Syracuse University Hall of Famer Becomes an Author
8/7/2009 9:26:33 AM | Women's Basketball
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Former Syracuse University Women's Basketball Scholar-Athlete, Newhouse School of Public Communications alumna and Syracuse University Orange Plus Hall of Fame Inductee Vera Jones released her first book, Play Through the Foul – Basketball Lessons for the Game of Life on her birthday, July 24th.
“Finally becoming a published Author! To me, giving birth to a new book and concept that might positively impact people's lives is truly something to celebrate,” Jones said.
As the author of Play Through the Foul - Basketball Lessons for the Game of Life, Jones draws from her personal and professional experiences using basketball anecdotes to help inspire and coach readers through the fouls of adversity. This personal memoir offers real world perspectives and strategies for pursuing life with the purpose and drive to be a winner.
For more than two decades Jones has been inspiring audiences around the world as a motivational speaker and now in the same light hopes to inspire her readers to take action on the faith that their goals are attainable, dreams are achievable, and life's experiences are all purposeful. She's patented the phrase “The closer you get to the goal, the harder the foul….so Play Through the Foul” as her stamp of belief and encouragement that in times of adversity, life's victories may be closer than we realize.
Play Through the Foul™ Team Building and Communication Training Vera Jones is the President of Vera's VoiceWorks, LLC, founded in September 2007. Concerned about the interpersonal struggles and lack of productivity she believes so many of us encounter in the workplace, and particularly in sports, she researched, developed, and in March of 2009 launched Play Through the Foul™ Team Building and Communication Training.
The workshops are specifically designed to provide winning team building and communication solutions for athletic teams, business organizations and community groups across the country. Drawing upon concepts and principles from the book of the same title, “Communication Coach” Vera Jones seeks to help teams and individuals overcome the interpersonal “fouls” of communicating and relating effectively to one another. In June, the Play Through the Foul™ concept went global when Vera's VoiceWorks, LLC joined forces overseas in Japan with Operation Purple to conduct a motivational summer basketball camp for U.S. Military children. The event was held at Camp Zama, Japan and was sponsored by the National Military Family Association along with the Boys & Girls Club of America to offer carefree fun and additional tools to help children deal with the stress of having a parent deployed.
About the Author
Vera Jones graduated in 1988 from Syracuse University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Broadcast Journalism and earned a Master's degree in Television and Radio in 1991. Having helped to lead the Orangewomen Basketball Team to two Big East Championships and two NCAA Tournament bids, Jones was also named the Big East Conference Scholar Athlete of the Year in 1988. In 2002 she was inducted into the Syracuse University Orange Plus Hall of Fame.
Professionally Vera Jones is most widely known for her extensive background in broadcasting, including serving as a Women's Basketball Analyst and Reporter for ESPN's NCAA and WNBA broadcasts from 1997-2003.
She has also been a freelance analyst with Fox Sports. Jones has worked extensively as a WNBA Commentator with Madison Square Garden Network and NBA-TV. She has been an on-air personality at several radio stations from New York to Florida including Syracuse's legendary AM 1490 WOLF, WJPZ 89.1-FM and WAER-FM 88. She earned the South Carolina Broadcaster's Association "Personality of the Year" in 1994. Jones served as an Assistant Women's Basketball Coach at the University of Dayton from
2004-2006 and at Indiana University for one season (2006-2007) alongside Syracuse University college teammate and current Indiana University Head Coach Felisha Legette-Jack. In 2008, Jones was honored with a National Girls and Women in Sports Lifetime Achievement Award in East Chicago, IN.
She currently spends the NCAA Women's Basketball season broadcasting for the Big Ten Network in Chicago.
Play Through the Foul - Basketball Lessons for the Game of Life is being published by VoiceWorks Media. Early orders for the book and additional information about Vera Jones are available at http://www.verasvoiceworks.com . For media interviews please contact Charlotte Cudd at PR@verasvoiceworks.com or call (904) 253-3363.
