By Andrew Horschak
Correspondent
Calling herself “the luckiest person in athletics,” Jill Stobber has been a successful high school and college athlete, a coach, a trainer and an athletic director.
Make that an award-winning athletic director.
At the recent Wisconsin Athletic Directors Association spring caucus in Fort Atkinson, Stobber, the Waterford Union High School athletic and activities director, was tabbed as the District 6 Athletic Director of the Year. She will be honored at the annual WADA conference in November.
“Absolutely I was surprised by it,” Stobber said. “Obviously it’s very humbling to be nominated and voted by your peers. Everybody does pretty much the same job across the state, so it’s definitely humbling.”
The award nomination also confirms that the Burlington High School graduate and Athletic Wall of Famer made the right decision to rejoin the Wolverines.
After working at Waterford as a teacher, coach and athletic trainer for 11 years, she left in 2009 to become the athletic director and assistant principal at Whitnall High School. Following a two-year stay, she moved on to Hartford Union High School for a four-year stint as the athletic director.
That’s when she had the opportunity to return to Waterford prior to the 2015-16 school year.
“Great community and a great staff to work with,” she said about Waterford. “Obviously good kids have come through the district. You can do the job anywhere, but it’s the community and the people that you work with that make a big difference.”
A popular softball coach during her first stint at Waterford, she acknowledged that she still misses being on the sidelines and coaching.
“Probably a little bit more than I thought I was going to,” she said with a laugh. “I definitely know it’s in my blood. I thought I was ready to hang up the coaching hat, but it’s still kind of there. In different games, I feel it sneaking out a little bit. That would probably be something that once I retire I wouldn’t mind going back and doing.”
Like all athletic directors, Stobber has quickly found the biggest challenge to be multi-tasking. On some days, a circus background as a juggler would come in handy.
That is especially true in the spring when events are constantly being cancelled and rescheduled due to inclement weather.
“I want to make sure that I’m constantly supporting my coaches,” she said. “Trying to get to all the events is probably the most difficult aspect of the job. You want to support everyone as equally as possible, but there just aren’t enough hours in the day.”
Stobber said she still considers herself a teacher. Only now, she is guiding coaches instead of students and athletes.
“I see myself as someone who needs to be there for my coaches and help them,” she said. “It’s challenging in this day and age. There’s a lot of time and effort that’s put into it. Not only is it a thankful job, but sometimes it’s a thankless job.”
There are plenty of rewards that come with the job, though.
“Giving kids the opportunity to be able to play and be involved in co-curriculars,” Stobber said. “I know that had such an impact in my life.
“Whether it’s winning in the last second of a game, moving on in the playoffs, or performing well in a play … seeing that excitement on their faces and experience something outside of the classroom that they really love is what I enjoy.”
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