Huber is SPRD program coordinator

Jason Huber, adult and youth programs coordinator at Sisters Park & Recreation District, loves working with kids. He was hired in December 2018 as a program assistant and is now the programs coordinator.

Huber moved to Sisters 12 years ago from Mesa, Arizona, where he grew up. His family moved here before he did. After coming for a visit, he decided Sisters would be a good place to start a new chapter in his life.

He worked at Three Creeks Brewing Co.’s pub while earning his associate degree in criminal justice at COCC. He was single and said he didn’t really know what he wanted although he considered working in the juvenile justice field.

Huber got married three years ago to Karen, who had been a good friend in middle and high school. He became an instant dad to Karen’s three daughters, and they added to their family two years ago with the birth of their daughter Rowen.

Working late hours at the brew pub wasn’t conducive to family life, seldom being home for dinner, so he began looking for another position. He worked for GFP in Sisters for a while doing disaster relief work in Florida following hurricanes Irma and Michael.

Huber participated in athletics in middle school and always loved playing pick-up basketball games. After high school he began playing in a softball league, playing every year until he moved to Sisters. He continued with softball in Sisters, playing in the league organized by SPRD.

Basketball is his first love. He and about 20 other guys meet at the middle school every Tuesday and Thursday morning at 6 a.m. for three-on-three games. This winter he is coaching seventh-grade girls basketball at the middle school. For six years he coached eighth-grade boys basketball.

This is a busy time of year for Huber. He goes to Hoodoo every Friday night as part of the SPRD ski program. He oversees kids’ basketball on Saturdays besides coaching and traveling with the seventh-grade team. He is also involved in the basketball Shootout Series in January and February for middle school teams that come to Sisters for the weekend.

As the adult and youth programs coordinator, Huber is always looking to expand the offerings at SPRD for young, old, and in-betweeners. He would like to offer more adult fitness programs and expand the new gymnastics program. His dream for the future is to have a teen center for middle school students.

“Middle school students are exposed to so much at an early age and don’t always have a way to process it,” Huber said. Some students are coming after school to play ping pong and the card game Magic. A pool table was just donated and that will be available, too. He would like to provide them with a safe place to just hang out with caring adults to talk to.

In order to expand the offerings, Huber is always recruiting volunteers and instructors to serve as coaches and teachers. Postings are listed on the SPRD website and securing volunteers and teachers presents one of his biggest challenges.

Huber says, “The best thing about working at SPRD is the great staff. Everyone pitches in to help. I have developed a real community by working here.”

The sense of community in Sisters is a real positive for him as well. He likes knowing and caring about his neighbors.