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Our Team
As you look at the pictures below, I know what you are thinking: "How can a bunch of eight, nine, and ten-year-old kids run sports camps?" Yeah, we get that a lot.
This is our crew, our team—the glue that holds it all together. We come from all over the country and many different backgrounds. Before landing at Skyhawks we held a variety of interesting jobs as HR professionals and rental car agents, consultants and lawyers. Some were coaches and some worked in Parks & Recreation. Point is, we all have one thing on common: we are passionate about youth and sports. The average tenure of our team is nine years. That says it all. Every person on our team works all year long to ensure that your child has a safe and positive camp experience, regardless of his or her athletic abilities.
Our company mission statement reads, "We teach life skills through sports.” In addition to sports skills, we want to make sure your child walks away with an understanding of teamwork, respect, sportsmanship, responsibility, and leadership—all critical life lessons that strengthen children both on and off the court. Every day at every camp, our team is committed to making sure your child walks away from a Skyhawks program with new skills, new friends, and a lifelong love for a healthy, active lifestyle. From our family to yours, welcome to Skyhawks.
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Contact Eric
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Eric grew up in Spokane Valley, WA, where waterskiing and playing soccer were his passions. After years of these two sports competing for his time, soccer won out after being deemed the most economical of the two. Eric played select soccer from the age of 10, and often played on his older brother's teams. Next were four years of varsity high school soccer The Knights went to the state finals 3 out of the 4 years he was on the team, and Eric was named Frontier League Defender Of The Year his senior year. Eric started with Skyhawks in the summer of 2009, and has enjoyed integrating his career knowledge in sales and marketing from the hotel industry into this exciting new endeavor with Skyhawks. Outside of work, Eric spends most of his time with his wife Christi, whom he has known since they were three, and their two wonderful (full of energy) boys. When not at work or with his family, Eric enjoys playing indoor soccer at Skyhawks Indoor Soccer Field, and reliving those old glory days. He just wishes he still had as much hair as he did back then.
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Contact Bob
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Bob has lived in the Northwest his entire life, spending much of his time outdoors as an avid dirt-bike rider, camper, and “battle-tuber.” Throughout his youth, Bob enjoyed playing soccer, football, and basketball—definite preparation for his work at Skyhawks. Realizing he probably wasn’t the next big sports star, Bob attended Washington State University and received his BS in Management Information Systems and Business Management in 2000. GO COUGS!
After graduation, Bob got married and lived in Seattle and Portland working as a systems analyst for Deloitte Consulting. Knowing they would eventually start a family, Bob and his wife Kristen decided to return to their home town of Spokane. Bob joined the Skyhawks family in 2005, managing all things technological. When not at work, Bob can frequently be found wrestling with his two rambunctious boys, banging away on his Pearl drum set, or doing a “killer” hill climb on his Honda XR400R.
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Contact Mike
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Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, Mike learned an appreciation for the outdoors and animals at an early age. As the oldest of four kids, he often found himself playing with and looking after younger kids. . As an adult, things haven't changed much; Mike and his wife Alison live in the Rocky Mountains outside of Denver with their five kids and a constant, ever-growing rotation of animals. Mike serves as General Manager for Skyhawks, splitting his time between Colorado, Wyoming, and California, or somewhere in between. When he isn't watching other people’s kids or playing with his own, he loves to cook and repair his own botched home improvement projects from the previous weekend.
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Contact Kris
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A tomboy at heart, Kris has loved sports from a very early age! She was the only girl on her first baseball team and was the pitcher. This first experience in sports paved the way for a very active childhood: Kris played 3 sports throughout high school. She continued her passion for sports playing soccer in college at Western Washington University – GO VIKINGS! - but now looks at “boys” in a different way! Kris joined the Skyhawks team in 1997, trading in her heels and hose for shorts and tennis shoes! She and her family have lived in different parts of the country including Oregon and Texas while managing the Skyhawks business. Her now 10-year-old son Brandon was born in Austin, TX. After experiencing a tornado, flooding, and a swarm of bees in Texas, Kris moved back to Seattle to continue her career with Skyhawks. Kris now lives in Bothell with her family, which includes her dog Jett and cat Jag. She has kept in touch with her tomboy childhood, building Legos with her son and entertaining a house full of boys when Brandon has friends over. When not at work, Kris enjoys spending time with her family out on their boat or on a field coaching!
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Contact Jason
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Jason grew up in Cincinnati, OH where he learned the true meaning of patience and blind loyalty by being a Reds and a Bengals fan. He graduated from Ohio State University (he’s one of the few people who doesn’t use “the”) - with degrees in Management Information Systems and Economics. – GO BUCKEYES! After graduating, Jason began working for Ernst and Young and moved to California with his wife, Nikki. It was there that he realized it’s not fun sitting in a cubicle all day long. In a life-altering move, he began with Skyhawks in 2002, realizing a dream to combine his two biggest passions – athletics and working with kids. After surviving stints in San Francisco and Seattle, Jason moved back to Ohio, where he currently serves as the General Manager for our Midwest region (although he has dibs when the Hawaii market opens). His biggest passion is spending time with his kids, Aaron and Zoe, who always keep life in perspective. Besides acting like a big toy for his children, Jason enjoys reading, cooking, traveling, playing soccer, and sleeping (when his kids allow it).
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Contact Sandra
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Sandra was born and raised in sunny San Jose, CA, where she grew up in a small, tight-knit family as the youngest of two children. When Sandra was not perfecting her love/hate relationship with her older brother, she could usually be found across the street at the park where she began her sports journey. She instantly fell in love with soccer, which quickly became her #1 sport. Soccer helped her expand into other sports like Volleyball and Track & Field as she grew older. Like many veterans at Skyhawks, Sandra coached and directed camps for four summers before they begged her to work full-time in 2006. Sandra currently serves as a Regional Manager overseeing our northern California operations. She also serves on reigning recreation league championship teams in soccer, volleyball, and softball, and has the t-shirts to prove it. In her free time, Sandra can be found watching the Food Network, visiting and helping family in the Philippines, or getting a manicure and pedicure (occasionally on company time).
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Contact Jeff
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Jeff founded Skyhawks in 1979 in Spokane, WA when he was asked to coach a local club soccer team. His passion for soccer and coaching quickly expanded into running soccer camps with his friends and teammates. Jeff was a pioneer in the sports camp industry, and like a true pioneer travelling throughout Idaho and Montana to run weeklong soccer camps, he often slept in tents at the local campgrounds. Over time his business grew from its humble beginnings into a nationwide provider of camps and programs offering a wide variety of different sports. Thirty years later Jeff remains actively involved in the day-to-day operations of Skyhawks. Jeff is a graduate of Gonzaga University – GO BULLDOGS! He is married to Trish and has two boys, Jacob and Jeremy.
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Contact Zack
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Zack grew up in the heart of Ohio, and after 24 years of dreaming of becoming a cow farmer, realized his talents were needed elsewhere. So after graduating from The Ohio State University, Zack hung up his boots and shovel and headed west to sunny Southern California with his high school sweetheart Sheena. Both followed their passions and found careers working with youth. Before Zack took over as the Area Manager for Southern California he ran inner city after-school programs in Los Angeles. When not teaching sports, Zack can be found running with his wife, searching for a pick-up game of hoops or stuck in traffic on the 405.
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Contact Sarah
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Sarah has lived a cosmopolitan life, having lived in four different states. Sarah grew up in her brother’s shadow loving all sports, where she quickly realized that sports would be the one constant factor in her life and be the one thing that made her happy “at home.” She developed a deep love for volleyball and went on to play in college while earning her BS in Recreation Management from St. Thomas Aquinas College – GO SPARTANS! Her first three years after college were spent working for an upscale health/tennis club in New York she eventually moved back to Connecticut to be closer to her family. She joined the Skyhawks team in 2007 where she continues to coach volleyball at a local High School during the season. Sarah enjoys cooking for her family, baby sitting her niece & nephews and boxing at the local gym. On most Saturday’s she can be found watching college football on the couch.
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Contact Gregg
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Gregg grew up in Cannon Falls, Minnesota and began his love of sports on frozen neighborhood lawns turned into homemade ice rinks. Realizing his boot hockey skills were fairly limited, he quickly took up playing baseball, football, and basketball. Years spent on the family sheep farm, improved his quickness and agility (not to mention his fancy sheep shearing handiwork). After playing sports in high school and college, Gregg decided to pursue a career in the sport and recreation field. He has been with Skyhawks since 1999. Gregg and his wife, Lisa have two cats, Camden and Wrigley. When they are not entertaining the two cats, they also enjoy traveling, gardening, and camping.
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Contact Dennis
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Dennis is a graduate of Framingham State College – GO RAMS! – where he earned a BA in Psychology, and a Master’s in Public Administration. Dennis was a captain on the football team and was a two- way starter at running back and linebacker for most of his career. Dennis knew that the Heisman Trophy and a long-term NFL career were not in the offing, so he turned to the next best thing: coaching. Dennis started with Skyhawks in 2008 and looks forward to making every summer a great camp experience for each and every camper! Dennis lives in Massachusetts with his wife Kim and their two daughters, Kenzie and Macie. Dennis likes to watch sports (Go Red Sox) and play sports with his kids.
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Contact Macie
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Macie grew up in a very active Central Oregon town by the name of Bend. She spent most of her youth playing various sports. Anything from t-ball to basketball, volleyball to cross-country, swimming to track—she was playing it. Track and Field was her favorite sport as she, standing 5’5” tall, participated in the high jump for 9 years. Macie graduated from Whitworth University – GO PIRATES! with a degree in Psychology in 2006 and is currently working towards her Master’s degree in Education. When she finds time away from work, school, and homework, she can be found at the lake enjoying the sun in the summertime, or inside drinking a cup of mint hot chocolate and working on a painting in the wintertime.
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Contact Jarred
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Jarred joined Skyhawks in 2007 after serving the community as a School Counselor & Social Worker for the past ten years. Jarred wears several different hats—often many of them in the same hour. He serves as an Office Manager, Regional Account Manager, and Corporate Customer Service Manager ……and the “other duties as assigned” guy. He is a tennis player, and just in case someone gives him lip about it not being a real sport, he also holds a black belt in karate. He is married to the love of his life and college sweetheart, Holly. They have 2 campers of their own, Timmy and Jamie. As a family they enjoy the outdoors, jeeping, kayaking, and martial arts, although recently “jeeping” has consisted of piling into the Wrangler and driving to the grocery store.
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Contact Justin
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A graduate of the University of Washington – GO HUSKIES! – Justin has been with Skyhawks since 2005. JR is the father of three of his own campers and is married to an elementary school teacher. Needless to say, there’s rarely a time when he’s not dealing with kids in some form or another! Justin serves as Area Manager for Skyhawks, covering Oregon and Southwestern Washington. In his spare time, Justin enjoys traveling with family, coaching his kids’ various sports teams, and trying to beat his 9-year-old daughter’s mile time.
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Contact Erika
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A Washington State native, Erika recently relocated to Indianapolis with her husband and two sons (because she didn‘t think it would be very nice to leave them behind). Erika graduated from Gonzaga University – GO BULLDOGS! - with a degree in French, which totally prepared her for her career with Skyhawks. Since joining the Skyhawks organization in 1993, Erika has held a variety of roles, including mascot and water girl. She’s also the proud mother of two boys who think it’s awesome that their Mom was the Skyhawks mascot. Currently she works as the Indianapolis Area Manager, and the Midwest Regional Account Manager and helps manage media projects. That means she’s the boss of everything throughout the Midwest, including brochures, t-shirts, and corn (thanks to the French degree). When she’s not busy pursuing her interests in photography, Erika can be found working on her Indy Car skills (just in case the “Boss of the Midwest” thing doesn’t work out).
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Contact Chris
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Chris first worked for Skyhawks in 1985 as a junior coach. For the next nine summers, Chris traveled throughout the Northwest with other Skyhawks coaches running soccer camps. Many of Skyhawks’ current risk management policies were created in response to the traveling adventures of Chris and his fellow coaches.
Chris graduated in 1992 from Santa Clara University, where he was a member of the 1989 National Championship soccer team and a member of the 1991 team that played in the National Championship game –GO BRONCOS! College brought Chris an education, a national championship, and his wife. Chris and his wife, Shannon, are the parents of three girls.
Chris graduated from Gonzaga University School of Law in 1996 – GO BULLDOGS! - but hasn’t worn a suit since he left the practice of law to join Skyhawks on a full-time basis in the spring of 1997. When he is not overseeing Skyhawks, Chris can be found coaching his girls’ soccer teams, painting toenails, or singing Hannah Montana.
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Contact Pam
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Pam grew up in the Pacific Northwest, where she enjoyed a variety of outdoor activities such as horseback riding, swimming, hiking, fishing, biking, and ice skating. She later developed a love for dance and performing and went on to become a “Ponderette.” Although the next obvious step from Ponderette is Rockette, Pam elected to forgo this opportunity to pursue marriage and family. Pam and her husband Jim have spent the past 24 years raising their two children and have enjoyed cheering them on in their various activities. In her free time Pam is an avid gardener, a part-time wedding planner and a reluctant biker chick.
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Contact Tracy
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Tracy was born and raised in a small town in Iowa. As is typical in the Midwest, she participated in all the school athletics available: softball, basketball, track, and swimming. Her early accounting training came from counting eggs—thousands and thousands of them on the family chicken farm.
Graduation from the University of Iowa – GO HAWKEYES! - with a degree in accounting led her to Colorado, practicing as a CPA for 13 years both in the Rocky Mountains and later in the Pacific Northwest. As a result of an ultimatum from her husband in which he stated that he was not going to do another tax season with another baby, Tracy finished her Master’s in Health Policy and Administration at Washington State University – GO COUGARS! - and worked in the health field for several years before joining Skyhawks in 2007.
Tracy and Jim are the parents of three boys who keep them busy with activities ranging from soccer and basketball to being roadies for a garage band practicing out of their house.
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