|
Jim Basketball Jones is one of the most demanded Youth Motivational / Educational Speakers in the country. He has 13 years experience of Public Speaking with over 4,000 paid presentations. He uses a unique multi-sensory presentation style that increases audience retention and enjoyment. His audience experiences his motivational message by Hearing it, Seeing it and Doing it.
Jim has an undergraduate degree in Finance from Bowling Green State University where he graduated as the Outstanding Graduating Senior from the College of Business and has his MBA from The Ohio State University. Jim was also diagnosed with dyslexia in kindergarten, a disability that he has used as a reason to work harder and be successful, instead of an excuse to fail. His positive attitude and determination along with his passion for excellence has been the primary reason why so many organizations request Jim to present to their students. Jim will help your students to reach higher and live life with purpose and integrity.
Jim Basketball Jones is available for:
- College Presentations
- Orientation
- Lectures (any time of the year)
- Welcome back
- Athletic and Club events
- Greek Sponsored Events
- Youth Leadership
- Student Conferences (DECA, SADD, FFA, YEO, JA, etc)
- Student Leadership Gatherings
- Troubled Youth Camps and Institutions
- High School Motivational Talks
- School-wide assembly
- Alternative Schools and Day Treatment Centers
- Academic, Athletic and Club Events
- Student Government Events
- Middle School Assemblies
- Elementary School Assemblies
- Professional Development
Who is Jim Basketball Jones?
When Jim was in kindergarten his teacher diagnosed him with dyslexia and moved him out of regular classes into a special education class. Little did Jim then know that he would spend the next five years with one teacher, Mrs. Bamer, learning the alphabet and how to read. Jim was always slower than the other kids and the other kids treated him like he was “different”. Through these life experiences Jim learned how to communicate with others and to build them up so that everyone is successful, a skill that he shares in his school assemblies.
Jim entered his senior year of high school reading at the second grade level. Eleven years in Special Education didn’t solve his Dyslexia and, therefore, his reading problem. Not willing to give up and always believing in his future success, Jim relied on his mom to read to him to keep up with his high school classes. Having the strength to accept help, Jim found one teacher, Mrs. Irene Schuster, that would double his reading rate in one school year. She also taught him how to breakdown studying and use his reading rate as an advantage instead of a liability. With Jim’s positive mindset and the fundamental principles he picked up from Mrs. Schuster, Jim broke down his classwork into manageable segments and successfully finished high school. Jim’s passion for learning and his powerful determination made the choice to go to college easy. However, his ACT scores made getting into college a challenge. But achievement test like the ACT can never test a person’s heart or drive to be successful. Jim made it into Bowling Green State University on his GPA and made a plan as to how he would tackle his studies with a 150 words per minute reading rate. He accepted his reading issue, but would not allow it to be an excuse or a reason to fail. He knew how many words he read a minute and new that each class required one chapter of reading per week, so he counted how many words where in an average chapter. On average, he should be able to finish a chapter in four hours and he had 5 classes. So, he planned when and where he would read 20 hours per week to keep up with his classes. With a strategic studying method and his positive mind set, Jim excelled in his college classes even with his disability. He ended up graduating with honors and was awarded the Outstanding Graduating Senior Award from The College of Business at Bowling Green State University.
Highlights of Jim’s Youth and Educational Background
- Diagnosed with dyslexia - - 1st grade
- Made it to regular classes for half days -- 6th grade
- Learn to spin a basketball -- 6th grade
- First Show, Troy Middle School Talent Show-- 7th grade
- Performed for Cleveland Cavaliers NBA -- 10th grade
- Mom started reading to Jim to keep up with school -- 10th grade
- Introduced to Church -- Nancy Sobol, neighbor
- Recruited classmates to perform for the handicapped and elderly
- Started First Business -- 11th Grade
- Created, organized and lead first Youth Basketball Drill Team in Avon Lake, OH
- Enrolled in Bowling Green State University
- Pledge Class President -- Kappa Sigma Fraternity
- Phi Eta Sigma Freshman Honorary -- Treasurer
- Beta Gamma Sigma National Honorary -- Inductee
- Orientation Leader
- Dean’s Advisory Council -- Finance Dept’s Representative
- Board of Appeals, College of Business -- Student Representative
- Entrepreneurship Unlimited -- President
- Started second business -- Junior and Senior year
- Club Volleyball -- Player
- Outstanding Finance Student Award
- Wall Street Journal Award
- Outstanding Graduating Senior -- College of Business
- Accepted one of the five job offers his senior year
- MBA from The Ohio State University
|
