Todd Bertsch & Kenneth Smith in the BOLT Podcast Studio

In this episode of the BOLT podcast Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith shares his inspiring transition from professional basketball to education and advocacy, focusing on empowering young women through his non-profit, Ladies First Akron. The discussion highlights personal resilience, the importance of mentorship, and innovative educational approaches, encouraging listeners to embrace the journey of growth and transformation. 

  • Coach Jo-Jo’s unique journey from athlete to educator 
  • Development and impact of Ladies First Akron 
  • Using sports as a tool for life skills and leadership 
  • Importance of vulnerability in connecting with students 
  • Innovative classroom techniques to engage youth 
  • Balancing personal life while pursuing professional goals 
  • Future curriculum plans aimed at broader educational access

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith, a graduate of Miles College, transitioned from professional basketball to education and advocacy. After playing internationally in the Middle East and South America, he founded Ladies First Akron, a nonprofit empowering inner-city young women through education and sports. With a Master’s degree from The University of Akron, he became a Behavioral Intervention Specialist and later a Restorative Practices Coordinator, focusing on reducing suspensions and fostering positive school environments. A published author of two books, including the Amazon bestseller “7 Secrets For Beating Educator Burnout”. Coach Jo-Jo is also a motivational speaker, promoting physical and mental health worldwide.

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Todd Bertsch: 0:10

Welcome back to the Bolt Podcast. I’m Todd Bertsch and I’m thrilled to be your guide on this inspiring journey of personal growth and leadership. Together with my guests, we’ll dive into transformational stories, uncovering how small, intentional changes can create massive positive results in your life From overcoming challenges and setting impactful goals to building lasting habits and living with confidence, health and positivity. We’ll explore it all and if you’re ready to embrace a growth mindset and unlock the best version of yourself, then let’s spark that transformation today.

Todd Bertsch: 0:46

Today’s guest is Kenneth Jo-Jo Smith, a graduate of Miles College, who transitioned from professional basketball to education and advocacy. After playing internationally in the Middle East and South America, he founded Ladies First Akron, a non-profit empowering inner-city young women through education and sports. With a master’s degree from the University of Akron, he became a behavioral intervention specialist and later a restorative practices coordinator, focusing on reducing suspensions and fostering positive school environments. A published author of three books, including the Amazon bestseller Seven Secrets for Beating Educator Burnout, Jo-Jo is also a motivational speaker promoting physical and mental health worldwide. Listeners, get ready for an inspirational episode, coach Jo-Jo. Welcome to BOLT Podcast Podcast, my friend.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 1:48

Todd. Thank you so much, man. Thank you so much for having me Excited for the conversation.

Todd Bertsch: 1:52

Right, you and I always have great conversations. Yes, yes. You know I’m so blessed that you came into my life and I always like to start off the episodes just with a little context of how we know each other.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 2:04

Okay, which?

Todd Bertsch: 2:05

I’m surprised that there’s so many things that you are doing and that you have done that are wonderful, but what’s not in your bio is Leadership Akron. We need to get that in there my friend, absolutely, absolutely. That’s a big accomplishment.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 2:19

That allowed this relationship to thrive, and we definitely need that in there.

Todd Bertsch: 2:24

Yeah, so that’s how we met Leadership Akron signature, class 39. And I think you and I instantly connected. You know, I know we had that one night where we had kind of a deep. It was a late night, overnight affair, you know, with the group, and we had some conversations that went back to our childhood, some vulnerable conversations, yeah Right.

Todd Bertsch: 2:48

There were some similarities, and just you and I. I like to surround myself with people that are similar in that we have the same core values. Right, we’re trying to make an impact on society. You’re a big proponent of personal growth, manifestation, visualization. I love the content that you’re pushing out and, you know, I think if we could replicate you, we need more people like you in our society today.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 3:12

Appreciate that.

Todd Bertsch: 3:13

You know, what you’re doing is amazing. That’s why I think it’s really important to have you on the show to inspire people and to really educate people. That’s what you do on what you’re doing and to help change potentially, or at least have people be open to changing their mindset. I know that’s something else we’ll discuss too, so there’s a lot to unpack here.

Todd Bertsch: 3:36

We’re going to try to consolidate it to a few things, but I’m excited for this conversation, so let’s just talk a little bit about you know. So you were a professional athlete, which is very cool, so I want to learn just a little bit about what that was like and then what inspired you to transition from being a professional basketball player into the educational realm.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 3:57

For sure, so the story is really, really unique, right. So it’s super non-traditional, which just fits who I am. So college I played at Miles College, division II, hbcu in Alabama and Birmingham, and in college I experienced everything right from starting nine games as a freshman to having the best game of my career as a sophomore that, like, led us to the conference championship game in the tournament, but freshman year dealing with injuries, junior year dealing with injuries, having some issues, me and my coach getting into it, right. Like I literally experienced everything from getting kicked off the team to, oh man, a lot, a lot of different experiences, right. And so I say all of that because, like, I literally had everything from starting to sit in the bench to not being on the team, right, I had every experience you can think of as a college athlete. And so it bothered me and that’s what was the fuel to drive me to want to play professionally, right. So I just I had a sour taste in my mouth after graduation. I’m like I cannot let this be the end. And so I knew some people here who were interested in helping me on that journey, and so I came home after graduation I actually went to Atlanta first because I wasn’t going to pursue it.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 5:15

I was in Atlanta for a job fair and I’m like I have to chase the ball.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 5:19

And so I came home and just started working out twice a day Shout out to a good friend of mine, ricky Fletcher, for taking me under his wing. We were working out twice a day, five in the morning and then whatever time we could do it in the afternoon. And I had to pursue that because I just felt like I couldn’t go on with my life, I’m not pursuing it. And so I was going to like ABA tryouts, ibo tryouts, just literally traveling, trying to find a way, no insurance, just an athlete, like working out. And so, thankfully, I was able to go to some of the different IBO and ABA trials. So I ended up playing in the International Basketball League, which was a local semi-professional league that was here. That really opened the door when I started to go to different trials and meet people. And I met a guy in Western Pennsylvania, like on the border of New York, went to a tryout there, played really well. Then I went to a workout in Chicago actually Bill Cartwright from the Chicago Bulls was there.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 6:14

A couple overseas guys were there and so it was actually from my college assistant coach, who was in that area at that time, who allowed me to get that opportunity.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 6:23

So that got me in front of some different people and so just the networking and meeting people. I met a guy who I got a phone call that winter in December to ask if I would be interested in willing to leave the United States and go to the Middle East was the first stop that I had and so I was able to do that for two months and then I left the Middle East. So I was in Dubai, abu, dhabi, and I was able to go to South America for about three months right, and came back to the United States in the best shape of my life, excited to pursue that. That was year two. Year one was the IBL. Year two was my experiences in South America and the Middle East and I came home playing in the adult league at First Apostolic Church and went to the basket, did a jump stop and had a very devastating knee injury that required surgery.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 7:10

I did not tear my ACL, but I did tear my meniscus in two places and I had bone damage. And it was an evaluation period for me. I was 24. I had given myself from 22 to 25. So from 22 to 23, ibl 23 to 24, the experience out of the country. So I had given myself a timeline. I felt like I was on good trajectory, had that injury and it allowed me to put things into perspective. Because I had started substitute teaching in the IBL, because I wasn’t making a lot of money in the IBL. I was making $75 a game and we got paid. Oh geez, we got paid for six games and then the team ran out of money. In the IBL I was making $75 a game and we got paid.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 7:44

Oh geez, we got paid for like six games and then the team like ran out of money but we were still playing to get film. So people don’t really tell the stories of you know and like a role player and trying to make it.

Todd Bertsch: 7:56

I was from like a no-name situation.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 8:07

But that’s the type of person I am like make a way out of no way, and so that happened. After the injury, I was full-fledged into the school system which that spark happened during subbing. So the transition actually worked out and it was just meant for me to walk into my purpose that way.

Todd Bertsch: 8:22

So I don’t regret it.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 8:23

It’s actually been a very influential part of my life that I can share with young people, like the realities and the.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 8:30

I call it going a hard way because like I share that with them, like I know people say that it happens one way, but it actually was like the opposite of what you would typically think in that situation. So, yeah, I was able to. I started substitute teaching and then the floodgates just opened. A former a former teacher, my seventh grade teacher saw me subbing and when I came back she approached me through a friend named Jerome Moss that Akron Public Schools was hiring part time, and so she met with me and told me about this job and that I should apply and that they were looking for black men. And I did.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 9:08

And then that just started the whole next wave of really walking into like why I’m here and what I was meant to do here. So that was how I transitioned from the being a professional athlete with no insurance, trying to figure out how to get paid for my passion something that I love, you know, trying to see if that’s going to be a real way to support myself to okay, now you have to pivot and find something else that still is uplifting and rewarding, you know, and something that you want to wake up and do every day, and it is kids. So if anyone knows me, they know my love for young people and kids, and so that was how I transitioned from the athletic world into the real working world. I guess, if you want, to call it Right.

Todd Bertsch: 9:53

Wow, thank you for sharing. That’s a great, it’s a great story to me of going after your dreams, right, not giving up and I didn’t know the history during your college experience, but I think that’s a blessing right To really build that resilience during school to go through every emotion and kind of every different scenario and to come out saying you know, that’s not me, I want to keep this going, I want to go after it, I want to fight. Not, that’s not me, I want to. I want to keep this going, I want to go after it, I want to fight. You know, I’ve always been the short guy, I’ve always been the rocky, scrappy. Nothing’s been given to me, no silver spoon. Work, work my tail off to get where I’m at. So I can truly appreciate that full story and and I think it’s perfect right For where you’re at now and what you’re doing, which we’ll get into is absolutely perfect and sharing that story because, let’s be honest, what is the percentage of athletes right that actually make it into professional sports?

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 10:54

right it’s really it’s like less than a percentage, right, right like the reality of it isn’t by by numbers, it would tell you not to try. Sure, right. But here’s something I’ve been saying for the last few years and I’ve been amplifying it even more is especially in the educational world. So if I don’t attempt that, that this, this, this finding who I I don’t have the experiences that shaped who I became right. So I had to chase it. So you can say, well, only or less than 1% make it. And so now you go into it with a deficit mindset and you don’t understand that it’s not really about making it per se, it’s about the skills and the things that you learn on the journey of making it to where you’re going.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 11:43

So I’ve been telling teachers when I’ve been doing professional development is like stop telling a kid that they can’t do something because one you’re not in control of that. So you don’t get to tell them that they can’t. And secondly, it’s not about the end journey, it’s about going on the journey and the things you learn on the journey. So that’s been a mindset shift that I’ve been using in my professional development with teachers is just recognize the work that it takes to get there and if they’re willing to do that work, then that is the. They’ll learn from those experiences, and that’s really what the key is, in my opinion. So that’s, that’s my message, and it’s been my message for the nonprofit and and literally we’ll talk more, but that story that I just spoke on for myself just came full circle from one of the girls that I coach. So yeah, man, it’s powerful to share stories because we have so much in common we just sometimes don’t really realize it.

Todd Bertsch: 12:38

Yeah, and we’re all drawn to stories, right, and that’s what I love about what I’m doing here with the Bolt Podcast and life coaching. I love people. I think everybody has a story. Everybody has a unique story. Everybody has potential, everybody wants to be the best they can be. They might just need a little motivation, a little inspiration, a little fuel and some hope. And that’s, I think, what you’re providing for a lot of people, fuel and some hope, and that’s, I think, what you’re providing for. A lot of people Got so many ways we can go down.

Todd Bertsch: 13:06

But I do want to say embrace the journey. So that was my mantra last year. I struggle with that for the longest time. I wanted to. I’m a AKA, so-called perfectionist. I’m not anymore. I’ve really just I’ve discredited that and I’ve taken that out of my whole life. But I wanted to check a box here’s the five things I need to do to get to the result and just check them off. And I was just going through life and it’s like and just embrace. You have to embrace a journey, it’s all about the journey. So, man, that shift in my mindset last year, jojo, was really life-changing and it’s all about just doing the work, getting the reps, but you got to enjoy it. That’s the meat right and you get to the end.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 14:06

There is no end right, and that’s the beauty.

Todd Bertsch: 14:09

Right, we’re looking at the infinite game here. Yeah, we’re all going to die eventually, but we just continue.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 14:18

Yeah, you’re going to continue to evolve, evolve, right.

Todd Bertsch: 14:21

So that’s yeah that’s where we’re at. We’re in the Evolved building. So well, this is a great segue. Let’s talk about your nonprofit Ladies First.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 14:29

So it was not planned right.

Todd Bertsch: 14:31

Okay.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 14:32

Ladies First was not something that I ever saw myself doing.

Todd Bertsch: 14:35

Which is funny because you seem like a planner.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 14:37

I am. I’m definitely a planner, but I knew that I wanted to use basketball as a tool, right? So, even if we go back even further, right? So the first time my grade slipped because of sports was in seventh grade, and my mom just pulled me right. She’s like you’re not playing, you’re going to go to the game still on the bench. So I was able to do that with my jersey on and watch my team win a championship without me. They won a playoff in the championship. I missed a playoff in the championship. I missed a playoff in the championship game sitting on the bench. That hurts, oh hurt big time, especially being an athlete, a competitor.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 15:17

It was, you know, one of the best things that my mother could have ever done. And so that let me. She told me. She said basketball is going on with or without you. So it’s kind of like you better make a choice as to what was going on. And so that happened. And so I knew I wanted to use the game to change lives. I just didn’t know like what that would look like. And so I was at Ed Davis Community Center, where I grew up, and I was there with my dad practically every day after school and they put an all girl team together in this co-ed league that we have every year the City of Akron Recreation League, and the girls. So they just happened the assistant supervisor just happened to put an all-girl team together, but no one wanted to coach them, so literally every other day they had a different person coaching them. Right, like all the other teams were set, they had coaches, but the girls team didn’t have an official coach right.

Todd Bertsch: 15:59

Why do you think that is?

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 16:01

Because it was just a new time time, right, there was never an all-girl team in this league, so 90 of the teams are boys. You may have a team with like eight boys and two girls, or nine boys and one girl, right, and so I would go and help them sometimes, but then I’m like, I’m like man, why are they doing the girls like that? I was like they need a coach, and so there was a coach. Coach mac was going to coach them. So one coach did step up who had a boys team and he was going to coach both the boys and the girls. And I was like no, I was like I’ll coach the girls because, you know, I didn’t feel like that.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 16:32

They were getting, you know, treated fairly, and so I mean we were terrible too, like the girls couldn’t catch. I mean they, they were ducking away of the boy. It was just like they were so bad at the beginning. But we worked and we worked and by the end we had really improved a lot, to the point where everyone made the playoffs and we almost beat like the best team in the playoffs, like we had a chance to win the game at the end. Shout out to this young lady, breesha Moore, who is now the video coordinator for Michigan State women’s basketball right, so drew up a play for her to drive to the basket. It’s third, fourth and fifth grade, so everyone just gravitates toward the ball and we had a tall girl, shania McMullen, who could make layups, and I was like, when they come to you, just throw it to Shania. Shania, you catch it and make a layup and we’ll beat these boys right. And Breasia had other plans on that shot.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 17:26

She went and she made a move and she took the shot, which was cool, and she missed and we lost. But, like you could see, from not being able to catch at the beginning to almost winning this game at the end, you saw the growth and so I was like, okay, kind of fun, you know I’ll do it again. And I did it for year two. And and so I was like, ok, kind of fun, you know I’ll do it again. And I did it for year two. And the same situation happened, though we win again and we’re losing every game. So we two years of 0 and 10. And I’m like, I’m like I’m too competitive for that. Right, it’s third, fourth and fifth grade. The boys are good. They’re not that good, I’m like.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 17:57

So the supervisor at Summit Lake Community Center, ollie McGill and Ed Davis Community Center Jay Lake Community Center, ollie McGill and Ed Davis Community Center, jerry Rowland allowed me to do skill sessions at the centers for girls in the summertime, and so we started at Ed Davis me and Carlotta Pace, with Jerry Rowland allowing us to do that. And then Summit Lake. So we had girls come in the summer and we started working on our skills. So that third year was like the breakthrough. We went five and five and we won some games and you saw the improvement and you saw the benefit of coming in the summer. And then I had a parent that was pushing me to do more. Her daughter was really good Claire Blackwell.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 18:36

Her daughter Savannah was really good and she’s like you should do a travel team and kind of do more. And I was like no, I don’t want to do all of that. But she just pushed and pushed, like she asked me every day, literally every day, like what you going to do? Can we do it? We should do it. And you know, I ended up because I was working with her daughter individually.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 18:54

Like you know what I called a mentor, coach Lee Smith, who is a gym in Akron. He is a man, he’s under the radar but he’s literally the best ball handling trainer in the city of Akron who you know doesn’t want any accolades. He’s glad people don’t know who he is, just does what he does. He helped me out and kind of steered me in that direction and so I didn’t want to just do basketball. So I was like, well, we have to add something to it. So I was like well, thought of a name ladies first, and then came up with that. And then like, well, I don’t want it to just be basketball, it has to be, you know, developing the whole person, because basketball is cool. Everyone knows like I am probably the most competitive. I was a sore loser as a kid, like frustrated with losing, like I want to win all the time, but like we need to do something else. So we’re at 2025, now this will be our 15-year anniversary this year and we’ve done some amazing things. I mean, I can name so many things, but I’ll just name like two weeks ago, I went to Chicago to watch one of the first girls that we had graduate from law school Illinois, chicago, right. And so then you have, like other girls, that’s Leah Hall. You have Kendall Miller, who played at the University of Akron in a grad year at Marshall, and Lonesia Brewer, who just got her master’s, and Jada Haynes, who is now a college coach, right, who scored a thousand points. So you have those success stories in basketball. But you have Leah Hall, the lawyer, and you have Damiana Merriweather, who just got her master’s Right. So you have just so many different things, and that’s what I wanted.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 20:33

I wanted young people to understand the power of sports and what it does for your overall well-being, and how you’re not used by the sport. And how you’re not used by the sport, because sports uses a lot of young people and so they only see the sport and they don’t understand the skills that they’re learning through the sport. And if young people will understand that, which is what we emphasize with Ladies First, and it’s the thing that separates us and makes us the absolute best, because we don’t just talk about grades or we don’t just talk about academics and life. We bring people in who specialize in these areas and we do that and we’ve been doing a curriculum for I don’t know about eight years now. That is specifically life and mental health focused right. So they do life lessons, so we end basketball and we go into a room and we have a specific area.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 21:22

Maybe it’s a video on resilience and we’ll see. For example, the last video the girls watched was Skylar Diggins and it talked about some of the experiences she had as an athlete getting pregnant while in the WNBA, overcoming her upbringing and the challenges through her upbringing and so now they see another person who’s considered famous and the things that they went through and then talking about like how they handled those situations, and then we ask them questions, like about how those things translate to real life, and so that they start to make that connection. So when you start that process at eight years old and I’m eight and I’m hearing about these other people who have gone through things and were athletes but they went on to do amazing things in other ways. They start to make connections, and so now, if I’m eight by the time I’m 18, I have 10 years of thinking about life after sports. So I’m not just limited to the sport, and so that’s why I’m so excited about what we have moving forward and what we’ve been doing, because that’s our specialty.

Todd Bertsch: 22:23

Yeah, I absolutely love it. I think, and I know, you’re really trying to change the game in the educational space. Yes, you know in the real traditional educational space. And I think 15 years man, that is amazing and I know every time when I’m with you and you start talking about Ladies First, I mean when I’m with you. And you start talking about Ladies First, I mean you literally glow.

Todd Bertsch: 22:45

Like you smile and you can just see how passionate you are for this and it’s interesting no-transcript focusing on young women, because this was before you had two young women right, two young girls Before I became a dad, which? Is kind of ironic right, yes. So this your whole life has kind of been playing out right In in the way that it really should have been.

Todd Bertsch: 23:13

We couldn’t have scripted it this way really, but I think it’s beautiful. You know the stories about life. I wish that we would integrate this into the school system. I have a friend and he’s going to be on the show this year who’s up in Cleveland in a high school and he’s bringing life coaching in to the school as an additional piece to a guidance counselor but, different right.

Todd Bertsch: 23:39

So I think, because I’ve been toying around with this whole idea of people and why some people make a choice and some people don’t right, like you and I, we’ve been through some trials and tribulations. Right, we made a choice at some point, whatever that was right. I had an incident, you had an incident, and we made that choice to commit to growth, personal growth whereas a lot of people don’t make that choice and I’m just very curious about why. I think, if we can instill it early on, right, but also teaching those life lessons right and allowing them to learn about resilience and grit and manifestation and mindset and how powerful that is, how powerful your emotions are and how sports can definitely play a part in that right, but it’s not the end-all, be-all.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 24:32

So sports, to me, is the ultimate social-emotional learning tool, and so now I’ve watched this play out for 15 years, in addition to my own experience, and so I’m like how can this become global? Right has been my mind frame. I’m like I know this is powerful, so how can it become global? And obviously, I’ve been in education for 17 years, and so I’ve been brainstorming how to do that, and so I’m super excited that for the school year of 2025, 26, I will be launching a curriculum that is online, that uses that, is sports driven, but focuses on the whole process of being an athlete and life after sports, and bring it all together and you don’t have to be an athlete, though, so that’s the great thing.

Todd Bertsch: 25:19

Right.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 25:19

It’s not just limited to people who play sports but it’s the opportunity to learn through individuals who play sports.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 25:26

So it’s going to be for anyone sixth grade and up and it’s going to be a game changer in terms of schools being able to use sports stories globally so that young people can learn about the. You know the skills that we just talked about, like grit and resilience and teamwork, and you know looking within, like, ok, so if this individual had these experiences, how do my experiences match? And now how can I make some changes? So I’m just going to have a literacy focus because obviously, you know, people who know me know that I’m big on the. You know the literacy piece, but I am super excited, so I’ve been working tirelessly on that and it is time.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 26:04

I had goals for the end of 24 in terms of the trajectory of the program, and so I hit my goals at the end with about five days left before the new year. And so now here we are 2025, and I have some goals that I need to do to make sure that we’re ready to go for this upcoming school year. But yeah, this is going to be one of those things that people are able to subscribe to and use the stories globally to help them make connections to exactly what we’re talking about the sports world and life after sports.

Todd Bertsch: 26:36

I think that’s awesome, jojo, that you’re doing that, and so this is going to be available to everybody.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 26:41

It’s going to be available to individuals, right? If you’re a coach, so if you have a youth program and you’re coaching sixth grade and you want to teach Life After Sports, you can get an individual subscription. But then school districts will be able to subscribe and so they’ll be able to get online and have access to between 100 and 120 videos. It’ll have lessons that are created to go with it. So now it’s not just like we watch this video and we talk about it, but you will have conversation with it, but it’ll be lessons that you know, self-improvement lessons, right? So a person can really look in the mirror and make a comparison, and I don’t even want to say a comparison, right, but to look at similarities and differences and just look at for connection. I would say connection over comparison because, like it’s not that you’re trying to be this athlete, right, you’re just looking at some of the things that they experience and how you connect to those things.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 27:33

And so you’re doing some, some self editing, right, you’re looking at yourself and you’re like, ok, how can I make some changes? Are there some changes that I want to make? And then it’s able to track the information and then, with that literacy piece, it’s going to have a writing component, but it’s a self-development writing component for yourself. So I’m extremely excited for it. Yeah, man, this is what I want to do. How can I bottle up everything I’ve been doing for, you know, 15, 20 years, and you know, not only share it to some people like, share it to the world? And so, yes, this is I’m very excited for what this is going to bring for the future of just helping people.

Todd Bertsch: 28:13

Yeah, no, that is awesome man. I am so excited for you. Congratulations. Thank you. I know that had to take a lot of work to put that together.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 28:22

Very challenging Still going through it. But, like you said, I’m waking up at like four o’clock in the morning, right With it on my mind, so I know it’s what I’m supposed to be doing, right Excited too, like wanting to get out the bed and go work on it some more, like maybe go to bed late and then wake up early. So I’m like, okay, like this is organic, it’s natural. So I know great things are coming from this. Yeah, that past summer and I met someone who was asking me about that and specializes in curriculum, that took me under their wing and you know have been giving me some great guidance and support with that, and so I’ve just taken that information and ran with it.

Todd Bertsch: 29:19

Funny how things work out right. You took that trip and you met a mentor.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 29:23

Yes.

Todd Bertsch: 29:24

I mean, that’s one in a lifetime trip. I remember seeing some of that on Facebook. It was like wow, that’s amazing.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 29:30

It was.

Todd Bertsch: 29:31

So do you believe that everything happens for a reason? Absolutely.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 29:35

There are no coincidences. It was all meant. It was meant for me to leave the traditional school system, which I was having success. Right, it wasn’t planned. I didn’t think that I would leave the school system and it’s like you know, everyone’s like you know why would you leave Like, why would you leave something that you’ve been doing for like 15 years and you know why would you leave like your retirement and why?

Todd Bertsch: 29:56

would you do? Why? Why? Why it’s comfortable Right.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 29:59

And it’s like so the feeling that I had to leave was inside of me. It was again. It wasn’t planned and I sat on it for a long time because I’m like leave, but in doing that, the experiences and the doors that have opened and this is like you take a step and another step and then it just reveals.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 30:20

And so now I know for a fact that this is super powerful and it’s going to be life changing for individuals. And so you know you have to make some life changing decisions to get life changing results. You know, and here we are, and the journey has been very challenging, right, like, very challenging. Like man. Should I have left you start questioning? Right, okay, did I like? Should I have left at man? Should I have left you start questioning?

Todd Bertsch: 30:40

Right.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 30:41

Okay, did I like? Should I have left at the time that I’ve left? Should I have created an exit plan? You go through all of that Like cause, then you start to learn about what some people do when they’re moving to the next stage. But I would not be the individual that I am right now without making that decision. That I am right now without making that decision, and it’s going to benefit not only me, my family and the world, right, so, like it’s bigger than me.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 31:09

And so that’s why sports are so important. I’m a team sports guy. Like it was bigger than me, scoring 20 points right. I was the point guard, I had to orchestrate the team and let everyone know where to be, and I had to be a coach on the floor and it was always larger than me. And so now I’m taking the lessons that I lived for so long in the athletic world into this life world, and it’s the same thing, just a different way of expressing it.

Todd Bertsch: 31:34

Yeah, and you’ll be able to amplify everything that you’re doing. That’s what I love and that’s why I love about the podcast being able to have a really important message that you’re passionate about, but being able to just touch and reach so many people.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 31:49

Right, yeah, yeah, that’s cool. So this is an exciting year, yeah.

Todd Bertsch: 31:54

Well, you know, nothing great happens easy.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 31:59

Right.

Todd Bertsch: 32:00

You have to really get out of your comfort zone, and that’s something that you’ve always done and that’s what I love truly about sports. I played every sport under the sun and, in particular, wrestling right. Team sport, yeah, but it’s solo. It’s just you out on that mat, right, so you’re being pushed to the edge and you’re going to experience failure and you have to get back up literally right, Right On your feet and grow from that. So I love what you’re doing, man.

Todd Bertsch: 32:32

I feel like it’s cool to see 15, 20 years of all this manifest right Come together and to really like you’re well and you’re still young, like there’s so much more that I know you’re going to do and you’re a motivational speaker, behavioral intervention specialist like you do all these different things and I feel, like each one of these things, you’re really pushing yourself to the edge, right To be that, to go into behavioral intervention, right, that’s not easy. These are the kids that most people don’t want to mess with.

Todd Bertsch: 33:08

Absolutely, and I don’t know, if you remember, you’re a little bit younger than me, but when I was in college, one of my senior projects had to take on a company and build a brand, a new identity system, logo, brochure, marketing materials, and I chose the Phoenix program in East Akron?

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 33:27

Absolutely, are you familiar with that?

Todd Bertsch: 33:29

Oh, definitely that was one of my favorites Still one of my favorite logos I’ve ever created. I met a really amazing guy. They were very supportive and loved me coming down and I was interviewing and taking video Really and I’m still learning.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 33:41

Oh yeah, so do you know William Palmer, bo Palmer? He was one of the teachers there. And my dad actually worked at Phoenix for some years as well.

Todd Bertsch: 33:49

Yeah, maybe I met him. It was interesting, but I learned a lot about at-risk youth.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 33:57

Yes.

Todd Bertsch: 33:58

And it was interesting and I sat in on some of the classes and learning why they were there and pulled out of their school to go to this special place. I don’t know, it was interesting man.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 34:08

So, like you said, it’s a why, right, so that’s the thing I specialize in behavior, right, there’s a why behind behavior. It doesn’t mean we’re going to like it all the time. Right, they may display it in ways that are uncomfortable, but it’s communication. Behaviors are trying to tell us something, and these are the conversations that I’m able to have with teachers and principals and school districts, right, student behaviors are communicating something to you, and young people don’t always know how to effectively communicate, and so they’ve watched many different people communicate. So there’s a million things. But if you can look past the behavior and I know sometimes it’s really it’s a challenge, right, because the behaviors can be very, very severe.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 34:52

But when those young kids figure out that you really care for them like no matter, regardless of what they’re dealing with and going through, then they open up and you can find out. They’ll tell you what’s going on eventually, right, and the majority of them. I’ve had students that I thought were you know, we connected well and they were going to eventually open up and they did not. But behaviors are communicators and we allow ourselves to be listeners I mean listening, like not interrupting, not judging, just really listening then young people usually will tell us what’s going on and then we just try to find ways to help.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 35:24

And I actually had a former student who actually wasn’t in my class but when I was doing restorative practices I was over the whole building 612, and this girl was in trouble every day and she would get sent to me and we would have conversation. And this summer she told me she said she said you know what she said, mr Smith. She said you always held me accountable, always. She’s like you used to be honest. She was like but the thing that made you different was you always listened.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 35:52

She told me that this summer saw her working down at Bulk Street Fitness Center and she was like man. She was like, and even though I was doing stuff that I wasn’t supposed to, she said you would always listen first, like I will allow them their time to say what they were going to say. I don’t have to agree, and most of the time I did not agree and would let them know like, look, no, this is not the place for that, Right, there’s other ways you could have done it, but I wouldn’t interrupt them. I would let them get it out, let them tell their side, let them speak their piece, and then I would tell them the real. And so that’s what young people. That’s why, in my opinion, my teaching and educational career has been so different, because I genuinely can listen to a young person, see what’s on their mind, what they’re going through, and then move forward, versus just jumping right down into the situation of whatever it is.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 36:45

And sometimes that is needed, Like I understand that, but that’s been my superpower in education.

Todd Bertsch: 36:51

I love it man, and you know what that is I mean. To me that’s coaching.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 36:54

For sure, right For sure.

Todd Bertsch: 36:56

That’s Coach Jojo, but from a teacher’s mindset, right, absolutely. So being an active listener is huge. I mean these kids, nobody will give them the time of day, it’s just really time, right. And again you say it in the book like just give a damn Care. Most of these kids don’t have anybody in their life that cares, right. So they go to school, they’re lashing out for whatever reason to get attention, right, but not in a good way. But if just one person would just take the time let them speak their mind. Like you said, we see this trickle down up all the way through professional workplaces the same thing.

Todd Bertsch: 37:35

Employees really just want to be seen and heard. Yes, but that takes time. Yes, right, and patience and being able to sit back and just being an active listener I mean, most of the time, that’s all they really need. And then, yeah, you can speak your mind afterwards, but that shows people that you care. Right, right, let them. Let them tell their story. So I love it, man, I love that you’re doing your thing and so many people just go into teaching and it’s such a difficult role, especially now.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 38:07

Very challenging.

Todd Bertsch: 38:08

Especially now with phones and social media, and our country where it’s at, and the shootings and oh my God, I couldn’t even imagine. Very very challenging, and then for you to come in and say, look, this is broken, I’m gonna do it my way, kind of whether you like it or not, right, and here’s the proof man, my, the people that I’m seeing.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 38:30

they’re actually changing their mindset, changing their behaviors, becoming productive people in society yeah, like graduating, like we Like we myself and Dr Erica Glover like we increased the graduation rate over a nine-year period by 25%, right, and it was funny because the kids that were in the behavioral class weren’t graduating, right. And then the restorative practice coordinator the suspension rates went down and it was funny because I didn’t really feel like I was being as effective as I wanted to be. And then my seventh grade teacher, who brought me into education, was one of the principals at Book Doe when I was restorative practices coordinator, right. And so she showed me like the data she’s like, no, you’re like being extremely effective, right, and we want you to continue doing what you’re doing. And so it’s interesting because, like me, I’m like thinking I’m going to solve every problem and every issue, that’s that competitive fire.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 39:24

But, you know, when I was able to look at it differently and start hearing teachers and you know, offering the support to them and just seeing it from a different lens, it’s like you know what that journey that you talked about, right, it doesn’t just happen so fast. So that was super imperative in the process of, you know, becoming the educator that I am. But then, like you said, though, honestly, being an educator, I was like you know what I’m not doing it the way that the traditional way, like I’m changing and I’ve just lived with the results because I always had standards to go with my lessons. Like we would read maybe some things that were non-traditional, like the autobiography of Malcolm X. We did that in my class, so technically that wasn’t a part of the curriculum per se, but I can find the English language arts standards that connect to this book and I would go in. So that’s extra work, but it was work that I was willing to do Go in, find out how this connects to standards, so that I can tell the principal or the superintendent or anyone that walks in my room If they walked in like why are you guys reading this?

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 40:24

I would say, well, because we’re working on this, this and this. We’re working on finding the explicit details of chapter two. The explicit details of chapter two we’re looking at. You know how the author is making a point and you know using imagery right to convey a message or whatever the case may be right. I can tell you what we’re working on and so you know I was like you know what if something happens, or if I’m just going to live with it? But I’m going to find a way to make it engaging for my students to enjoy and live with the results, and the results were very positive. So you know you have to make that choice, though to kind of go against the grain, in my opinion.

Todd Bertsch: 41:01

Yeah, absolutely, are you going to?

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 41:02

miss it? So by still being into schools, so I’m just not at one school, okay, right. So I get that question a lot Like do you miss? Like you know I was at my alma mater. You know I get that question a lot Like do you miss? Like you know I was at my alma mater. You know I was at my alma mater for 12 years. It was an amazing time. But to be able to, like I was able to teach a lesson in Africa at a summit, right, like I was able to teach teachers about project based learning, like so I’m still teaching. I’m just not in one classroom with the same students every day. So so I’m not missing it because I feel empowered to be able to travel and do it. Right. So I’m still teaching, just in a different way. It just looks different.

Todd Bertsch: 41:48

Right, okay, awesome, you do a lot of different things. I mean, you’re doing a lot of different things right. We said in the bio and you have two young girls, how? How do you keep a good balance? I’m always interested in how people that are so successful and so I hate to use the word busy but productive like you are, you know, living out your dreams. How do you keep everything in balance?

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 42:09

so I’ll share with a good friend of mine, ronnell blackman. We have these conversations a lot because there really isn’t a balance, right. So, like, when you start to try to find balance, you’re kind of like being unrealistic because certain things require more time. So to think that they’re going to be balanced, you kind of you’re setting yourself up. But a couple of things for me personally, one my wife Right. For me personally, one my wife right. So having a better half right to support me in this has been crazy, crazy impactful in everything.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 42:42

Right, because, like so much that I was given to the community, if my wife former athlete right played basketball as well and if she didn’t understand everything from the perspective that she had, I don’t think it would have been able to work the way that it’s worked. So, definitely my wife. But family is absolutely first for me, like, especially the people who live my immediate family, who live in my house, right. So leadership is lonely, is what I tell young people and like. So you hear all these things that I’m involved in, but I guess literally those things in my family. So in my 20s, in my early college days and in the 20s, like, I enjoyed life but I got to the point where I knew what I valued. And so it’s not hard when those are the two things that I have Right, like literally people you know, people see me doing all this stuff, but like it’s my family and what they have going on, and then these things they’re like literally that’s what I do and so that’s my happy place and I don’t feel like I’m missing out on anything, like I don’t need to be out and going out and doing things, and no knock on those who enjoy that. But for me, like that’s number one, like so everything that my kids have, like I was blessed even when I was teaching, so my day would end and I was able to pick them up from school. So not only pick them up but then help them with homework and be there and like be that presence for them that they need, because young people need time. So, really, honestly, because all the things that I’m involved in and my family, like literally those are my focus areas, so that’s how I’m able to make it work, because other things don’t.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 44:20

And so now, as my kids have gotten older too, I’ve had to push certain things to the side, like I literally will have this conversation with myself, like, hold on, my oldest has this. I’ll give you an example where I’m living right now, my oldest is playing for her school and they had a coach, Right, and so that was perfect. And so, since they had a coach, I agreed to coach a third grade group of ladies first girls, because there were some new girls, we didn’t have a coach. I was like I’ll coach this group because I didn’t have to coach my daughter Two weeks before my daughter’s season started, the coach that they had took a job that that interfered with their practice schedule. So then like called me, like hey, can you coach this team? And it’s my kid, right, so I can’t say no or I could, but like, whatever, I’m not going to right. And so it conflicted with this third grade group that I already made a commitment to, and I’m a man of my word if I make a commitment, then I’m going to stick with it. However, I just went to the parents and I said so before of my word, if I make a commitment, then I’m going to stick with it. However, I just went to the parents and I said so. Before I went to the parents, I had to have a conversation with myself. I’m like there’s no way that I can not go to my child’s practice to go coach other children. That cannot happen. That will not happen for me. So I had a conversation with the parents like, hey, we have two days of practice. This other day conflicts with my child in another situation that I kind of was put into, and so if any of you want to run practice this day, we get a couple of people to step up and help. You know I can help them with the plan. We have practice plans and things I can show them. If not, that’s fine, we’re only going to go one day, but I’m going to my kids first. So those are the type of decisions that I’m making, because my kids are absolutely first and then doing what I do second. So for me, like literally, it’s those two things. So like, if you’re looking at like a scale, they balance each other right, because those are my focus areas and nothing is getting in the way. So that’s how I personally do it. Yeah, no, I love it.

Todd Bertsch: 46:11

So that’s how I personally do it. Yeah, no, I love it, and I think you know I have an episode I released last month about redefining success and I think for you, like, you’ve defined it right. So the balance is just being in alignment with what’s important in your life, yep.

Todd Bertsch: 46:28

And I’m the same way. You know family first, and we say that here at Evolve. You know in terms of an organization, and we say that here at Evolve, you know in terms of an organization and we mean it, like I don’t want to miss any events, I don’t want to have any regrets.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 46:39

Right.

Todd Bertsch: 46:40

And but I do make sure I take care of myself. Right, I give my. We all need our own time. And my wife is great. I have a great foundation. I think that’s incredibly important to be as active as you and I are in doing the things and living out our dreams. Right, we need to have that great support and foundational system, but we got to take care of ourselves, right, you know. So I’m in the gym, I’m doing meditation and my wife knows like that I need that time.

Todd Bertsch: 47:08

It could be just a half hour a day, but I need my own time too, so I think that’s really important and a piece that a lot of people miss out. When we have kids, it’s all about our kids Give, give, give and that’s great, right. I want to give and a lot of us want to give what we didn’t have, but you still have to make time.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 47:28

That was me, though I didn’t do a good job of that of taking care of me Right, like once I had kids, like I was neglecting myself.

Todd Bertsch: 47:35

Right.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 47:35

You know, and not really realizing it, because I’m such a giver that had to really like make my time as well. So that’s been a focus area for me as well for the last you know, like three or four years, like intentional, before I would take some time, some.

Todd Bertsch: 47:51

Right.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 47:58

But now I absolutely take time for myself, and I needed that to be the best version of me. You have to take care of yourself first.

Todd Bertsch: 48:01

So that’s very important. Yeah, Jojo, this has been great man. We’ve talked about a lot, but I want to talk about this book.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 48:08

Okay.

Todd Bertsch: 48:09

Three-time author, so you’re big on literacy. Everybody that knows you knows that You’ve written three books. Your kids are now authors which is. I just love that. That is amazing. This book here, the Seven Secrets for Beating Educator Burnouts and you wrote this during COVID.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 48:28

No, I wrote that after COVID. It was like 2021 to 2023, like kind of over those two years.

Todd Bertsch: 48:37

Right, but it’s a lot about COVID and the effects of COVID. This is a great book, by the way, and I highly recommend anybody pick it up because it’s definitely kind of focused on teachers and people in the educational system. But honestly, I kind of felt like this was a book on leadership.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 48:56

Okay, right, I don’t know if you if you agree.

Todd Bertsch: 48:58

And I went through and you had me on page five when you started talking about mindset. I’m like, all right, here we go, and it is right and I and I love.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 49:07

Put the medicine in the candy is what my coach tells me.

Todd Bertsch: 49:11

Right. I mean you gotta, you gotta have a different mindset, and I love the 10,. You know you have these 10 action steps for changing your mindset.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 49:19

Right.

Todd Bertsch: 49:19

But bringing that into the educational system. But I think anybody can pick up this book and it’s a great, great read and there’s a lot of takeaways in this Anything that you want to say about.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 49:31

So two things I’ll talk about, two secrets that are very important, that I think that, like you said, translate to any world.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 49:38

And so one is being vulnerable because we all have a story and so that’s the thing, right, I would share my.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 49:46

We started off every year with our failures, like struggles that we had with our students who were considered failures.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 49:52

So these students have been hearing that they’ve been failures all of their lives, and so for us to come in at the beginning of school and they’re wondering, like you know who are we, and maybe they don’t know us yet, and you know we have conversations with them and we introduce ourselves with failures and things that we’ve experienced, and so they’re looking at us like man, that really happened, like whoa, like that happened to you, so instantly they put their guard down. So one of the secrets talks about being vulnerable, because you have to be vulnerable enough to share some of the things that you experience, because you know kids look at teachers as if we’re not human and they don’t make mistakes, and like we’re perfect. So being vulnerable enough to share with them not only some things that happen but, as you’re living too, like some things that may be happening to you and you don’t have to go into grave detail all the time. Right, you have to have some type of discretion as to how much you’ll share.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 50:41

Right, but let them know that you’re a person too, you’re going through some things, and so kids love to hear that. So being vulnerable is one of the secrets. So that is very, very important. And then another one is like including them, like am I included? Is what the book says, and so so many times we don’t include young people. We make decisions for them and I get it. We’re adults, we have more experiences. Like I’m not saying that that shouldn’t happen. However, like allowing them to be part of the decision is very, very important. And so, just real quick, I’ll tell the story that’s in the book of cell phones. Like I really didn’t have a cell phone problem when I was in the schools because, like I tried to make sure like it was engaging every day and they were a part of it. But I had one class that just we just were just butting heads on this cell phone issue.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 51:31

And so we would have family meetings, right, talk about in the book, like look, all right, we got to have, we got to talk because something’s not working right.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 51:38

And I had the way that I felt like the school day should go in my classroom and they felt like something else should be added, and I didn’t agree with them. But I listened to them and I said you know what I can bend on that? Because all it was what I can bend on that, because all it was was I didn’t want to give them a warning when my rules already stated what they stated. So I’m like, why give a warning when the rules say this? But like, is that that much of a deal breaker? So then they’re like well, can you give us a warning first before? Like you want to take our phones?

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 52:08

I had a phone box and if so it was supposed to be, if I see you with your phone out, you gotta put it in the box. I didn’t want it, they just had to put it away in the box. They felt like they should get a warning first, then the box, and I didn’t agree. But I bent to that. You know what it was their suggestion. I said, okay, we’re going to all agree to it. We did.

Todd Bertsch: 52:34

And literally it went from that small change that went from me having to say something to them, policing it, because they were part of the solution. They were part of it, right? Isn’t that funny? It was amazing.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 52:39

Like literally changed everything. Like if I had to say something they would get on each other Like just go put your phone in the box, right? So just including them in something that small literally changed that entire class. No more cell phone issues for the rest of the year.

Todd Bertsch: 52:54

That’s crazy.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 52:54

So like you have to, include young people in my opinion. So those are, you know, two of the things in the book that really, you know jump out for me and, you know, can allow people to just be great and, like you said, that goes. That’s just leadership, right.

Todd Bertsch: 53:07

I mean, teachers are leaders, yeah Right, and they’re leading, teaching our future leaders For sure. So well, this has been awesome, man. I appreciate you and everything you’re doing. If you have one last thing. Mic drop of a comment quote that you want to leave. What would that be?

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 53:23

Definitely, frederick Douglass. No struggle, no progress. Right, if you’re struggling, it’s shaping you. So no struggle, no progress, frederick Douglass.

Todd Bertsch: 53:33

Awesome, I am possible.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 53:35

Yes, it’s right there on the shirt.

Todd Bertsch: 53:37

Yes, I love that name. That is one of the best names you can have for an organization.

Kenneth “Coach Jo-Jo” Smith: 53:42

Thanks, man, I appreciate this. This was good, this was really good.

Todd Bertsch: 53:50

Thank you for listening to this episode of the Bolt Podcast. You’re on an inspiring journey of growth, transformation and joy, and I’m honored to be a part of it. If you found this episode valuable, please like share it with your friends and consider leaving a review. It means the world to us For show notes, resources and to subscribe to the weekly Motivational Monday newsletter. Please visit toddbertsch.com and don’t forget to follow us on social media at the Bolt with Todd B, for more inspiration. Remember, real change doesn’t happen overnight. Folks Start small, stay consistent and watch as your growth unfolds. See you next time.

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EPISODE SUMMARY

Coach Jojo Smith shares his inspiring journey from professional basketball to becoming an educator and advocate, emphasizing the transformative power of resilience, mentorship, and education. Through his non-profit, Ladies First Akron, Coach Jojo empowers young women to develop life skills and leadership through sports. He opens up about the importance of vulnerability in connecting with students, innovative techniques for engaging youth, and the challenges of balancing personal and professional aspirations. Tune in for an uplifting discussion on growth, transformation, and the future of accessible education.

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