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People SearchFind an individual who either played a sport or was a member of a support group. Search by last name by clicking on the first letter of the person's last name.
Ms. Jennifer "Jen" Gautreaux
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Home Phone: 337-237-4306 Senior hopes to shine in her final collegiate season Bruce Brown Jennifer Gautreaux has always been able to balance athletics and academics. This semester, as she completes her student teacher requirements at J.W. Faulk Elementary, the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajun senior is taking that a step further. When she’s not teaching, she’s in training with the UL cross country squad that will compete on Friday in the Northwestern State Tri-Meet in Natchitoches. “I’m on my feet until 3:30, and then I go to practice,” said Gautreaux, who mentors second-graders. “I love them both. I definitely love kids, and I love to run. “I’ve always been in athletics, but have also been conscious of school. My parents instilled that in me, so I took it and ran with it … literally. I’m definitely lucky to be able to handle both things.” The focus on school was a natural in the Gautreaux household. Both parents taught, with father Greg now Lafayette’s Manager of Parks Maintenance/Athletic Programs (as well as an NFL official) and mother Betsy now with the Lafayette Parish School Board. “Actually,” Jennifer said, “I never thought I’d want to be anything else. I love kids, and I love to watch them learn and have the chance to help shape someone’s future.” The learning process has been intriguing, and eye-opening, for Gautreaux this fall. “Kids are definitely different than when I was their age,” said the Teurlings Catholic product. “Now, first graders can (already) read, while I spent first grade learning basics. “Also, kids have to deal with so much more now. They don’t get to be kids, and that’s hard to watch. It was quite a shock to me. “I think the system demands more out of them. Computers help them with different skills. They have 15 minutes a day on computers at Faulk, and in the long run that will help them.” A fast-moving semester will culminate in a Dec. 17 graduation for Gautreaux, who remains ambivalent about moving on to the next stage of her life. “I’ll be ready to graduate, but I’ll miss being an athlete,” Gautreaux said. “I’ve been in sports since I played soccer at age 4, and when I graduate I won’t put on a uniform again. Now I’ll run for myself.” She’ll also help her coach at Teurlings, Bruce Baudier, with his Rebel program. “He asked me to help with the indoors season, so I’m going to do that,” Gautreaux said. “He’s the reason I’m running at UL. He turned the program around at Teurlings, and he’s helped me a lot. I still go to him when I have questions about things.” Cajun underclassmen can go to Gautreaux with questions, and that’s fine with UL cross country coach Tim Lemaire. “Jen is one of our seniors, and she’s been consistent for us all year,” Lemaire said. “She’s a good athlete who works hard. She comes to practice after she student-teaches. “She’s out there working hard, and that’s good for the younger runners to see. It will be tough next year without her, Leah Legere and Stacey Enright.” “I had a rough season last year,” Gautreaux said. “I had a good season as a sophomore, but I was away all summer (counseling) at a summer camp in North Carolina. I didn’t have the opportunity to run and lift weights like I needed to. I learned how important the offseason is. “It’s hot and humid here, and the training I did do that summer was in a beautiful climate. Now I know how our runners from New York feel when they get down here. It takes them about a month to get used to it. “I need to get back to where I was a couple of years ago. I anticipate running fast times as a senior. I had a good track season (last spring), so my confidence is back up.” By coincidence, this year’s Sun Belt Conference cross country championship is Oct. 29 in Miami, another city that’s been known to be warm and humid, even in the autumn. A big finish there would be perfect for Jennifer Gautreaux, but either way she’s got her sights set on that career in education. Originally published October 20, 2005 Gautreaux to get NFL test at meeting July 22, 2006 – Dan McDonald If anyone thinks it’s easy being an NFL official, Greg Gautreaux wants you to experience his little bit of hell this weekend. Try some of the league’s physical testing on for size – 30-yard sprints and backwards and lateral running all against time, agility drills, body composition and body fat testing, and a strict weight policy. Add in three different written tests of NFL rules and situations, two which had to be completed in advance and one in a proctored, stress-filled classroom setting, where the testers are pulling out their bag of tricks. “It’s pretty stressful,” Gautreaux said. “It may be a part-time job, but it’s full-time stress.” Gautreaux is entering his fifth year as an NFL official, sandwiching those duties around his full-time position with the Lafayette Recreation and Parks Department, and is now a veteran of the late-summer officials’ clinic weekend. But veteran status hasn’t made it any easier. He’s running twice a day – sometimes at noon to get used to the heat – and going through other workouts to prepare not only for this weekend but also for an upcoming 22-week season plus playoffs. The mental testing actually began on May 15, the first day the league can begin the process according to the league’s collective bargaining agreement with the officials. “Obviously you have to keep yourself in good physical shape and prepare yourself,” Gautreaux said, “but it’s also the mental stress. Millions of people are watching, and you have to learn to deal with it and stay mentally focused.” The weekend is crammed full of meetings, updates and assessments, enough to turn the heads of rookie officials. All 17 crews, including Gautreaux’s crew headed by referee Terry McCauley, go through two and one-half days physical testing and mental examinations. But that’s no more regimented than what NFL officials go through during the regular season. Gautreaux catches a 5 a.m. flight out of Lafayette almost every Saturday during the season heading to whatever site his crew is working that weekend. Once there, the crew meets most of Saturday afternoon and evening, evaluating previous games on a training tape and watching film of this week’s teams. During the game, officials go through a complex pre-snap routine that would rival most quarterbacks … checking alignments, where the ball is snapped in relation to hash marks, envisioning where the pocket can form. Then, there’s the application of the seemingly-ever-changing NFL rule book, all while logging approximately six miles of running during a three-hour contest. “The NCAA and the Federation (high school) rules are pretty cut and dried,” Gautreaux said. “In the NFL, there are so many exceptions. A rule can be written because of a situation that happened the year before. After a game, I’m always more mentally tired than physically.” After each game, Gautreaux gets a DVD copy of the television broadcast to watch on a laptop on the way home and on Monday. Tuesday, he receives the coaches’ films, and by the time he takes part in a Tuesday night conference call the league has already assessed and graded each play from the weekend’s game. “They’re looking for anything that we can be downgraded for,” said Gautreaux, who will again be the field judge (20 yards downfield on the sideline) in McCauley’s crew. “There’s a lot more film review than you think.” Only the best officials from the collegiate game ever get a shot at an NFL position, and that’s mostly why Gautreaux goes through the torture that begins in earnest this weekend. The weekend isn’t without its lighter moments. Rookie officials go through a “hazing” following a Sunday-night dinner, not unlike first-year NFL players. Gautreaux remembers when his turn came five years ago. “I got up and told Boudreaux and Thibodeaux jokes,” he said. “I don’t know if they were laughing at me or laughing at the jokes.” Originally published July 22, 2006 Athletic Network Note: Greg’s daughter Jennifer (Jen) was a member of the Track Team from 2001-2005. Her complete profile is posted. NFL officials’ clinic schedule Saturday 7 a.m. – Breakfast 7:45 a.m. – Meeting (instant replay, NFL security, broadcasting, NFL drug testing policy) 8:30 a.m. – Laptop upgrades 10:15 a.m. – Leave for “physical assessment” 12:45 p.m. – Meeting with rookie officials 1:30 p.m. – Lunch 2:45 p.m. – Opening session (administrative matters, Web site, uniform redesign, new rules and points of emphasis) 4:45 p.m. – Crew meetings with observers 6:15 p.m. – Position meetings (referees, umpires, etc.) 7:45 p.m. – Dinner 8:30 p.m. – NFLRA meeting Sunday 7 a.m. – Church services 7:45 a.m. – Referees meeting 8 a.m. – Breakfast 8:30 a.m. – Passing game 9:40 a.m. – Offensive holding meeting 10:40 a.m. – Position meetings 11:45 a.m. – Crew meetings and observers meeting 12:45 p.m. – Lunch 2 p.m. – Position meetings 3:30 p.m. – Crew meetings 5 p.m. – Proctored rules exam 7 p.m. – Dinner Monday 7 a.m. – Breakfast 8 a.m. – Physical conditioning assessment 8:30 a.m. – Evaluation system/performance standards 10:45 a.m. – Position meeting wrapup Noon – Closing comments
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