SID (Sports Information Director) Appreciation Week was celebrated from November 6 to November 12 this year. Every college has a special individual who handles every sports’ information, as well as stream broadcasts and complete the statistics for the teams. Here at William Jewell College, our Sports Information Director is JaeLynn Ellison. The Monitor sat down with Ellison to understand exactly what an SID does, as well as what led her to Jewell. 

To start, Ellison was once a college athlete herself, which is why she feels so attached to the athletes here. “I played softball and I started at Labette Community College… and then I transferred to Drury, which is where I finished.” When asked if she always wanted to work in sports, she replied, “Yes! I was on my first basketball team when I was 3… My parents were coaches and I’m a 4th generation college athlete… My baby sister actually went to one of my t-ball games before she ever went home from the hospital.” Ellison, from a young age, always knew she wanted to work in sports; Ellison was sure she didn’t want to put on nice clothes and sit in a business office every day. 

As a member of CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America), Ellison found William Jewell College on their website for a part-time position in the summer of 2015, where she was previously the SID for Labette Community College for a year. After learning the different programs of a Division II College SID, Ellison took the job. She reflected back on her decision to leave, stating “I can’t believe I did it because I’m not the type to go places I don’t know.” 

As mentioned earlier, Ellison’s favorite part about being William Jewell’s SID is the athletes. “Definitely the athletes. I like getting to know them [and] interact with them. When people come by my office to say, “Hello,” that’s the best part of my day.” 

What does it take to be a Sports Information Director? Well, Ellison has earned an Associate Degree in Communication at Labette Community College, an undergraduate degree in Multimedia Production and Journalism from Drury University, and is currently pursuing her masters in Sports and Recreation with an emphasis in Intercollegiate Athletic Administration from Western Kentucky. On top of earning her masters, Ellison works many hours a week, as well as a few other tasks athletes and coaches might not know about. Most might recognize Ellison as the broadcast or stats lady at sports events, but her job far exceeds those.

“I… do game contracts, so all of our non-conference competitions have a contract attached to them, so people have to come otherwise they pay a forfeiture, and I’m the person that drafts those contracts and makes sure they get signed by everyone… I had to make a list of all of my job requirements 3 years ago and it was, like, 3 pages long.” Ellison also mentioned she does a lot of archiving and research for Jewell Athletics. “A bulk of my summers and time off is spent doing research trying to find old statistics, old information, old photos… I’ve worked on building record books for the last 4 years.” 

With most of her time dedicated to Jewell Athletics, Ellison doesn’t get much free time, so enjoys the simple things in life. “There’s not a lot of time outside of my job. I work anywhere from 60-80 hours a week, depending on the season… but I like to watch the Saint Louis Cardinals every day, and then I have a cat who I like, but he’s kind of a turd. I don’t do a whole lot honestly.” 

It’s pretty clear that JaeLynn Ellison works extremely hard for William Jewell Athletics, so we are extremely grateful for all she does! 

Olivia Hoseth, senior nursing major, shares her experiences in the cheerleading program as she reflects on her time here at William Jewell College. Hoseth shared what inspired her to begin cheer. 

“I have been actively cheerleading for around nine years now,” Hoseth said. “I first started out doing competitive cheer through a gym in Liberty, MO. This is where I got the basis of all of my skills. I loved doing competitive cheer because it was like putting on a show.” 

She also shared her journey with cheer throughout high school and her four years at Jewell.

“After freshman year of high school, I decided I wanted to try high school cheerleading,” Hoseth said. “I tried out my sophomore year of high school… [and] made the varsity team. I continued to do high school cheer for the next two years, having the privilege to guide and lead my team in a captain role my senior year. Now I am in my senior year of college and again get to lead an amazing team as a captain. I have cheered all four years in college here at Jewell.”

Hoseth shared her role as a captain on the team and the importance of teamwork.

“My specific role on the cheer team is as one of the captains,” Hoseth said. “I help with practices and team bonding events outside of practice. The other captains and I want the cheer team to be a positive experience for everyone, so we try to make it as enjoyable as possible while still getting everything done that we need to.”

She discussed the importance of cheer in her life and some of the important life lessons that it has taught her. Hoseth also discussed her plans for her nursing career and cheer upon graduation.

“My first short term goal after graduating is taking the NCLEX, which is a state nursing test, and passing it so I can become a registered nurse,” Hoseth said. “Then I would love to work at the University of Kansas Hospital on an intensive care unit floor. I do not have any immediate plans to coach when I graduate from Jewell, but I think it could be a possibility in the future. I need to worry about how to live life outside of Jewell as an adult before introducing something else into my life.”

Tyler Sherman, a Saint Louis native and English and education major, offers a fresh perspective on life at William Jewell College. He recently transferred from Knox College and is a new member of the Cardinal baseball team. He shared some of the adversities that he has overcome as an athlete and some of the goals that he has for his athletic and academic career here at Jewell. 

“I chose Jewell because it felt like a second home,” Sherman said. “I came for a two-hour tour, and I couldn’t stop smiling, and I hadn’t felt that happy in a very long time. I fell in love with the campus, and I got to meet some of the guys on the team, and they were very sincere and kind, and that’s when I knew Jewell was the place for me.”

Tyler has always loved baseball but he has faced numerous health obstacles including hip surgery this past summer.

“I initially started to feel a lot of pain in August of 2018, and it progressively got worse to the point where I needed to go see a physical therapist, and so I went to see him in December,” Sherman said. “I went to physical therapy and it got better. Then, in January 2019, it started getting worse to the point I had trouble moving and getting out of bed some days. During practice one day, I was in right field and made a throw, and I heard a pop in my hip, and then I couldn’t walk on it, and I knew I tore my labrum completely. After my surgery I was basically paralyzed on the right side for a little bit less than a month, and I basically had to learn how to walk again with crutches.”

Tyler has been working with a physical therapists in the Liberty area in hopes of getting full range of motion and weight bearing status again on his hip. Instead of letting his surgery and injury affect him negatively he instead tries to focus on letting the adversity shape him into a better athlete. 

“I’d say this injury has made me even more grateful for what I have been given,” Sherman said. “I didn’t necessarily take playing baseball for granted, but I don’t think I really realized how great it made me feel until it was ripped away from me.”

Tyler shared some of the goals that he has for his baseball career.

“I really am looking forward to being able to sprint again without fear,” he said. “I am always worried that I will re-tear it or tear something again. I am also nervous to swing again because it puts a lot of pressure and torque on the hip. However, I am excited for all that I want to achieve in my baseball career.”

He also shared some of the goals he has for his academic career here at Jewell.

“Academically I would like to pursue becoming a high school English teacher or potentially a principal for a public school district.”

Doug Elly, the new coach of both the women’s and men’s tennis teams at William Jewell College, is bringing his own passion for and love of the sport to the College. A prior friendship with a current Jewell student as well as an admiration for the mix of academics and athletics at the College attracted him to apply for the coaching position. Elly has been the tennis coach since the beginning of the spring 2019 semester and is already establishing his unique coaching style here at Jewell.

“The combination of critical thinking with higher education and athletics made it an easy decision. I am a huge supporter of ‘The Mind, Body, Spirit’ way of life. And William Jewell embodies the critical thinking approach,” Elly said.

Elly has been playing tennis since he was six years old and has had his own lustrous 50 year career. However, coaching provided Elly a new way to look at the sport he’s participated in for so long.

“I enjoy the study of the game, the diversity of styles in the game, the personalities, the different ways a player learns his/her craft, the tactics of the game. The game of tennis is a reflection of life for me,” said Elly.

That unique perspective adds to Elly’s love of the sport and translates to a motivation to make players the best they can be.

“What I like the most about coaching is helping someone achieve their goals. I like the preparation behind the practices and all the training that goes into making an expert tennis player,” Elly added.

However, Elly’s love of coaching does not mean it comes without its challenges. While he would like to see all his players succeed, Elly noted that a fair amount of failure is necessary for success.

“A challenging part of coaching is helping a player see and reach their potential. You want your players to experience success as well as failure. You can’t have one without the other. Getting your players to embrace this is not always an easy task or a smooth one,” said Elly.

Elly ended with advice that, while for tennis players, can translate to all athletes.

“What makes you a champion is your passion and effort, dedication, a relentless work ethic,” Elly said as he described an athlete that overcomes failure to reach success.

Elly’s first season of coaching at Jewell is almost complete. That season has entailed its fair share of adjustments and challenges but has eventually resulted in growth for both him and the team.