Sisters Challenge Themselves to Publish Books | Here's What Happened

Discover how one family combines sports, writing, and education to inspire young learners and parents alike. In this episode, Coach JoJo and his daughters Camille and Cameron share their stories of passion, resilience, and goal-setting that can motivate anyone to pursue their dreams.


Family of Influencers: Journey of Teaching, Writing, and Sports Success
Discover how one family combines sports, writing, and education to inspire young learners and parents alike. In this episode, Coach JoJo and his daughters Camille and Cameron share their stories of passion, resilience, and goal-setting that can motivate anyone to pursue their dreams.

Get Coach Kenny's Curriculum:
Clutch DNA - https://www.clutchdna.com
Lofi Phonics Music Program -  https://lofiphonics.com

Resources:

Coach JoJo – LinkedIn | Instagram
Camille Smith – Instagram
Cameron Smith – Twitter

Family of Influencers: Journey of Teaching, Writing, and Sports Success

Transcript

0:08

Welcome to another episode of the falling for learning podcast we have special guests we have a family that is setting goals making those goals happen We have coach Jojo and his two daughters Cameron Smith and Camille Smith who are both authors themselves and we're gonna talk about their journey in sports and their journey as writers their dad, Coach Jojo, is a teacher education consultant, and he is a coach and author himself. So this is a family that is writing together, doing sports together, and this is what this show is all about. Falling for Learning podcast is to help parents and educators get their kids on track for learning and to stay on track for success. And that's through ups and downs and everything. And that's what they will talk about on our show today. Thanks for joining us, Coach JoJo and Hall of Fame authors, Camille and Cameron Smith. Thank you for having us. Yes, for sure. Thank you. We appreciate it. I'm so excited to have you guys. This is my first like family of people, know, three people from one family on the show. So we're so glad to have you. It's always just such an honor to talk to young people about their journey, them actually setting goals and achieving goals at such an early age. So that's wonderful. Now we're gonna start with Coach JoJo for a moment. We always talk to everyone about what makes them fall in love with learning as a child. What made you as a young person fall in love with learning coach JoJo. Ooh, man, as a young person, ah I guess I've always had this inner fire of wanting to know. And so I don't like not knowing things. And so that within itself made me be hungry to just want to constantly learn. And it was a lot of different things from sports to school to just in my neighborhood and navigating that, like everything. I want to know. I don't like not knowing, so I guess to answer your question, it's just me. I want to know things. Wonderful. And how does that curiosity fuel like your different activities that you did in school and in sports? We know that you're a coach as well and a sport, you know, you were an a student athlete at some point. absolutely. So it started off watching my father. So I come from a sports family. My dad played basketball. He's in the Hall of Fame at Central State University, HBCU. And um I watched him come back and he did a basketball league in memory of Gus Johnson, who's an NBA Hall of Famer. My dad and his brother were really good friends. And so for 33 years, my dad had like the premier outside basketball league in Akron, Ohio. And so just being a kid and watching that, and then my dad coached a lot and he helped a lot of young people. So it was a natural progression for me because I was always around it. And I knew I was going to help using sports in some way, shape or fashion, but I didn't know that it would be where I am right now. And so me, I I played every sport growing up, not every, but I played a lot of sports, football, basketball, baseball, a boat. And so by just doing sports and being competitive, I'm ultimately, I'm very, very competitive. And so all of that shaped who I am when I was able to play in high school, I was able to play in college, I was able to go to South America and the Middle East, so I had experience of basketball taking me around the world. So all of those experiences uh blended together created who I am today. Wonderful, that's awesome. So Cameron and Camille will talk to you. So Cameron, can you tell us how old you are? 10. Okay and Camille. 13. Okay, so we know that both of you guys have your own books. So Cameron, can you tell us the two books that you have written? So my first book is called Be Free, Just Do It Your Way. And it's about how like you should be yourself and you shouldn't be mad for who you are. And my second book is called A Race to Remember My Story of Setting a School Record. Wow. So tell us about your school record. So um I ran across country and one of my races that I did, I didn't know it until my banquet, but one of my races, I broke the record, the school record. wow. Tell us about how long that event was. I like how long was it? A mile, two miles? Like what was the length? Okay. Okay. All right. And so you broke your school record and you, in the book, you kind of tell us about your journey. Did you have some setbacks as you were uh working towards this goal? There are a few challenges like. had to kind of figure out how to like get through those challenges. They were uh like... like pushing myself at the end and like go at my hardest. All right. So I'm sure you're in inspiration and people need to get, you know, go into the show notes and look at that link and get the book because we want to know more about what it's like to set those goals and some challenges that Cameron was facing. Okay. And your first, you, so you had the one about setting the goals and your other book. Tell us about that one again. My other book talks about how I'm being myself. Oh, love that, right? Self-identity, and that's something that we all struggle with from time to time, even as adults sometimes. All right, thank you so much. Camille, can you tell us about, you your books that you have? Yes, so my first book is called Girls Fall Down Sometimes and it's about how like when you fall you should always get back up and stuff and then my second book is called Switching Up My Hair and it's about how you should love your hair no matter how it's styled. Wow, you both have such inspiring stories, such amazing books, like the messages in your books, I'm sure are going to resonate with people like right now, young people, even older people. So thank you so much for having these gifts of books. So can you tell me a little bit, Cameron, about what inspired you to write these books? What made you want to write it down? So I saw my dad and my sister writing books and it looked fun just having something to do during the day. So I decided, well, and I like to read and write. And so I decided to make a story of my own. I love that. I love that. And how'd you come up with the topic of like being yourself? A lot of people like... feel embarrassed when they're being themselves. So I wanted to write a book about how I'm being myself and like it's okay to be yourself. Yes, embracing yourself for your unique qualities. I love that. Okay. And Camille, can you tell us more about uh what inspired you to write the book and where you see that you're inspiring your younger sister, which is so, is, you know, it's so great. So my dad also inspired me to write my book and like when he was writing his first book I would like watch what he was doing and it seemed like pretty cool and it was something that I wanted to do especially because of how like I love to read and write so much and so uh I went back to him with my notebook in like the same format how he had it and Then it just went on from there Okay, all right, I love it. So coach Jojo, all right, you're inspiring your daughters, you're inspiring other teachers and educators out there. Can you tell us about your books? Your daughters have both have two books between, they both have their own two books. How many books do you have coach Jojo? So I have a total of five. I have four books and a workbook, but I have five books. And so this book right here, We Love Our Daddy, that was the first book that started everything off. And so I had written it as a teacher. This is the time I was in the classroom and I had already written the book and I would show my students and my students read it and they're like, they're like, coach, this is good. This is really good. And so I didn't know how to publish a book or what to do next. So. It was a COVID project. Once COVID came, I said I was going to look into publishing a book and actually what you needed to do to be able to do that. So that was, that was how the journey started. And so then I started a business and I'm like, you know, I wrote a book, right? I'm gonna write other children's books is what I was thinking at the time. But then I actually wrote a second book. And so my next book is called I'm Watching. And so that book talks about how kids watch everything they learn through watching. So it doesn't matter what we tell them, it's what they see. And so you can tell them that they should be doing the right thing. But if you're not displaying that to them, then they definitely usually don't follow what they see. And so that book is called I'm Watching. And then it just kind of spiraled from there. And so during that time, though, I was trying to transition in terms of like, what was next in my educational career? I was teaching. I was working with students who were considered behavioral and challenged and all of the labels. And I talked to a mentor and one of my mentors was suggesting that I don't be a principal because they were trying to get me to do that and that I become a principal. I mean that I become an educational consultant. And so I started really thinking about that and I was like, man, I need to write about my life as a teacher. And so that birthed this book, The Seven Secrets for Beating Educator Burnout. Proving Solutions for Educational Wellness. Now this book is the actual, this book was an Amazon number one bestseller and it was number one over Ron Clark's book as well. But really I just put everything that I did, um seven specific steps and um formats that I did when I was in a classroom that made me oh have success, that allowed me to connect with students and that allowed me to. to go beyond burnout and things that I could control, which is the main focus. You have to control what you control. And so that birthed an entire new journey. I started doing professional development for teachers to help them look at burnout differently. And so that's what I've been doing now is climbing in cultural work from that standpoint here. And then all of those previous years of writing curriculum led me to where I am right now, and that's writing curriculum. And so my last two projects are curriculum-based. And that's what I'll be doing for the next, I don't know, however many years. I have a curriculum called Clutch DNA. It's a sport social emotional learning curriculum. It's digital. You can go online and it's subscription based. You have access to PowerPoints and lessons. And this is the workbook actually. So you write about your mental health. And then this one isn't even out yet. So you're like the first to get like this sneak peek of this, the Lo-Fi Phonics. All right. we exclusive here. This right here teaches young people, not just young people, but focuses on young people to use uh music to practice their phonics so that they can really learn the sounds of letters and words and blends and putting it all together. So, so yeah, man, we went from just being a class, not just, but being a classroom teacher to then moving into the consulting world and now the curriculum space. So it's been a been a very uh interesting roller coaster. All right, so we love that. uh how do you become a teacher? Because we talked about you becoming a student athlete and traveling around the world. What was your journey into becoming a teacher? So before I was able to go to South America and the Middle East, I started substitute teaching in my local school district in Akron Public Schools in Akron, Ohio. And I had a very good time. And I didn't even want to do that at first, honestly, but I ended up doing it and loving it. And my former middle school uh social studies teacher was a principal. And so she heard that I was subbing and she called me. She got my number from a friend and called me and said that the district was hiring part time for a bully prevention specialist job. and that they were seeking black males. She was like, I really want you to apply. We need black males. She was like, you're subbing is great. And so I was like, okay. I applied for that job and I got hired. And so then I was successful with that job and they approached me and asked me if I wanted to be a teacher. And I was like, nah, not really. was like, this counseling type of role is very good for me. I like going to different buildings, it's fun. But they were like, well, we'll pay for you to go get your masters because my undergrad degree is in communications. But once they said that they would pay for me to get my masters, I said, let me look into this program. And so I looked into it and I filled out the information to apply and they accepted it. And with that came guaranteed job placement. So I finished my masters in special education and then they had to hire me full time. And so then that's when I became a full time teacher. Right, okay, wonderful. And uh girls, how is it with your dad? uh How is it for you with your dad and he has, uh he shifted his role? Do you have more time for him now or how is that? Yeah, it's kind of like more time I feel like because he doesn't have to be in the school all day every day and I feel like it gives him like more freedom and like he can since he has his own business he can like choose what he wants to do at what time. Yeah, that's nice. All right, such inspiration for you all. So as we're thinking about, the girls are getting older and they're changing roles, like how are you navigating with their sports and their academics and your career as well, Coach JoJo? Whoo, it's a full-time job. oh You know, my wife and I, we've had to split, like, quite honestly. They'll have games at the same time, different places. And so, you know, my wife and I, so thankfully it's not just me. oh I do have a lovely wife who is a part of this train as well. And it's just, It's very busy because Camille plays high level travel basketball on a team. She plays on a team that's a Nike team, so they do a lot more traveling than a regular team. um And so it's just very busy. then Cameron's doing flag football, and she just started skiing, and she wants to go back to tennis, and she danced, and they did swimming. And I mean, it just was everything. So it's challenging, to be honest, but it's fun. And you know, we were sports kids and so I remember my parents talking about it. So just try not to look at the challenges of it being challenging. It's like we get to go out, like our daughters want to be involved in things. So that's cool. And then I actually like coach. you know, being a coach, so I'm like the assistant coach to Cameron's team because one of my former players that I used to coach is actually the head coach. And then so Camille for her school team, I coached that team, but for her travel team. I just get to be dad, so it's cool. I think she likes it better when I'm just dad and not coach dad, but you know, it's part of the journey. Okay, and so Camille, can you tell us about your travel team experience? Like who do you play for and you know what it's like to be on a travel team? It's basketball, yes? Yes, so I play for Sport City Angels and like my dad said, it's a Nike team and it's just been really fun to like go different places and play and just cherish the moments of being with new teammates that I haven't been with before and just getting to meet new people through a sport that I love. Wonderful, okay. uh so Cameron, you have a lot of different sports that you are doing right now. Do you have a favorite sport, you think? It's probably either flag football or basketball. They're like a tie. Okay. But you're just trying out other things as well. That's nice. Yeah. Okay. So what advice Coach JoJo can you give for parents who are navigating sports with their kids and encouraging them to set goals uh like your daughters have done? whole podcast, but I'm going to give you the short version. What I would say to parents is don't get caught up into the monetization of youth sports. And I know that that's very challenging because I played college basketball and did all of the things, but so did my wife. So my wife actually works in college athletics right now. So she's been working in college athletics since she was finished playing. luckily for us, not luckily, but we've been blessed with the opportunity to have the knowledge, but for those who don't, you think that you have to do all of these things. You have to travel at third grade. Like if you live in Ohio, you have to go to Florida for a tournament in Chicago and California and all of the places like that. There's this facade that you have to do that when you really don't. um You just need to make sure that kids understand the power of the work that they put in. And so that's what we've been trying to help them understand. When you're young, it's okay to be good when you're young, but it's such a long period of time. And so what happens to a lot of people is they're good young and then they stop working as hard and other people catch them. So just encourage them to just continue to work and look at it long-term and not really in the moment. And if you're looking at the moment, you just want to focus on work ethic because the rest usually takes care of itself. If you work hard, good things typically happen for those who work hard. But yes, just... I mean, just to answer the question though, don't get caught up into the monetization of youth sports. It's very challenging, but you got to ask questions and try to talk to people who've been through that. Okay. So it sounds like you're, know, kind of different time periods. Maybe we're not in the travel team at, third grade and we'll think about that later. But right now we'll maybe keep it local, just kind of balance. And there's not necessarily a rush to get to that next phase or whatever. And you also have to like, think about what works best for your family. Like maybe not put your family. and like stretch it like when it's like over what you guys are able to do as a family and you know balance. You have to be realistic about where your kids are. ah How much they're putting in. Because obviously, if you ask a kid, hey, do you want to be on this travel team? They're going to say, yeah. ah But we have conversations. We're going to have another transparent conversation with Camille, with my wife. We talked her about the team she joined last year to see, OK, you said you want to do this. You've had a year of experience. It's coming up again. Do you really want to do it? And what does that really mean? Because again, it's easy to just say it, but it's like, there's requirements to be successful at this level and it requires a lot. And so if you're not willing to do that, like for our perspective in our house, like we were not mad, but we just have to be realistic about, okay, you want to play on this team. These are the things that it takes to be in a situation like this. Do you want to do them? And if the answer is no, or if the answer is sometimes, then it's like, okay. then how do we evaluate and see what the next option is? So we just try to be transparent and have conversations and not be, like again, my wife and I, we try not to put pressure because we did it. And so we try to educate, like, look, we know what it takes to get here and either you're doing it or you don't. So we try to be very, very open and honest because at the end of the day, you have to be open and honest with young people because if you don't, then now you're misleading them. And so we never want to do that. Okay, all right. So Cameron and Camille, either one of you can answer, we both can answer. What has helped you as you are doing your sports, as you're writing your books? What has worked best for you? You just have to like, I feel like time management is really important so that you don't get like stressed and overwhelmed because trying to. um battle with getting good grades and doing a lot of sports at the same time can be challenging and you just have to like make sure that whatever you're doing is like the right thing for you and just make sure that it fits with your schedule and what you're doing in your everyday life. Okay. I'd say like being organized and having routines for things so that like you're not stressed out about like different things. Like if you have a routine, you... You know what you're going to do next and it's just all organized. Okay, that makes sense. Thank you so much. uh Yeah, it's just great to hear from you guys about the children's perspective as well. Because, you know, we hear from adults a lot, but it's good to hear What do your parents do that really helps you to keep things together to make you continue to enjoy what you do um with sports and writing and the different events that you do as well, which we'll talk about in a couple of minutes. They just like push us to be the best person we can be and like they know how successful we can be in our lives. So they just continue to motivate us and make sure that we continue to just stay on the right track. Okay, how about you, what do your parents do that really is helpful for you? They like, they motivate me and encourage me to not worry about things but to. just like try and we'll stick with the result. Yeah, I like that. Okay, so uh we know that you are known as Hall of Fame authors. So tell us more about that. uh So uh Camille, can you tell us more about Hall of Fame authors? Um, so we became the Hall of Fame authors because a couple of years ago, We were invited to attend the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame and we got to go there and sell books and meet the Hall of Fame inductees. And that's how we got like our name. And it was just like a fun experience for us to just go and meet those Hall of Fame Hall of Famers. And it was just fun. And we got to give them books. We sold books to people, we got to go to the Hall of Fame ceremony, and it was just a fun little moment. That's amazing. That sounds like it was so fun. my goodness. And just a great book event as well. Right. wow. I know a lot of authors. okay. Let's hear about it. Cameron has a hall of fame that was specific to her. What? what? The football. Oh yeah, we went to this football hall It was, it was a football, it's a football hall of fame in Canton, Ohio. And we went there and her book was like involved. Her Be Free book was involved with the hall of fame, And so that's just another hall of fame part. Alright! See look, they don't even know what it is. So that's the beauty of it because they're kids, right? And we try to like make sure that they're not overwhelmed. But the actual thing is Cameron's book was chosen to be part of the HBCU Classic at the Pro Football Hall of Fame. And so with her book being chosen, they read her book at 20 different schools between Canton and Akron, Ohio, because the Hall of Fame is in Canton. And so then she was able to be the guest of the first black quarterback to win the Super Bowl, Doug Williams. ah the video is on the Hall of Fame Authors YouTube channel. So we're at the Hall of Fame game. She got a picture with Doug Williams. She was able to read her book at a school in Canton. And so all of Divine Nine took her book. So her book was literally, yes, her book was literally chosen for the literacy portion of the HBCU classic. And so with the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, they're the first kids to ever do a book signing there and then the Pro Football Hall of Fame. So we're like, hey, are the Hall of Fame authors. that. Okay. All right. Yes, they're very like humble. Yeah. And yeah, that's amazing. That is amazing. And you know, even adult authors don't have opportunities like that. You guys are definitely trailblazers. Amazing. Wow. Cameron, is there anything that you want to tell kids your age as they're working towards their goal, writing, doing sports, anything like that that you want to tell them? I've seen this quote that says, it's not over when you lose, it's over when you quit. And like, just don't give up. love it. How about you, Camille? I would just say like... just to continue to be who you are and challenges and all that stuff are gonna come, but it's just how you get over them and how you like bounce back from what you're facing. Thank you so much. And you can do anything that you put your mind to. Great advice. And what do you want to uh leave us with, Coach JoJo, with uh any parents, educators out there as they're trying to get their kids on track for learning and staying on track for success? So for parents, support, support, support, support, but also be realistic. You can be realistic in a loving way. And the girls, I tell them all the time, I'm going to tell y'all, and they don't always like it, but they know I'm going to be honest with them in a loving way. yeah, support, but be real in a loving way is what will be my suggestion to parents. And to all you educators out there, and the reason why I started writing curriculum, connect with your students. Like you have to look at them as people and not look at education based in content, right? Obviously you have to teach the content, but you have to know the people that you're teaching. And that's not a first week of school thing or a one-time thing. It is a consistent part of the school year. You should constantly be figuring out things with your students and they should constantly be learning and figuring out things about you as well. So to my educators out there, please find ways. And sometimes it's not a lot, so you gotta figure it out. so that was my whole push of creating curriculum that is outside the box, like using sports and using music and those things. I'm like, we gotta find outside the box ways to make young people enjoy. learning. So those are the pieces of advice that I would leave. I love this. Okay, thank you so much. Hall of Fame authors, Coach JoJo. It has been a pleasure having you on the show and really impart your wisdom and your experience with the audience of the Falling for Learning podcast. To our audience, please do something today that gives your children the competitive advantage and see you next time.