Virtual Meeting – Move Without the Ball-Mental Performance

Dr. Jana Haywood was inducted into the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame in 2018. She has been inducted into the Lutheran North High School Hall of Honor twice; once individually and the other with the 1997-1999 State Track and Field Championship Teams.

Jana was an outstanding student and athlete while at Lutheran North High School in St. Louis, MO. While attending, she competed at the varsity level in three sports: cross-country, basketball and track. She was a member of a three-peat women’s track & field state championship teams (set a state record in the high jump), quarterfinals in state basketball, and advanced to the state championship for two years in cross-country. Jana was the metropolitan area-scoring leader in basketball multiple seasons. She was also the St. Louis Post-Dispatch Student Athlete of the Year.

Jana continued her athletic career at Saint Louis University with a four-year scholarship in basketball. She was co-captain of the team in 2003 and 2004. While she was playing at SLU, the women’s team advanced for the first time to the WNIT. Her basketball skills took her around the world: Puerto Rico, Italy, Spain and France.

She graduated from Saint Louis University with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Human Resources. She continued her education at Fontbonne University with a Master of Arts in Education and Special Education. She also received a Master of Arts in Educational Administration from Lindenwood University. She culminated her studies earning a Doctor of Education in Leadership from Maryville University.

Jana started her career in education in 2005 in the St. Louis Public School District. Her Lutheran education instilled numerous core values with service being foundational. She found success by sharing her personal experiences as she shifted her focus from sports to eliminating barriers that negatively impact students’ academic success, specifically those that disproportionately impact underserved and underrepresented communities. She presents at the Beyond Consequences Trauma-Informed Schools local and national conferences and serves on the advisory council for the Crisis Prevention Institute stressing the importance of de-escalation techniques that exclude restraint and seclusion of students with self-care as the anchor strategy.

She has worked as a teacher, athletic director, assistant principal and principal. In 2020 she was selected as the Enterprise Holdings Secondary School Leader of the Year. In 2021 she accepted the position as Principal of Ritenour High School in St. Louis County. Today she is the Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources in the Ferguson-Florissant School District. She also serves as an Adjunct Professor in the School of Education at Saint Louis University.

Dr. Jana Haywood is author of Move Without the Ball, a self-help book for people of all ages who are ready to take their lives to the next level during periods of transition. Jana co-founded Illumine Solutions Group, a coaching and consulting company with her husband to ignite, inspire and empower people as they pursue their personal goals.

Jana is a member of Washington Tabernacle MB Church. She serves on the Julia B. Hattitude Scholarship Fund Committee. She has served on numerous boards in the St. Louis region. Her husband is Carl Hayward Jr. and together they have three children; Carl, Jaila, and Jordyn.

Mental toughness is a muscle that can be trained to develop muscle memory allowing individuals to exert energy in the most productive ways in service of themselves and others. Through daily repetition and practice, mentally tough people fall forward. We all experience setbacks, it is how we respond that sets mentally tough people apart from the rest. During this interactive session, participants will learn techniques that will set them up for success during good and difficult times.