Julie Jones spent 26 years leading Division I softball programs with her mission being simple - to build Smarter Students, Stronger Athletes and Better People. Continuing her work of helping student-athletes reach their goals on and off the field, Coach Jones now serves as a Certified Mental Performance and Mindset Coach and Positive Performance Visualization Specialist as the founder of SSB Performance, LLC. – Smarter, Stronger Better Mindset Training and works with sports teams and business organizations from all over the U.S.

 

Coach Jones also serves as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Akron, Ursuline College and Hondros College of Nursing, teaching well-being and performance, sports performance, mindset training, athletic coaching, and public speaking courses in both the undergraduate and graduate studies programs. She is also an instructor in Ursuline's Institute for Women, Wellness & Work where she has led the Personal Energy Management program. Jones serves on the Institute's Women's Leadership Committee and was instrumental in helping develop the College's new Curated Wellness master’s program. She has also served as a guest lecturer in Physical Education and Athletics at Case Western Reserve University.

 

A sought-after speaker, Coach Jones has presented to hundreds of groups ranging from Fortune 500s to National and State conferences, business and athletics teams to small community groups. Her experience in teaching public speaking and her energy and enthusiasm allows her to reach audiences of all types by sharing stories and information related to mental training, leadership, team building, culture and community service.

 

During her 13 years at both Cleveland State University (1993 – 2006) and the University of Akron (2006 – 2019), Coach Jones mentored five Academic All-Americans, 55 All-Conference honorees, eight NCAA All-Mideast Region selections, 86 Academic all-conference student-athletes, thirteen Academic All-District selections, 12 All-Region selections, four Pitchers of the Year, the 1997 MCC Player of the Year, the 2016 prestigious MAC Nan Harvey award winner the 2017 MAC Freshman Pitcher of the Year and was named MCC Coach of the Year. These honorees and their teammates rewrote the CSU and UA record books for pitching, home runs in a season, and all base running categories as a perennial NCAA leader in stolen bases.

 

Jones began her head coaching experience at CSU as the youngest head coach in the country in her maiden campaign and ended her time at CSU with the most wins in school history of any sport.

 

She finished her career with more than 500 career victories. Five of her former players have been inducted into the CSU Athletics Hall of Fame with several going on to play professionally in softball and football in the US and abroad.

 

The Vikings and Zips posted GPAs as high as 3.53 and annually ranked atop all Division I programs with a strong emphasis on academics.

 

Along with athletic and academic achievements, Jones stressed the importance of giving back to the community as her teams contributed to many community projects over the years, winning conference awards year after year for their commitment to the community.

 

During her tenure at CSU, Jones also served as the Compliance Coordinator for the Vikings while serving on conference and NCAA Championship committees. Jones also designed and implemented department-wide leadership, mentoring and team-building programs at both CSU and UA.

 

Coach Jones graduated with a degree in Communications from Baldwin-Wallace University and earned a master’s degree in Communication Theory and Methodology from Cleveland State University. She was inducted into the Baldwin-Wallace University Athletics Hall of Fame in 2003 and the Summit County Softball Hall of Fame in 2018. She is a graduate of Leadership Akron (Class 28) and the prestigious NACWA/HERS Administrative Institute in 2005.

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She is a member of the Baldwin-Wallace Brown & Gold Club Athletics Board and the Leadership Akron Alumni Association. She sits on the Akron Amateur Softball Association Board. Jones is also the past chair of the Gay Community Endowment Fund of the Akron Community Foundation. She and her long-time Associate Head Coach Julie Pratt are co-owners of Softball at the Point, LLC, offering coaching clinics and showcase camps to continue the game's growth and help young softball players reach their dream of competing in college.

 

A breast cancer survivor, Jones is a 7-time Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure Survivor winner and her Akron Garfield High School #9 jersey was retired. Jones was an All-Conference, All-Region and NFCA Academic All-American catcher and 4-year starter at Baldwin-Wallace University, leading her team to the NCAA Tournament as a senior. She and pitcher Donna Wheeler set the all-time DIII record for strikes outs in a career.