Greetings, everyone! Thank you checking out this blog post. I truly appreciate you stopping back to check this out. A little about me first for those who do not know who I am. I am Jay Stancil, and I am both a school and a conference SID. I am the Director of Strategic Sports Communications at Union College in Barbourville, Ky., and I am the Assistant Commissioner for Championships and Information for the Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC). And right now, I really wish I got paid per letter in my job titles.
I have been in sports communications for 22 years – 27 if you want to add in the five years working as a sports reporter/editor at a newspaper prior to that. Yet, the part of my journey I want to discuss is in regard to my health and fitness. I began at Union in August of 1999. I was 28 and had been married for two years at the time. Soon thereafter, my bride and I found out we were expecting our first child – a son. It was a year or so after my son’s birth that I realized I needed to get my health in order. I was diagnosed with high blood pressure and my weight was pushing 300 pounds.
The sedentary life of being an SID – not to mention the steady diet of pizza, hot dogs, sodas, and what have you, had taken a toll on me. I was in my early 30s, and something had to change.
With the help of my bride, I started eating better and working out. I got in shape and dropped 80-plus pounds. I have maintained an active lifestyle ever since, but in 2010, I kicked it up a notch when I got into running.
In April of 2010, a good friend and former SID Dave Parsons tweeted out that he was planning to run his first-ever half marathon in that October and just asked who would like to join him. Taking a glance at my work schedule, I saw I had an open weekend with no home events on that date, so I said, “I’m in.”
And just like that, I went from being a non-runner to training for a 13.1-mile race.
As you can tell, I’ve often had my sanity called into question.
That all said, running has been a lifesaver for me. It has improved not only my physical health but my mental health as well. The best way for me to destress is to lace them up and go for a run.
Generally, I prefer running in the morning. It simply gets my day off on the right foot (no pun intended). My mind is awakened, and I have found that some of my best ideas for work come while I’m running.
Running has really saved my mental health during this pandemic. I struggled being stuck at home, working on my laptop all the time. Back in March 2020, I began running or walking every single day. Being active and being outside helped improve my mental wellbeing, keeping me from falling into depression.
During the time, I participated in the three sessions of the CoSIDA Fitness Challenge. It proved to be a great way to connect with others in the profession outside of the normal work parameters. The weekly chats with your team as well as the GroupMe conversations were wonderful because you were able to connect with others and share in their journey.
While my school and conference have been playing games since September, running has continued to be a great boost for my mental health as playing games in the COVID age has proved to be nothing but a challenge and a crapshoot. One doesn’t always know if a game is going to happen until both teams line up at the start. Full disclosure: I’ve struggling getting into doing any of the work leading up to game day because I was never sure if the game would even happen. I mean, nothing is more frustrating than doing a ton a work on something and then it never see the light of day.
Because of this, my running continues to be a stress reliever.
Running also gives me a personal goal and something to focus on during all the craziness in college athletics. Currently, I am training to run a 50-mile race in June. With that lying ahead, my runs are providing me a great escape in trying to deal with football and volleyball taking place at the same time basketball, baseball, and softball are.
Sure, running isn’t going to solve all the problems of the ‘Crossover Season from Hades,” but it is giving a healthy outlet to deal with the madness.
Now, I am not saying you need to take up running or train to run a 50-miler. Running is not for everyone. But I encourage you to find an activity you enjoy – biking, swimming, yoga, weightlifting – and use it to not only better your physical health but your mental health as well. Check out and join the CoSIDA Fitness Challenge. (Search for the group on Facebook.) I guarantee you will find someone else like you there. But more importantly, I guarantee you will find a group who will support you through this journey whether you are just starting out or have been at it for years.
Being active has become a better person and a better sports communicator. It’s added more life to my days. We work long hours and being active gives the stamina to power through more easily.
There is so much more I could say, but I don’t want to drag this on any longer (and thank you for making it this far). But if you’d like to talk more about adding an active lifestyle to your mix, please feel free to reach out. You can find me easily on Twitter and Instagram at @jaystancil.
- Jay Stancil (@jaystancil)
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