Coaches and management

---

Denise serves as the Director of Operations at Hoops4Health, where she plays a pivotal role in the organization’s success. Her multifaceted responsibilities include supporting staff, ensuring smooth and efficient day-to-day operations, and providing exceptional customer service.  Denise is instrumental in fostering a positive environment and driving the operational excellence that defines Hoops4Health.

Denise brings over 20 years of management experience to her role at Hoops4Health. Her extensive background includes previous experience as the Director of Operations, where she honed her skills in leadership and strategic planning. Denise's wealth of knowledge and expertise makes her an invaluable asset to the team.

In addition to her professional experience, Denise holds a bachelor's degree in healthcare administration and a master's degree in management/human resources management from the University of Phoenix.  Her educational background has equipped her with a deep understanding of business and operational management, allowing her to adeptly oversee and support the diverse needs of the organization.

Beyond her civilian career, Denise has a distinguished record of military service.  She proudly served in the United States military, both in the Marine Corps and the Army Air National Guard.  her military background instilled in her a strong sense of discipline, dedication, and leadership - qualities that she brings to her role at Hoops4Health every day.

Denise's commitment to excellence, combined with her extensive experience and diverse skillset, ensures that Hoops4Health operates at the highest level of efficiency and effectiveness.

Email: support@hoops4health.com

Coach Martin Freeman has been a fixture in youth basketball for over 20 years. He has coached numerous middle school teams at North Shore Country Day School where he was the P.E. teacher for 15 years. Martin has coached local travel teams, trained, and worked camps and clinics throughout the North Shore. He is a leader of our Little Ballers programming and is instrumental in building a solid foundation for youth players. He focuses on building teamwork, defense, and understanding of the fundamentals. Martin is also our head referee/developer of our 3 on 3 League. 

Martin was a fomer All conference and All state honors for baseball in "86" & "87. He was also a Two-year Varsity Basketball player at Evanston "86" and "87". Went downstate with the 1986 Evanston team.

Coach Johnathan's philosophy reflects the genuine passion he has for the sport which is a commitment to excellence, and a desire to make a positive impact on the lives of all athletes. He provides decision-making skills, helps build strong relationships with teammates , and ensures a balanced and holistic approach to coaching.

He's played basketball since the age of 6 on high levels in the city of Chicago.  Attended Jensen Academy where he was coached by former NBA player Kevin Porter and played AAU basketball for well know coach in in Chicago, Ms. Foster. He attended Manley Career Academy where in his Freshman year averaged 11 assists a game and sophomore year went undefeated that season with averaging a double double a game.

Over his entire high school career he averaged 12 assists a game which lead to multiple college offer from school such as University Of Florida, Chicago State, Eastern Illinois, Illinois State university, Western University Northern Illinois University. Despite an injury his senior year which hurt recruiting he pushed through the adversity. Still committing to play D1 basketball at Northern Illinois. Playing at NIU Jonathan found that he had a  great passion and love for not only playing but teaching the game of basketball assuring teammates success. His knowledge for the game grew.  The last 4 years he has helped numerous players develop while coaching travel basketball and training. His training and mentoring has helped many players make all levels of teams and exceed their basketball goals. 

Coach Adam Bulwa values hard work and fundamentals.  He believes that each player should have fun and enjoy the process of getting better.  He came through the Hoops4Health program as a player and now is passing along valuable knowledge of the game to the youth.  His story is an inspirational story in which he was cut twice from the New Trier team but through hard work eventually made it as a senior. His basketall journey did not stop there. He played sparingly as a senior but continued to persevere. After great performances on the travel circuit he caught the eyes of many college coaches. He went on to play college basketball at North Park University where he became a integral part of the team and eventually a starter. He is excited to help grow the game of the next generation of players. 

Adam has been involved with coaching over the past 20 years from youth level through high school. Adam was a 2-year varsity starter for Waubonsie Valley High School in Aurora, IL and went down state for 3-point contest in his senior year. He continued his playing career at Division III Aurora University where he was named All Conference and led his team to the school's first ever NCAA tournament victory in 2003. Adam also played briefly overseas in the KBL (Korean Basketball League). After concluding his playing career, Adam was hired as Asst. Sophomore coach at Marmion High School for the 2008-09 season. He furthered his coaching career at Frances Xavier Warde School  in downtown Chicago where he's been Program Director for 4th thru 6th grade boys basketball for the past 7 seasons. Adam has also coached for other travel programs in the Chicago area such as Swish and Phoenix. He stresses the importance of fundamentals, preparation and teamwork as well as the value of hard work and competing to the best of your abilities.​ 

Coach Rashid Smith is a seasoned coach with over 20 years of coaching experience. Born in Alexandria, Louisiana, Smith played high school basketball at powerhouse Peabody Magnet High School where he garnered All State accolades, a McDonald's American Nomination, a State Title and Finals MVP his senior campaign under the tutelage of the Hall of Fame Coach Charles Smith (no relation). This led him to a full ride at Rice University where as team captain he led the Rice Owls to its first postseason berth in 30 years while leading the Western Athletic Conference in steals, assists, assist-to-turnover ratio and three-point percentage from the point guard position. 

Those Rice connections led him to Chicago where he served as Director of RMG Hoops from 2005-2013. During that time he has coached and mentored dozens of college players and high school standouts. In 2012 he took the reins of North Shore Country Day School as its Varsity head Coach leading that squad to its first ever Final Four appearance and first Conference Championship. Smith has remained at the helm of that program ever since winning multiple Regional and Sectional titles during his tenure. 

One of his highlights includes taking a group of Independent School League All Conference Players on an east coast college recruiting visit in which players put their talents on full display for over 100 coaches. Some notable stops included West Point, Lafayette, Dartmouth, Columbia, NYU and nearly all of the NESCAC conference schools. 

Coach Smith continues training and coaching student athletes where his philosophy includes coaching the whole player. Smith believes in ball movement, spacing and pacing. This style has allowed his players to play with confidence and discipline. As a point guard, he knows the importance of thinking the game and sharing the rock where all players can thrive. 

Coach Lazenby focuses his style of coaching and teaching the game of basketball on encouragement and positivity. He believes that no matter what an individual player's experience or skill level may be, that they have the ability to make an impact on their team. His teams will always play with a defense first mentality, and on offense, the aim will be to play with pace and move and share the basketball. Currently aside from coaching, and being the 3 on 3 League manager Michael is the assistant varsity coach at St. Viator High School.

Coach J will hold her players accountable for their attitude off/on the court, practice habits, being a good teammate and setting the example of what a leader does. She is a believer of "Tough love." Tough as in the team not worrying about what the ref calls. The team will work hard every practice. They will make each other better every game/practice. Coach J loves to have fun all the time but we work hard at the same time. She has been coaching for over 15 years. 

    Coach J started playing basketball at the age of 6 and developed a passion for the game since day 1. Coach J played varsity for her high school all 4 years. Her senior year she was invited and played in Junior Nationals; where she played some of the best girls in the United States. It was here where coach J got a reality check about school and how grades are super important. Because ever since middle school her teachers would let her skip assignments and reports because of who she was (on the basketball court)and during her senior year at Junior Nationals the University of Wisconsin coach and Illinois State University coach told Coach J that they would love to off her a scholarship but her G.P.A was way too low. 

    This is why Coach J is a serious advocate of going to school and getting good grades. She did a 180° turn in College. She had to red shirt her first year to get her G.P.A. up and it never went down again. In fact she earned a scholarship to Loyola University Chicago but only went for 3 months before she had to leave to help her family. Coach J played all 4 years in College and then received an invite to the WNBA Combine. She chose to teach kids the game of basketball in the state she loved and around people she can network with. Coach J was the Sports and Leagues Supervisor for the JCC-Flossmoor where she coached 3 boys basketball travel teams and 1 girls basketball team. She is ISHA (Illinois High School Association) certified. Has coached in Chicago high school charter as head coach varsity girls basketball. And she was recently awarded "Coach of the Year" in Northbrook when she coached her sons' basketball team. 

Coach Williams has over 15 years experience coaching at the grassroots level. Coach Williams has coached, trained, and assisted in the development of several players who have gone on to play at the collegiate and professional levels. Coach Williams values work ethic and discipline on and off the basketball court, believing that success is synonymous with those traits. Coach Williams is a former Division 1 athlete and briefly played semi-pro basketball before joining the coaching ranks.

 Coach Devin Thompson believes basketball is the truest essence of competition and teamwork. In addition, basketball is a great tool to teach young men about life and manhood. There are not many classes available to students that can take the theoretical, as well as the practical and experience success and failure then learn from it. It is through sports that a young man can experience the triumphs and tribulations present in everyday adulthood. This training prepares players to handle difficult situations as well as those that require persistence, patience, self-discipline and hard work.

Coach Devin has over 10 years of coaching experience on different levels from 14u AAU to now coaching on the Varisty level high school basketball for the last 4 years as Romeoville assistant coach. Coach Devin has had the opportunity to coach/mentor multiple collegiate athletes and plans to continue that throughout the rest of his career. 

Coach Devin believes a team that stresses defense tends to get more wins. Aggressive on the ball pressure is important to causing turnovers equal to transition baskets on offense. Offensively Coach is all about “Sharing the sugar “, spacing , and teaching the kids how to read and react to the defense and always looking for the best shot. If you treat the game right, the game of basketball will treat you right!! 

Coach Jeremy has coached with Hoops4Health for over 10 Years. He has helped develop hundreds of players over the years. He has also been instrumental in helping high school players with the recruiting process and has had numerous players go on to play college basketball. He believes in teaching game situations and building basketball IQ. As well, he teaches about work ethic and understanding how to play with a high motor. Jeremy believes defense wins games and is great at developing a defensive mindset in his players. Jeremy has vast knowledge of the game and has played at D1 college level as well professionally. His son's Jeremy Jr. is  a McDonalds All-American and Michigan State recruit and Jeremiah is a top 30 ESPN Nationally ranked player. Both children have developed throughout the Hoops4Health program from a young age. 

Keegan's focus is to build a positive and empowering environment for my players. This occurs by challenging his players to constantly improve their weaknesses and grow from their mistakes. He believes this occurs by building confidence through communication and skill development. He builds players through small sided games, constant read and react drills, and relevant skills that will actually translate to a real game scenario. Focus is on pushing the ball in transition and play free, but in the half court be patient and have his players be able to read and play off of each other through various actions. Defensively his focus is on his players growing into better one on one defenders by heavy pressure, communication, and energy. He strives players to learn how to play in a team first environment, improve their basketball IQ, and find enjoyment in their own development. Keegan is the current Head Sophomore Boys Basketball Coach at Plainfield South High School. Keegan played college player at Benedictine University where he helped his team become a 2x Conference Champion. Former 4 Year Varsity Starter at Minooka HS he attained numerous accolades. 

Coach Evans is a faith driven individual who prioritizes growth and development for any youth who desires to become better on and off the court. His focal points on the court are fundamentals, skill work and anything that translates to game factoring decisions. Personal development is a big part of his coaching philosophy and a big part of who he is. Things he emphasizes on are accountability, communication and respect. One of his favorite quotes is "An amateur practices until they get it right; a professional practices until they can't get it wrong" - Julie Andrews

Khaleel is Joliet, IL native who played High school basketball and ran Track and Field at Joliet West from 2011-2015. He is the current Head Sophomore Boys Basketball Coach at Joliet Catholic Academy

After High school he joined the Military for 3.5 Years traveling the world but still staying close to the sport of basketball. Post Military he played 1 year of Semi-Pro Ball and 1 year playing at North Central College. He also obtained his NASM (National Academy of Sports Medicine) License where he instructs fitness classes and performs personal training for clients. His fitness training is for specific sport or getting in shape, whether it is gaining strength, agility or even losing weight. 

Coach Devon Friend believes that every individual embodies greatness. And therefore, he strives to help every player reach their full potential. He is approach is hands on so he is not going to just verbally tell the proper way of doing something, but he believes in physically going through the steps with the players to ensure they have a clear understanding. He personally knows the dedication and hard work that is needed for a player to be successful. So, he does not just demand 100% from each player but he gives 100%. He is dedicated to helping others walk towards their purpose and achieve their very own level of success. 

Coach Devon started playing basketball in 6th grade. However, 8th grade is when things started changing for Coach Devon. Once he got into high school as a first-year student, he found himself automatically playing on the varsity stage. From there he was ranked within the top 15 players all through high

school. He was also All Tournament team throughout his high school career and was even a McDonald All American Nominee. He received offers from Purdue, Iowa, Indiana, Wisconsin amongst others in both the Big-Ten and Big East conferences. He verbally committed to the University of Wisconsin at the age of 15. His junior year of high school he was picked to go over to Italy to play for a USA sophomore team.

Unfortunately, there was a volcanic eruption in Iceland which caused widespread disruption and the trip had to be cancelled. Instead of going to UW, Coach Devon ended up playing his first year of college at Bradley University. He would also go on to play for the State College of Florida (a division 1 juco) and then Chicago State. If asked Coach Devon would tell you that he was always blessed to have basketball in

his life. It was the catalyst that opened the door for him to play at both the high school and collegiate levels. Basketball has allowed him to have the opportunity to travel and meet many terrific people, which he says is one of the greatest things that has happened. He also says that he has been fortunate to have been trained by some of the best. Crediting his dad as his top trainer. He would join his dad in forming Newseason7 in 2019 focusing on basketball training and development. (although they were training

before that) They have trained players of all levels from elementary to professional. Coach Devon has also had the pleasure of coaching at the AAU level. And was also an assistant coach for the Romeoville girls’ varsity team.