It was one of those life-changing times Jason Grunkemeyer faced in May. He was unemployed and just felt it was time to look in a different direction.

He had been on the Miami University men’s basketball coaching staff, but when head coach Charlie Coles announced his retirement, Grunkemeyer was not retained. He started looking at college coaching positions because that was the world he knew, but with a young family he was not sure it was his best option.

That, and a growing attraction to Oxford, led him to the job as athletic director at Talawanda High School.

“I turned down a couple of opportunities to stay in Division I coaching because I wanted to take the chance I had in the spring to look at some things agreeable to a young family,” he said. “I didn’t know what that would be. Until this came up, I thought I’d go back to high school as a teacher and coach. I did not think about athletic director.”

The job fits him, however, and he has spent most of the past two months getting acclimated to a new position, a new school and a new way of life.

“I don’t mind administrative stuff,” he said. “I deal with a lot of people with a lot of interests. I have to juggle a lot of balls. I try to allow myself to see what else is out there. I felt I wanted something in athletics.”

Now, he finds himself in charge of a program in a new school with new athletic facilities, a new turf football field and new football coaching staff and playing in a new league, the Southwest Ohio Conference. He is not intimidated by all the newness around him.

“It’s different, to go from college and coaching to high school and administration. It’s a completely different change in profession,” he said. “At the end of the day, the reason I applied, and the people of Talawanda gave me this opportunity, is I still deal with student athletes, coaches and athletics. That’s the world I’ve been in. It’s developing some new skill sets.”

Grunkemeyer said he does feel any special pressure from the fact that all the school sports facilities are new. In the end, anyone in his position would have the same challenges of making everything work.

“I’m not unique. I’ve talked to other (Talawanda) administrators and we are all in the same position (adjusting to the new facilities), even if they have been here 30 years they’re are all new to it,” he said. “One thing is a real challenge. I’m starting a new career change.”

Those facilities will be a real plus for the district as other teams come to Oxford to compete and Grunkemeyer acknowledges the new turf football field will be the centerpiece, all the while stressing he does not mean any slight to the school’s other sports and their new venues.

“In society, the most visible sports are football and basketball. Football kicks the mood off for the athletic department,” he said. “If they are successful, it spreads to other sports. I’m not saying one sport is more important than another, but I’m not naïve. To society, football is the most visible.”

Those other sports are in good hands, he said. Last year’s all-sports award shows that, with eight league championships for Talawanda teams.

Grunkemeyer came to Miami from Moeller High School and graduated from Miami in 2001 after playing basketball for Coles. He was an assistant coach at St. Louis University from 2001 to 2007 before returning to Oxford as an assistant to Coles, who retired this spring.

He and his wife of nearly six years, Angie, have two sons, Josh, 4, and Nate, 2.

As a Division I student athlete, he said he had little time to be involved in the community but attended Oxford Bible Fellowship and taught Sunday School to 4-year-olds.

“We are really glad to be able to stay in Oxford,” he said. “We have found good friends, a church in OBF. It’s a great place for a family. I’ve been here as both a student-athlete and a coach. I’ve enjoyed my time here.”