What has been your journey to your current position?
My mom taught and mentored at DCPS for over 30 years, and she is now a happily retired educator. My dad is an accountant, and he also coached basketball for over 30 years. When I was a freshman in high school, he was offered the position to coach there and continued even after I graduated. 

As a child growing up, I played basketball with my neighborhood friends. My dad even built a basketball court in our driveway, where my brothers and I played. During the summer, I would run basketball tournaments on our court.

I played basketball all through school and eventually received a full basketball scholarship to Georgetown University. I was the first female basketball player at Georgetown to make the USA Junior Olympic Festival team. 
After graduating from Georgetown, I was part of a professional basketball team, the Philadelphia Rage, which was coached by the USA Olympic basketball coach and Hall of Famer Anne Donovan. When the WNBA took over, the league folded. I then became an assistant coach at George Mason University for their women's basketball team.

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That experience reminded me that although I am not playing on the court, I enjoy joining the two worlds of helping youth and my love of basketball. This propelled my decision to become a teacher in high school and continue coaching at the high school level. I have been doing both for 20 years now.

What are the secrets to your success?

I watched my father coach youth throughout my entire life. When he was coaching my high school basketball team, he took pride in helping all youth get into college. 

He had a lot of successful seasons - winning regional and county championships. He helped high school student athletes who really wanted to go to college to obtain scholarships so that they would be able to afford it. He even coached several athletes who played professionally overseas and in the WNBA. It was truly inspiring for me to witness how he poured himself into these young athletes.

That's what I do now; I coach these scholar athletes to be successful. As a team, we work countless hours so that they will be able to obtain scholarships to go to college and, if they so desire, to play at the next level. To this day, I still have a relationship with my former players who went on to both play and study in college and receive their college degrees. Two of my previous players are even my assistant coaches, Courtney Lucas and Jaraina Jamison; both alumni of Friendship Collegiate. This shows that sports are an important part of the school's culture that contribute to the excitement and benefit for all. 

Courtney works at an elementary school and Jaraina is a social studies teacher here at Friendship Collegiate. Courtney received a basketball scholarship to Lincoln University where she received academic honors and Jaraina graduated from VCU with honors. It was great to stay in touch with them in college.

I also learned from my experiences at Georgetown University from Hall of Famer Coach John Thompson, who acted as a mentor when I was at Georgetown. Anne Donovan, another Hall of Famer, actually recruited me out of high school. Even though I selected Georgetown, she remembered me and when I graduated, she invited me to try out to be on her professional basketball team, Philadelphia Rage. I teach my kids to always be respectful to everyone they interact with. I always tell them, "You never know when you will run into them again, and they may even open doors for you!"

I teach my scholars that athletics is a tool to obtain a great education, make connections and learn life lessons like perseverance, commitment, dedication, respect, and confidence. In basketball, like in life, you have wins and losses; what's important is how you play your next game. If the referee makes a call we disagree with, or if our plan wasn't executed successfully, we move forward and think about what's next. My players have internalized this habit on the court, and it will also serve them well in life.

Student athletes learn to balance multiple priorities. They arrive at 7:45, then get out of school at 3:30. After that, they go to tutoring and practice afterwards for another two hours. During this time, they might even be suffering from a loss, upset, or injury. They are still expected to arrive at school the next day just like every other student and focus in class. This ability to balance priorities will take them far in life. My team has maintained at least a 3.0 GPA for the past six years.

Yes, we have won 13 championships, but what is more important to me is that my kids graduate, go to college, and use their experiences and talent to contribute to our school, community, and world.

Do you have any advice for someone who is new to coaching?

Just know that coaching is not just about the sport itself. You are helping build character in youth. You're more than just a coach. You have to show the kids you care. You have to be persistent because they are going to want to give up when it gets tough. You cannot give up, though! You have to show them loyalty, discipline, and respect. You are a mentor and how you carry yourself and approach obstacles in basketball, as well as in life, will be how they do it too. You have to know you are teaching them life lessons through the sport. The sport itself is merely a tool for something more profound.

What do you like about Friendship?

Students at Friendship are prepared to go to and through college, and our team's mission aligns with this. Every year my team sets goals and if you ask any of my players, they will tell you that one of them is college exposure. Every year we go to two or three tournaments in front of college coaches. We are one step closer to landing scholarships so that students do not have to worry about the stress of taking out college loans while they're earning their college degrees.

Are there any fun facts you'd like to share?

I'm one of three siblings - the middle child and the only girl. All three of us earned a division one basketball scholarship to play in college. All three of us have played professionally and worked with youth.

I am married with two children, a boy and a girl, ages 10 and 6, who both play basketball.  My husband also played basketball in college on a full athletic scholarship. He comes from a family of athletes as well. Although my mother is not on the coaching staff, it is a ritual for me to speak to my mother as she has always debriefed with me after each game to give me coaching tips and tell me what my next steps should be. It's certainly a family affair.