MEET THE COACHES
Accountability
Acknowledging and taking responsibility for your actions as a player, student and teammate.
PERSEVERANCE
We will face adversity on and off the court, but we will always work to find solutions.
GROWTH MINDSET
Regardless of where you start, all players have the ability to improve each day.
COLLABORATION
We cannot succeed as a unit unless we all support, encourage, and trust in each other.
Co-Founder & Head Coach of Elite Team
Coach Alan brings over twenty-five years of coaching experience to the court. When his son started to show an interest in baseball, Alan began his coaching career in 1995 as a Youth Baseball Coach. After coaching his son’s team until 2004, he then transitioned to basketball as his daughter – Victoria – began getting seriously involved in the sport. Basketball was Alan’s primary sport through childhood, and it ultimately helped him earn a college degree from Earlham College. From 2004 to the present, Alan has coached both boys and girls ages 8-19 years old and has helped many of them use basketball as a tool to gain access to a college education. Alan’s passion for the game is profound, and he aims to instill this same drive in each of his players. Ultimately it is Alan’s goal to help every student-athlete achieve excellence both on and off the court.
USA Basketball Gold Licensed Coach
Victoria Fleisher
Co-Founder & Assistant Coach of Elite Team
Basketball has been a part of Coach Vic’s life for as long as she can remember, with her father having instilled his passion for the game in her. Born and raised in Brooklyn, Victoria was a dual-athlete at Midwood High School for both Basketball and Lacrosse. She was then recruited to play both sports for Bard College, where she graduated with a BA in Literature. Since graduating in 2014, she not only began a successful career in sales, but she immediately began coaching. Victoria recognized the profound impact that basketball had on her life, and it is her goal to impart this same passion onto the Grit squad.
USA Basketball Gold Licensed Coach
Coach Cherkira Lashley
Head Coach of Collegiate Team
Coach Cherkira was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, and attended Poly Prep High School. She was then recruited to play basketball for Wesleyan College, where she graduated from in 2015. Today, Cherkira is an experienced High School English Teacher and Varsity Basketball Coach at Friends Academy, with a commitment to social justice. She is a creative self-starter with a great sense of humor that she leverages to build meaningful relationships with youth and colleagues. She is also skilled in program design, development, and implementation.
Cherkira Lashley
Coach Camille Edwards
Assistant Coach of Collegiate Team
Coach Camille currently serves as the Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion of an independent Quaker school in New York and is also the founder and principal consultant of Camille Simone Consulting. She has 15 years of experience in education, teaching, facilitation, and program design for students in a K-12 environment. She is certified in leadership studies and when working with players in our program, coaches them in the areas of vision-work, goal-setting, personal accountability, self-advocacy, and positive identity development.
Cherkira Lashley
Coach Brad Wetherell
Assistant Coach of Collegiate Team
Coach Brad is a former basketball coach at Friends Academy, where he chairs the Upper School English Department. He is also a widely published writer and enjoys counseling students on their college application essays.
