Zumba is an intense hour of all cardio movement.When I say all cardio it’s no exaggeration.

I’m sure your thinking, how could this be fun?

It was best described by Rachel Sampeck, Zumba Instructor at Campus Recreation, after her first class. “Oh my god! How does anybody do this for fun?” but after awhile it becomes “ kind of addicting.” And now Sampeck said, “I would do this even if I didn’t get paid!”

How can you compete with that kind of enthusiasm?!

When Sampeck teaches she inspires her students to be as outgoing and involved in Zumba-ing as she is.

Although the class is cardio focused, it is also all about enjoying who you are and your own creative expression. The music is motivational and fun and because the classes are so popular it is as much a social event as a fitness class.

The fun in Zumba outweighs how exhausted it makes you.

So join in on this hot and spicy class every Monday and Wednesday from 6:30 p.m. -7:30p.m. or Friday from 1p.m.-2 p.m.

Just Grindin’ the ax- Liza

"Get Your Splash On!" with the reopening of the outdoor pool

I am Zachary Overfield and I will be guest grinding the axe on occasion. I am a senior sociology major with a journalism minor and looking forward to bringing you the latest happening at the Campus Recreation Center.

Gone are the days when students reveled in the university’s low tolerance for cold precipitation and enjoyed lazy days cooped up indoors away from the winter weather. While, “snow” days are no more, the recreation center has your relaxation solution.

“Get Your Splash On!” began Monday with a luau in collaboration with SAA. The events celebrate the reopening of the outdoor pool with four days of fun and games, signifying the beginning of 2011’s swimsuit season. The outdoor pool is now open 2 p.m.-7 p.m. every day.

Tuesday’s games included floating golf and water volleyball. The winners of each event received different SFA merchandise, such as a polo shirt.

Jack Backers donated the prizes for each event.

While the luau party and Tuesday’s events have passed, the fun is not yet over! Today the spring celebration continues from 3 p.m.-5 p.m. with water basketball hot shot. The hot shot will have to swim from point to point while battling resistance and weightlessness to make the shot.

Thursday’s events conjure images of one’s youth with the cannon ball contest.

I remember launching myself off of diving boards during summer vacation as friends and family critiqued every jump. Feel free to steal some of my patented moves such as the “Spider-Man” and the “Overfield Obliterator.”

SFA professionals will be judging the contest in order to determine who brought it on and who splashed about as much as a dead fish. The contest will run from 3 p.m.- 4 p.m.

Thursday’s events continue with the lazy river poker run. The first run begins at 4 p.m. and the second at 6 p.m. Contestants must determinedly swim against the lazy river current while gathering a water-proof poker card after each lap. The contestant who overcomes the current to assemble the best hand wins.

An important change in the operations of the outdoor pool will be implemented this semester. Students will now be able to enter through the door after the front desk near the treadmills, instead of only through the locker rooms.

Once again it’s the time of year when students can cool down post-workout in the beautiful outdoor pool. Catching some sun while having a great time at the outdoor pool can only complement the strenuous workout one may get at the Campus Recreation Center.

So come enjoy the full spectrum of healthy living.

Jack’d up – Zachary Overfield