Nike Basketball Camp Harlem Park EMS

Camp Coaches

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  Principal Venus L. Jackson

  Director

  Venus L. Jackson, a native Baltimorean, has served as principal, resident principal, educational associate, credit recovery coordinator, mathematics department head and lead teacher with the Baltimore City Public Schools over her more than twenty-year educational career. Following in the footsteps of both her parents, Ms. Jackson strives to make a difference in the lives of children living in neighborhoods where exceptional opportunities aren’t often available. She serves her community by seeking and brokering resources that will leverage academic and athletic programming for our youth to reach their full potential. And she takes this assignment seriously.

  View Principal Venus L.'s Bio
  

  Principal Venus L. Jackson

  Director

  Ms. Jackson was awarded a scholarship to the University of Maryland Baltimore County, Engineering Program, where she earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering. After working as an Associate Junior Engineer with American Cyanamid Engineering Plant and volunteering as an Advance Mathematics Instructor at Southside Academy, she quickly realized that her passion was working with youth and assisting them in understanding mathematical concepts and passing both city and state assessments. Ms. Jackson pursued a Masters of Education Degree in Contemporary Leadership from Coppin State University Baltimore, Maryland and later began her career as an educator with the Baltimore City Public Schools. Seeing her potential for leadership, she was highly recommended for the Emerging Leaders Program with an Aspiring Principal’s Program Endorsement via the New Leaders Resident Principal Program.

  Her present passion is displayed in her commitment to bringing excellence back to the neighborhood school; more specifically, Harlem Park Elementary Middle School. Through this Nike Basketball Camp, Principal Jackson hopes to build a robust SY 2024-25 Basketball Program; leveraging the competitive courtside skills like teamwork, healthy competition, perseverance, grit, goal setting, mental and physical conditioning, etc. into an academic powerhouse on Harlem Park’s campus. She wants scholars to make a new commitment to their own academic success and lean into the discipline it will take to achieve their academic goals! She’s not only offering programs that will nurture athletic champions, but she’s creating opportunities that will nurture future leaders and academic gladiators.

  Principal Jackson’s vision for supporting the scholars of Harlem Park Elementary Middle School and their families is limitless and is embodied in her school’s mantra, “Harlem Park Cares.”

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  Sonia Chase

  Director

  Sonia Chase, former WNBA player, is the President and CEO of Chase Your Dreams, Inc. whose mission is to help players develop elite basketball skills and prepare for next level opportunities. Chase oversees general camp operations for the Nike Basketball Camps alongside her highly qualified staff of high school, collegiate and professional coaches.

  View Sonia's Bio
  

  Sonia Chase

  Director

  Ms. Chase began playing basketball at the age of seven in an all boy's league. Eventually, she started to play for a local neighborhood basketball organization called "The Liberty Road Girl's Basketball Team." She continued to play basketball in numerous leagues throughout the year including Baltimore Neighborhood Basketball League (BNBL) and Amateur Athletic Union (AAU). While growing up, she attended many basketball camps such as Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), Blue Star, NIKE, Blue Chip and Chris Weller's University of Maryland Women's Basketball Camp.

  Ms. Chase attended McDonogh School, in Owings Mills, Maryland and became a four-year Varsity starter and two-time captain in high school. She was the first female athlete in school history to score over 3,000 points and also set records that currently still stand today for scoring, assists, rebounds and steals. As a senior in high school, Ms. Chase was selected as a Rollins-Leuktemeyer Scholar, honoring her as an all-around outstanding student-athlete.

  In 1994, Ms. Chase was awarded a four-year athletic scholarship to play for the University of Maryland at College Park. She graduated in December 1998 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Language and Literature and earned a certificate of academic honor in Women's Studies and Health. On April 29, 1998, she was drafted to the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) where she ventured to Charlotte, North Carolina to play for the "Charlotte Sting.” In the WNBA off-seasons, Ms. Chase travelled to Europe to play professional basketball in over 10 different countries within the Federation International Basketball Association (also referred to as "FIBA") including Greece, Turkey, and China. The personal and professional knowledge, experience, and contacts accumulated during her tenure as a world-renowned professional athlete serves as a positive support network for Chase Your Dreams Incorporated.

  Following her professional basketball career, Ms. Chase realized the vital need to make a positive difference in society utilizing her natural talents and decided to embark upon the entrepreneurial side of life. In 2009, Ms. Chase founded Chase Your Dreams Academy, a non-profit organization, whose mission is to promote the advancement of youth in education, sports, health, fitness and nutrition. Ms. Chase has developed scholastic and success management programs that support all types of student-athletes in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. She was selected as Who’s Who in Black Washington, DC as an “Emerging Leader Women Under 40!” in 2010. In addition, since her retirement from professional sports, Ms. Chase has gained vast experience in corporate America working as a national sales manager in the pharmaceutical industry and has also been a basketball consultant to several companies and universities across the United States. She is a critical thinker and relationship-oriented negotiator who can apply extensive knowledge of industry regulations to rapid revenue and profit growth opportunities.

  Through Chase Your Dreams Incorporated, Ms. Chase markets and sells "Chase Your Dreams: BFIT" at company-wide events. This basketball training handbook is a complete system of how Ms. Chase maintained superior mental and physical conditioning throughout her career as a professional basketball player. She recommends using her handbook as a stepping stone to get that much closer to achieving and chasing personal goals within the sport of basketball. Most recently, Ms. Chase received her certification as a FIBA Coach to coach men’s and women’s professional basketball internationally.