MORROW, Ga. – For the second straight year Clayton State Athletics and Sports Information Director Joshua J. Darling have been recognized by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) as part of the Fred Stabley, Sr. Writing Contest as announced on Wednesday, June 20.
 
Darling earned District 3 Runner-Up honors in the Coach/Admin/Historical category for the December 22, 2017 piece "More Than Just A Game: Clayton State Athletics Plays Pivotal Role in Life After Basketball".
 
That featured the story of two Laker basketball players from the early 1990's who found each other through Clayton State's teams and have since grown into a basketball family. The full story is republished at the bottom of this article.
 
It marks the second consecutive year, and just the third in the program's 28-year history, that a member of the Sports Information Office has been recognized for either winning or notching runner-up honors at the District level in the competition.
 
In order for there to be a Runner-Up honor presented, a contest must have at least 11 entries. This year 22 of 63 non-Division I programs won a District award for a 35-percent clip.
 
Last year former women's soccer student-athlete Charlotte McCormack (Wexford, Ireland) and Darling were recognized with District honors for their work on a general feature piece titled "Former Clayton State Women's Soccer Player Jenny Dreasler Rises to Prominence as Illinois Anchorwoman" in District 3.
 
Originally released on December 8, 2016, McCormack did much of the leg work in early November, including contacting Dreasler, deciding the approach to take and assembling the release while Darling aided with proofing, editorial aspects and graphic design.
 
The only other time the Clayton State SID Office has been honored in that way came back in the NAIA era under Mike Mead. The Lakers former SID, and now longtime cross country and track & field coach, accomplished the feat in 1997.
 
The Fred Stabley, Sr. Writing Contest is an annual event named for the longtime CoSIDA member and organization's second president (1958-59). It is also the only contest sponsored by the organization that pits all levels against each other on equal footing as members from NCAA Division I through the NAIA ranks compete in seven different categories.
 
Those categories include Event Coverage, General Feature, Coach/Administrator Profile & Historical Feature, Athlete Profile, Blog, Season Preview/Recap and Story With Video. Each SID is allowed only one submission per category with the exception of sponsoring the work of a non-CoSIDA member housed in their office.
 
This year, all entries must be from between January 1, 2017 and December 31, 2017 to be eligible and are judged by District Coordinators on the four areas of Flow/Organization, Grammar/Punctuation, Interesting/Original, and Focus/Clarity of Subject.
 
"I'm extremely proud of Clayton State Sports Information in being recognized by its peers for a second straight year," said Darling. "When you look at the competition in our District, all but one of the seven winning pieces was produced by a Division I office. That's some stiff competition, especially in our category, and being able to hang with them is certainly an accomplishment."
 
About CoSIDA
The College Sports Information Directors of America was founded in 1957 and is a 3,000-plus member national organization comprised of the sports public relations, media relations and communications/information professionals throughout all levels of collegiate athletics in the United States and Canada. The 2017-18 academic year marks the 61^st year of the organization, making it the second oldest management association in all of intercollegiate athletics.
 
CoSIDA became an affiliated partner with the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) in December of 2008 and has enjoyed record membership numbers over the last nine years, surpassing the 3,000 membership mark in the fall of 2013 for the first time.
 
History of Clayton State District Honorees – Fred Stabley, Sr. Writing Contest
2017-18
Joshua J. Darling, Coach/Admin/Historical
 
2016-17
Charlotte McCormack/Joshua J. Darling, General Feature
 
1996-97
Mike Mead
 
Republish of "More Than Just A Game: Clayton State Athletics Plays Pivotal Role in Life After Basketball" – December 22, 2017
 
MORROW, Ga. – Clayton State Athletics is a family that continues well beyond the arena of competition and even grows years down the road.
 
Not only have longstanding relationships come from the experience of being a Laker, it has helped to form families, with a number of former student-athletes marrying following their time in Morrow, Georgia. One such couple dates back nearly to the very beginning of Athletics at Clayton State.
 
The institution had just completed its first year of athletic competition when Natalie Taubert and David Viti both came to what was then a fledgling program to play basketball in the fall of 1991. Viti was a member of a second year men's team coming off of a 3-24 inaugural season while Taubert was part of a group of players making history as the first women's basketball team at then Clayton State College.
 
"We both loved basketball and wanted to keep playing," said Viti. "The basketball programs were both relatively new – the girls was brand new. Individually, we thought it would be a good experience to help start a program and get it going in the right direction. The scholarships were nice too, being able to go to school and get a degree without going into debt was a great opportunity."
 
As it turned out, their decision to become Lakers would impact their lives far beyond basketball and play a pivotal role in Natalie and David finding each other.
 
"We first met at Clayton State, in the gym, in October of 1991," said Taubert (now Natalie Viti). "I was a freshman and David had transferred from Gordon Junior College. He was rehabbing a knee injury so he was unable to begin playing until the next year."
 
While David redshirted for a team that improved to 9-18 in 1991-92, Natalie averaged just over six points and four rebounds and nearly two assists for a Laker squad that put up a respectable first year record of 8-16.
 
The following year, David was able to get on the court and rarely left it, playing 30 games. He averaged over eight points and shot better than 80-percent from the foul line in helping Clayton State to a seven win improvement to 16-15. Meanwhile, Natalie had a similar impact for the women as they also posted the first winning season in program history, going 14-13.
 
As their careers progressed, so too did their relationship as they grew closer through basketball. 
"We dated almost the entire time, except for the first few months," said Taubert. "With both of us being in the basketball program, we spent a lot of time together."
 
In 1993-94, Natalie took on a larger role with the women's team, playing in all 29 games while David continued to help the men make history in what would be his final season. That year he averaged just over seven points and played in all 32 games for a club that went 25-7, still the best record in program history.
 
The record setting achievements wouldn't stop there as Taubert, who had been on that first team, helped guide the 1994-95 team to its first postseason berth. The Lakers went 21-13 and qualified for the NAIA National Tournament in a season that saw her play 31 games.
 
It would be a season that was impactful for more than one reason, however, as the couple got engaged during the year. They would get married on July 6, 1996 and have been together ever since.
 
In that time, they have raised a son, David Viti, Jr., who has committed to play basketball at Division I Georgia Southern, and a daughter, Sara, who is a freshman and member of the basketball team at Buford High School. Natalie currently teaches math at Buford Middle School and David owns his own business and sells property with Remax.
 
Not only did Clayton State Athletics, in particular basketball, help to bring together two individuals that might otherwise not have met, it also led to a family that has continued to impact both their community and the sport that helped make it possible.