NGWSD Morton Ranch by Aj Lewis

GIRLS & WOMEN IN SPORTS CONFERENCE

FEBRUARY 19, 2024; 8AM

MORTON RANCH HIGH SCHOOL, KATY, TEXAS

SPEAKERS

DR. CHIVONNE KISER

CAMAURY PRADOS-WASHINGTON

NANCY ZUMAYA

JOCELYN ADAMS

JORDAN HIGHSMITH

PAIGE HERSHEY

@MRHSMARVICKS

WELCOME

Dear NGWSD freinds,

Welcome to the 3rd annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day Conference at Morton Ranch High School! It is great to see you all here today ready to celebrate women in sports.

I believe this conference needs to be held every year to celebrate all that women are and all that they can be. This is an example of another way that we as coaches can reach our female student-athletes in Katy ISD and empower them to dream bigger. Since I began teaching and coaching in 2002, I have based my contributions to the profession on the Chinese Proverb: Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.

Showing the female student-athletes of Katy ISD what girls who were once just like them have gone on to accomplish both in athletics and outside of athletics is exactly the type of inspiration needed to motivate them to stay in sports and dream big! Women in sports MATTER, and we are here to celebrate YOU today.

Sincerely,

Melissa L Hoffmann Melissa L. Hoffmann, M.A. Conference Coordinator/ Morton Ranch High School Head Girls Track Coach/ PE Teacher

MRHSATHLETICSTAFF

Julie Hinson Campus Principal

Juliette Hyppolite Head Athletic Trainer

Felicia Hood Volleyball/Girls Basketball Coach

Alan Sisk Head Wrestling Coach

Michael Wiggins Girls Basketball Coach

Steven "Chris" Davis Head Girls Soccer Coach

Megan Cuzzort Head Softball Coach

Clay Tucker Head Tennis Coach

Emma Sorrels Swimming Coach

Amanda Mikeska Girls Track Coach

Nick Cavallo Campus Athletic Coordinator

Terriante Garner Assistant Athletic Trainer

Jamie Marriot Volleyball Coach

Brendan McBride Wrestling Coach

Christopher Fausto Girls Basketball Coach

Francios Bergeron Girls Soccer Coach

Natalie Hoyt Softball Coach

Madison Hughes Tennis Coach

Melissa Hoffmann Head Girls Track Coach

Kaitlyn Dunn Girls Cross Country/Track Coach

Kisha Jones Assistant Campus Athletic Coordinator Head Girls Basketball

Kali Fluke Head Volleyball Coach

Hannah Werner Volleyball Coach

Roy Siemering Wrestling Coach

John Poland Head Golf Coach

Maria Santos Girls Soccer Coach

Marissa Botz Softball Coach

Karla Foit Head Swimming Coach

Jacques Morgan Girls Track Coach

HISTORY OF NGWSD

February 7, 2024, marks the 38th annual National Girls & Women in Sports Day (NGWSD). This celebration inspires girls and women to play, be active, and to realize their full power. The confidence, strength, and character gained through sports participation are the very tools girls and women need to become strong leaders in sports and life. As the Women's Sports Foundationushersin2024weareexcitedtocelebrateour50thanniversary. We are proud of this tremendous milestone. We appreciate all who have andcontinuetosupportusinourmissionandjoinusonthisimportantday.

A vibrant movement we celebrate annually, NGWSD honors the achievements of girls and women in sports and continues to Lead Her Forward by acknowledging the power of sports to unlock her limitless potential.

The Women’s Sports Foundation applauds the vital role played by the individuals and organizations who join us in championing this effort: advocates seeking to protect Title IX and advance gender equity, athletes using their platform to inspire greatness, and coaches working daily to promoteplay.

Morton Ranch High School and the Katy Independent School District celebrate NGWSD within our community and join the Women’s Sports FoundationasweLeadHerForwardin2024andbeyond.

“Natural talent only determines the limits of your athletic potential. It’s dedication and a willingness to discipline your life that makes you great.” –Billie Jean King, Tennis

“I believe in the impossible because no one else does.”

- Florence Griffith Joyner, Track and Field

HISTORY OF NGWSD

National Girls & Women in Sports Day (NGWSD) began in 1987 as a special day in our nation’s capital to recognize women’s sports. The day united premiere organizations and elite women athletes to bring national attention to the promise of girls and women in sports.

In 1987, NGWSD also served as a remembrance of Olympic volleyball player, Flo Hyman, for her athletic achievements and dedication to promoting equality for women’s sports. Flo was born in Los Angeles on July 31, 1954. She discovered volleyball and her destiny while attending high school in Inglewood, California. She would attend college at the University of Houston where she was named a collegiate All-American three times. In 1975 she joined the USVBA's year-round training squad and was named a first team All-American 1976, 1977, and 1978. She was named Most Valuable Player in 1977.

She was on the U.S. Olympic squad in 1980 and 1984. In 1980 the U.S. boycotted the games in Moscow, but in 1984 Flo captained the silver medal winning team. Some of her other international achievements include playing in the World Championships in 1978 and 1982 (Bronze Medal), the World Cup in 1977 and 1981, when she was named the Best Attacker, the Pan-Am Games in 1975, 1979, and 1983, the NORCECA Championships in 1975, 1977, 1979, 1981 and 1983, and the World University Games in 1973 and 1977. She was named All-World and selected as the Most Valuable Player in countless international tournaments, as well as being named to numerous All-Star Teams. In 1985 she was named one of the All-Time Great Volleyball Players.

The world prematurely lost Flo in January of 1986 when she collapsed during a match in the Japanese League. She was a victim of Marfan syndrome, a sickness that she never knew she had. With the news of her passing, people were grieving the whole world over.

NGWSD has since evolved into an event to acknowledge the accomplishments of girls and women in sports, the positive influence of sports participation and the continuing struggle for equality for women in sports.

NATIONAL GIRLS & WOMEN SPORTS DAY CONFERENCE

FEBRUARY 19, 2024; 8 AM MORTON RANCH HIGH SCHOOL

A G E D N A

8:00AM

Check-InandBreakfast: 9th-gradecafeteria

*WerequestthatyoubeseatedinthePerformingArtsCenterby8:40am

8:45AM

8:50AM

9:20AM

MelissaHoffmann,WelcomeandIntroductionofSpeakers ConferenceCoordinator/MRHSHeadGirlsTrackCoach

Dr.ChivonneKiser

ComingupS.H.O.R.T–PersonalandProfessionalSuccessCan BeAttributedto5CoreActionsusedintheacronymS.H.O.R.T.

JordanHighsmith

FuelingAmbition:PoweringThroughinAthletics

9:40AM BREAK

9:55AM PaigeHershey

“TheHero’sJourney:SomeObservationsfromSomeone FartherDownthePath”

10:25AM 10:45AM

11:00AM

11:20AM

JocelynAdams

JustAMinute-APerspectiveforgirlsandwomeninsportson time,opportunity,andpreparation BREAK

CamauryPrados-Washington

AcceptingYourPurpose-ReachingtheTotalAthlete

NancyZumaya-'HERstory' WomenmakingHistoryintheSportsIndustry

11:50AM

Mrs.JulieHinson,ClosingRemarks

MortonRanchHighSchoolCampusPrincipal

Eachspeakerwillbeavailableforaquestionandanswersessionatthe conclusionoftheirpresentations,sopleasefeelfreetoparticipate.

NATIONAL GIRLS & WOMEN SPORTS DAY CONFERENCE

FEBRUARY 19, 2024; 8 AM MORTON RANCH HIGH SCHOOL

S P E A K E R S

DR. CHIVONNE KISER Assistant Director of Athletics Denton ISD

JORDAN HIGHSMITH Multimedia Producer PAIGE HERSHEY Executive Director of Athletics Spring Branch ISD JOCELYN ADAMS Head Volleyball Coach , Cypress Springs High School CAMAURY PRADOS-WASHINGTON CEO of Faith at the Plate Professional Softball Player NANCY ZUMAYA Business Owner Professional Football Player Founder -This is WWarrior

DR. CHIVONNE KISER

Assistant Director of Athletics, Denton ISD

Dr. Chivonne Kiser has over 20 years of experience in the field of Education. Dr. Kiser has spent much of her personal and professional life involved in education-based athletics as a high school three-sport letterman, a college volleyball player, a high school head coach, an assistant campus athletic coordinator, and as an English teacher. Dr. Kiser currently serves as an Assistant Athletic Director for a public school district in North Texas, and she helps to oversee all secondary athletic programs and their coaching staffs.

Chivonne is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and subsequently graduated with honors from Southern University and A&M College in Baton Rouge, Louisiana with a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communications. After graduation, she returned home to her alma mater, Kempner High School, where she began her career in education as an English teacher, a head volleyball coach, and a head track and field coach. After 12 years at Kempner, she went on to Morton Ranch High School in Katy, Texas to continue teaching English, being a head volleyball coach, and was also elevated to Assistant Campus Athletic Coordinator. In 2017, she earned her Master of Science in Sport Management from the University of Florida. After 6 years at Morton Ranch High School, Chivonne left her hometown for Denton, Texas to become an athletic administrator. Chivonne also has a Doctorate in Education from Northcentral University. This past November, she was inducted into the Southern University Sports Hall of Fame for her successful playing career on the women’s volleyball team.

Chivonne is a member of a host of sport professional organizations and serves on various committees and boards dedicated to helping athletic professionals and the student-athletes they serve. She is also a USA Track and Field certified official.

Dr. Kiser currently resides in north Texas with her husband Dr. Charles Kiser and their 3 children, Austin – a freshman member of the men’s track & field team for the University of Oklahoma; Tyler – a high school junior and rising entrepreneur; and Brooklyn – a high school sophomore volleyball player and track athlete.

JORDAN HIGHSMITH

Born and raised in a family of athletes, Jordan Highsmith is the youngest of five siblings who played sports in high school and went on to receive D1 athletic scholarships. A track and field athlete, she attended Oklahoma State University in 2012 where she long jumped and hurdled in the Big 12 Conference for two school years, then transferred to Samford University in 2014 where she competed as a heptathlete in the SOCON Conference for two more years.

Jordan graduated in 2017 with a bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communications. For the last seven years, she has worked in broadcast television as a multimedia producer at CBS 42 in Birmingham, Alabama, and CBS-affiliate 10 Tampa Bay in Florida.

Multimedia Producer

PAIGE HERSHEY

Executive Director of Athletics

Spring Branch Independent School District

A four-sport athlete at Crete-Monee High School, in Crete, Illinois, Paige Hershey is a graduate of Rice University and was a member and a captain of the women’s basketball team. She holds a M.Ed. from the University of Houston.

Paige’s entire professional career has been spent in Spring Branch ISD. The head girl’s basketball coach at Spring Woods High School for fourteen years, Paige also served as the Head Softball Coach and Boy’s and Girl’s Head Cross Country Coach. Under her tenure, the Tigers advanced to the Softball Regional Finals in 1994, made the bi-district playoffs in 1998 in Girls Basketball as the first Spring Branch ISD team to do so, and were Regional Qualifiers in Boy’s Cross Country in 2000. In 1998, Paige was recognized for her efforts in the classroom as Spring Branch Independent School District’s Secondary Teacher of the Year.

In July of 2001, Paige was named the Director of Athletics for Spring Branch ISD. In May 2010, she was named the Executive Director of Athletics. Paige has been an athletic director at Spring Branch ISD for twenty-three years.

Paige holds certification through the NIAAA as a Certified Master Athletic Administrator (CMAA). In December, 2009, Paige was one of seven recipients to be awarded the NIAAA Distinguished Service Award at the national level and was a recipient of the Greater Houston Football Coaches Association’s John Kelley Distinguished Service Award in 2013. She was named a NFHS National Citation Award Recipient in 2021 and was a Touchdown Club of Houston award recipient in 2022. Paige currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Touchdown Club of Houston and is the policy committee liaison for the Texas High School Athletic Directors Association for Region V.

As a former high school and college student-athlete, middle school and high school coach, and district athletic director, Paige Hershey will share some insights and observations on things she’s learned along the way that might be of benefit to others.

JOCELYN ADAMS

Head Volleyball Coach , Cypress Springs High School

Jocelyn Adams is a native Houstonian. She attended M.B. Smiley High School and graduated in 1983. She was a standout athlete, lettering in three sports, volleyball, basketball, and track It was in track & field where she excelled as a district champion, regional champion and a back-to-back UIL State Champion in 1982 & 1983 After high school Adams attended Prairie View A&M University on a full athletic scholarship and earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in health and physical Education in 1987 & 1992 She was an eight time AllAmerican, SWAC Champion and National Champion in track

Adams is the current head volleyball coach at Cypress Springs High School She was named district 16-6A Volleyball Co- Coach of the Year in 2022 and she also teaches Physical Education Before serving in CyFair ISD Adams was named the third volleyball coach in Texas Southern University history serving in that capacity from 2011-2020. She wasted no time turning the Lady Tigers volleyball program into a competitive force within the Southwestern Athletic Conference. The Lady Tigers won three SWAC Western division Championships. In the 2016 and 2017 seasons they were runners- up and advanced to the tournament semifinals in 2018. Fifteen student-athletes received AllSWAC honors under Adams tutelage including SWAC Co- Player of the Year Kali Fluke and SWAC Freshman of the Year Robin Shannon.

Adams has coached volleyball on the middle school, high school and collegiate NCAA Division I level She was the head coach at Aldine Middle School where she was Teacher of the Year and District finalist for Teacher of the Year At Eisenhower High School her teams won back-to-back Bi-District Championships in 2008-09 and 2009-10, she was the 2008 District 19-5A Coach of the Year and the 2009 District 19-5A Co-Coach of the Year

Before joining Eisenhower, Adams was the volleyball head coach at Prairie View A&M University from 1990-1999 In 1990, she was named SWAC Coach of the Year and in 1992 she led her team to the first SWAC Volleyball Championship Title in school history Adams has been recognized as a game changer for women coaches and was presented with certificates of appreciation from Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Incorporated, the City of Houston, Mayor Sylvester Turner, Congresswoman and Congressman Shelia Jackson Lee and Al Green, respectively. She is a member of the Texas Black Sports Hall of Fame, SWAC Hall of Fame and Prairie View A&M University Hall of Fame.

Adams is married to Eric and the couple has three girls, Tineshia, Erin, a former Texas Southern University volleyball student-athlete and Brooke a current Alabama State University student and volleyball player.

CAMAURY PRADOS-WASHINGTON

CEO of Faith at the Plate

Professional Softball Player

Ms. Prados-Washington is a 2018 graduate of Texas Tech University earning two degrees in Mass Communications and Sports Management, and a former member of the Red Raider softball program. Currently she is coaching, mentoring, and is an ambassador for the game. She has signed a professional contract with Juno Athletics, and will be representing them for 2024 USSSA season. Outside of coaching she has worked in the medical industry in the rehabilitation and pain management division; whether it’s with athletes or everyday citizens. Her main purpose for everything is to make sure she is reaching the total person in whatever way possible. She has been blessed to have a large platform and continues to strive to make sure it gets better every day. We’re put here to serve and do it to the best of our ability. This journey we’ve all been granted called life, is simply what we make of it and the legacy we leave behind.

She is the CEO of Faith at The Plate, a nonprofit organization that is centered around making former, current, and aspiring athletes the best version of themselves. The mission for Faith at the Plate is to reach the total athlete which is encompassing the very essence of who you are regardless of the jersey or program you’re representing. As she continue to build her brand, and grow through various experiences and encounters, one can only hope that she will reach her total essence of who she will be as a person, motivator and athlete

NANCY ZUMAYA

Business Owner Professional Football Player Founder -This is WWarrior

Nancy Zumaya is a Native Houstonian who graduated from Cypress Springs High School and then pursued her career in the fashion and hair industry. She is currently a salon business owner. As a former student athlete, she missed the sport life and decided to follow her childhood dream and become a professional athlete.

Nancy made history when she was offered a contract to play as a professional football player for the Austin Acoustics, where she plays D-line and O-line. Now in her 3rd year, she is making an impact in the industry; opening doors and bigger opportunities for other women in the future! Nancy has also played alongside many celebrities and professional NFL athletes in charity games and has became what is known as a celebrity athlete.

But being a woman playing a “mans” sport, she faced many challenges and fought to overcome countless obstacles. She was inspired to create a platform to not only motivate Women but also young girls to never let anyone tell you, “You can’t do what men do.” Nancy went on to build what is now a hugely successful brand. She is a Founder and LLC owner of an Empowering Brand This is WWarrior. This brand motivates and Inspires strong women to believe in themselves, to fight for themselves and empowers them to make “HERstory”- women making history in the sports industry.

Nancy is paving the way for women in sports to create a platform for themselves in a world of “men sports” where we as women, are continuously overlooked. Now she works tirelessly to inspire and empower young women and girls, with her determination and passion.