Though physical geography suggests that the Napa Valley Unified School District office and American Canyon High are about 10 miles apart, Jill Stewart was so close she may as well have been a nine-iron shot away.
The NVUSD school board approved Stewart’s hiring as district athletic director, which is a newly established position, on Wednesday and confirmed such in a press release. Stewart will continue to teach physical education at American Canyon High School, where she has been since 2010 when the school opened its doors.
“I’m excited about this position,” Stewart said. “I think high school athletics brings the school together along with the community. I’m looking forward to being part of the district athletic programs.”
Stewart stepped down as American Canyon High athletic director in May. Melissa Shimer has since supplanted Stewart, who brings an extensive resume to her newly assigned position. Stewart has an administrative credential along with experience as a coach (JV and varsity), athletic trainer at Napa Valley College and as athletic director at American Canyon.
“I think having been a former coach in both team and individual sports is a plus,” Stewart said. “Besides American Canyon High School, I was fortunate to coach at American Canyon Middle School along with having experience at Napa Valley College as an athletic trainer gives me the knowledge of working with so many different coaches, sports, athletic directors. I believe it helps me in this position.”
The district initially posted the job on edjoin.com after which time Stewart applied for the job, interviewed and was subsequently selected.
As district athletic director, Stewart will develop standards and procedures for athletic programs; coordinate camps and security at events; train and manage school site athletic directors and more.
Stewart holds a bachelor’s degree in physical education from Chico State University, and has done graduate studies in human performance and sports administration. She is registered with the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association and is working on her athletic administrator certification from the University of Maine.
The on-site level athletic director is working at sporting events and perming day-to-day operations of managing a high school athletic program along with working closely with student-athletes and the school administration. In her newly appointed role, Stewart will still work closely with the school administrators but also with the on-site athletic directors at American Canyon (the aforementioned Shimer), Vintage (Cam Neal) and Napa (Thomas Sims). Stewart will help align the school district policies and procedures put forth by the school board.
Stewart will work closely in conjunction with a familiar face, Damon Wright, who is the NVUSD’s Executive Director of Secondary Education. Wright was the American Canyon High principal the last two years. Crystal Lopez has since supplanted Wright as American Canyon High principal.
“Working with Damon when I was athletic director at American Canyon high school was a great experience,” Stewart said. “We worked very well together. He is a great leader who communicates well. We have gained each other’s trust. I think working again with Damon is going to make the transition that much easier. I know that I have somebody that I can go to and help me in the process as far as providing guidance.”
Though the move will not go into effect until the 2018-2019 school year, Stewart steps into her position at an exciting time. Napa, Vintage and American Canyon have been approved and are slated to move from the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section to the North Coast Section. The league the respective leagues are moving to is still to be decided.
“I think there are times when change is good,” Stewart said. “I think joining the North Coast Section is positive for all three high schools. I think it will be positive for our student-athletes as well as our communities. I think being involved in the transition makes for exciting times.”
The name Stewart has extensive history in the Napa Valley athletics. Matt Stewart, Jill’s husband, was Napa Valley College baseball head coach from 1987-1997. Her sons, Andy and Scott, were multiple sport athletes at Napa High. The former played college baseball at Southwest Missouri State (St. Joseph, MO).
Stewart’s appointment as NVUSD athletic director will bring a level of compellingness. In her aforementioned span at American Canyon High since 2010, she wore various hats from girls basketball coach to girls athletic director to athletic director. For a year, Brad Shurmantine was the athletic director on the boys side while Stewart served the same role for the girls.
Coaching and/or being an athletic director is a thankless job. If anything, I probably appreciate their roles now that I am away from sports journalism as a career. Don’t get anything twisted, I appreciated it at the time but it can’t compare to now.
The roles of athletic directors are vast in that it involves so many more sports now than 20 years ago. The roles include but are not limited to preparing budgets, allocating spending, team travel, equipment purchases, facility upkeep, working with coaches and monitoring academic eligibility.
The job can be rewarding for the right person but it requires fortitude, perseverence and the ability to work under stress. As for the stress part, the helicopter parent mentality does not help. In a nutshell, the job involves minimal extra pay while balancing such for a full-time job of teaching and/or being an administrator.
In a nutshell, if you are implementing a new position, why not have the journey be with a familiar face?
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