Our Team

Tommy has served with Nations of Coaches since 2008. As executive director, he oversees the implementation of Nations of Coaches’ core vision: to help coaches achieve their higher calling of shaping the character of the next generation of young men. Kyle played basketball collegiately at Tennessee Temple University, where he first began working with SCORE International – a global sports ministry that reaches the nations for Christ through short-term mission trips. Kyle later worked full-time with SCORE as the national college basketball director. Between 1996 and 2007, Kyle served as the head boys basketball coach at Decatur Heritage Christian Academy, where he led the Golden Eagles to three trips to the state basketball’s final four and won five area titles. Kyle and his wife Heather live in Decatur and have seven children.

Dale is a 45-year veteran of college basketball coaching and athletic administration. He served as president of both the Black Coaches Association and the National Association of Basketball Coaches. With 23 years of collegiate basketball coaching experience, Dale is perfect for his role as vice president of coaches’ ministries for Nations of Coaches, a position he’s filled since 2012. Dale has a tremendous heart for encouraging other coaches to leave a legacy of impacting athletes both on and off the court. He and his wife Pamela live in Nashville and have one daughter and three beautiful grandchildren.

Pete joined Nations of Coaches in 2013 after serving as the head basketball coach and athletic director at Northland International University in Dunbar. Before Northland, Pete and his wife Lisa spent 19 years ministering in local churches and coaching high school students in Connecticut, Florida, and Indiana. Pete and Lisa have two sons, and they are also blessed with two grandsons.

Roger has 40 years of experience as a coach and pastor, including 28 years as the chaplain for Marshall University’s men’s basketball team. He’s served with Nations of Coaches since 2014, most recently as a regional director over Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, and parts of North Carolina and Pennsylvania. Through this role, Roger plays an integral part in equipping coaches to help their players make the connection between character and sport. Roger and his wife Carol live in Lewisburg, West Virginia and have a son and a daughter.

Tim Carter joined Nations of Coaches as the Regional Director over Texas in 2020 after an exemplary 34-year college basketball coaching career. Carter began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at the University of Oklahoma from 1982-83 and was an assistant coach at Midwestern State University from 1984-86. He helped lead Houston to the NCAA Tournament in 1987 and then joined Leonard Hamilton’s staff at Oklahoma State from 1987-90, leading the Cowboys to the NIT in 1989 and 1990. From 1990-94, Coach Carter was the head coach at the University of Nebraska-Omaha. From there he had an 11-year stint at the University of Texas-San Antonio. Coach Carter is the all-time winningest head coach at the University of Texas-San Antonio, leading his team to the NCAA Tournament twice during his tenure. After reuniting with Leonard Hamilton at Florida State for the 2006-07 season, Carter became the head coach at South Carolina State for six seasons from 2007-2013.

Coach Carter earned an associate’s degree from Hutchinson Community College (1976), his bachelor’s degree in education from Kansas (1979) and a Master’s in education from Oklahoma (1984). He is a past board member of both the National Association of Basketball Coaches and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

Tim and his wife, Sheila, have two daughters, Kiara and Kortney, and a son, Wynton.

Steve is a 35-year veteran of coaching college basketball.  He has had the opportunity to coach at every level including Junior College, NAIA, Division II and Division I. Steve has a heart for serving and encouraging coaches to leave a legacy of impacting young men on and off the court. Steve plans to lead this effort in South Carolina and Georgia. Steve and his wife, Dana, live in Greenwood, SC. They have two sons and a daughter-in-law, Luke and Matthew & Shaley Roberts.

Jim Good will be joining the Nations of Coaches team full-time in the summer of 2022. He is currently raising support to serve as a Regional Director in Florida. Jim was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Clearwater Christian College in Florida where he played basketball and baseball. Jim received his M.A. from Ball St. University in Physical Education with a Specialization in Coaching. For the past 25 years, Jim has lived in South Florida while serving as an Athletic Director and Boys Varsity Basketball Coach. He has been married to his wife Eve for 23 years and they have four children: Jimmy, Jack, Jenifer, and Julia. Jim’s passion is to use the platform of basketball to share the gospel of Jesus Christ. His purpose and mission is to impact players and coaches for the Kingdom of Christ.

Mark Senter played college basketball at Spartanburg Methodist College and Piedmont Bible College. Mark received a Bachelor of Arts degree after completing his college career.  He toured with the ACC All-Star Classic Circuit in 1994 and 95. Mark briefly played basketball professionally in Hong Kong, China. Throughout the next several years, Mark would participate in various charity and celebrity games, as well as for a Christian basketball team that competed against prison all-star teams and shared the gospel with inmates at halftime.

Mark worked several years for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, then transitioned into a career in law enforcement in 2013. Mark now serves as the Nations of Coaches Regional Director in North Carolina.

Mark has been married to his wife, Alicia, for over 21 years, and they have three children. They are also very involved in their local church.

As the Character Coach Director, Roger leads the character coaching branch of our ministry and grows the program through scouting, recruitment, and training of new Character Coaches. He works closely with Regional Directors to oversee, support, and evaluate current Character Coaches for the college programs in each of the regions. He promotes character coaching at NOC programs and events, and networks with other organizations.

Before his start at Nations of Coaches, Roger was an FCA Campus Representative for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes serving the coaches and athletes in college, high schools, middle schools, junior high schools, and club teams across southern Illinois. He has additionally served as Character Coach to the athletic teams at SIU and as chaplain to the Southern Illinois Miners pro baseball team.

Roger has worked in the development of the Global Sports Chaplaincy Association. and made dozens of international trips to over twenty nations on five continents to facilitate ministry in sport.

Roger was born and raised in Carbondale, Illinois where he was a high school athlete competing in football, wrestling, and track and field. He currently resides there with his wife, Sharon. They have a son, a daughter-in-law, and two granddaughters.

Grayson started working at Nations of Coaches in 2019 as an administrative intern. After serving 9 months in the part-time position, he joined Nations of Coaches full-time at the beginning of 2020 as the National Associate, assisting the National Director, Pete Wehry, minister to and oversee NOC Character Coaches across the country. Grayson is concurrently a student at Liberty University, working towards his degree in Christian Leadership.

Because of his experience as a Christian student-athlete, Grayson is passionate about helping others fight for a healthy balance between work or school, sports, and family, and seeing people reach their full God-given potential. Grayson stated, “My goal is to see the kingdom of God moved forward through the game of basketball.”

Grayson is married to Bailey Speers Wakefield.

Justine joined Nations of Coaches in 2022 as the Wives Coordinator. Alongside the NOC Wives Leadership Team, she organizes and leads programming designed for basketball coaches’ wives across the country, encouraging purposeful living and hope found in Jesus. With experience in non-profit management, marketing and event coordination for over 14 years, she also gives focus to the organization’s processes and procedures.

An Indiana native and Business Administration major graduate of Bethel College, Justine resides in western North Carolina with her husband and collegiate basketball coach, Ryne, and their adored black labrador.

Before joining Nations of Coaches as NOC Wives Coordinator, God has lead Lynette through a number of careers ranging from engineering and pharmaceutical sales to teaching math at the high school and junior college levels. She is also an entrepreneur health and wellness advocate, providing nutritional products and resources.

Lynette received her MS degree in Engineering Management from Cleveland State University in 1994 and her BS from North Carolina A&T in 1990.

Lynette served as a women’s teacher-leader with the Bible Study Fellowship in Charleston, West Virginia, and she and Jayson have facilitated marriage Bible studies and have been the keynote speakers for the 2011 FCA marriage retreat. She currently serves as a co-facilitator of a life group “Healthy by Design” at Every Nation Cincinnati in Ohio, and as a facilitator with Coaches Wives Bible Study.

Lynette celebrates 30 years as a coach’s wife to Jayson. They have 3 children, Brandon, 27, Bryan, 24, and Briana, 15, and reside in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Dee Kijanko is an artist, writer, speaker, and mentor, who is passionate for the hearts of women. She and Tony have been married for 45 years and she has been devoted to their “co-ministry”  to all of the teams Tony has coached. She has been volunteering with the NOC Wives Steering Committee for the last year, helping to develop outreach and support to all women married to a coach.

Together the Kijankos are grateful to have parented four children and now are filled with joy to be called “Mimi” and “Papa” by six grandchildren. They also have led short-term international mission teams to many countries over the past 30 years

Tony Kijanko has been coaching in some form for many years. Before his 45-year football coaching career, he played offensive tackle at Bowling Green State University and professionally for the Cleveland Browns. Afterward, he coached high school and college football at various schools, most recently at Taylor University in Indiana. In his “retirement” he continued to coach his oldest grandson at Dawson County High School in North Georgia.

Together the Kijankos are grateful to have parented four children and now are filled with joy to be called “Mimi” and “Papa” by six grandchildren. They also have led short-term international mission teams to many countries over the past 30 years

Curtis joined Nations of Coaches in 2021 as the Legacy Events Coordinator. He provides support with engagement and planning around ministry partnership and Coaches events.

During the past 18 years of coaching, Curtis said the Lord led him and his family to invest spiritually into the lives of the young men and their families. He has since found great purpose in continuing to do so within the Nations of Coaches team as he enthusiastically shares the vision of the organization and invites others to learn more. Curtis and his wife, Tanya, have been married for 30 years and have three adult children.

Evie joined Nations of Coaches in January 2023 as the Legacy Admin. She earned both a BS and a Master’s Degree from Auburn University and brings sports marketing experience from her years working at the Auburn Network, Inc. As an added dimension to Legacy development for the ministry, Evie also helps process accounts receivable for Nations of Coaches. A native of Eufaula, Alabama, Evie enjoys traveling and spending time with family, especially her three sons – Wesley, Jeb, and Chet.

Rachel has been serving Nations of Coaches since 2019 within the creative marketing team. She specializes in brand positioning, design strategy, and user experience with over a decade of experience in design and marketing.

A New York City native, Rachel was an NCAA Division 1 Collegiate softball player who graduated from Fairfield University with a BS in Biology. She later went on to graduate from design school at the Art Institute of Pittsburg and ultimately received a masters degree in Instructional Design and Technology at Full Sail University. Rachel enjoys spending time with her three sons and daughter.

Kathy joined the Nations of Coaches team as Director of Marketing & Communication in 2017. A graduate of Auburn University with a BFA in Art/Graphic Design, Kathy has more than 30 years of experience in marketing and design.

Nikki Sprader joined Nations of Coaches in January 2012 as the executive assistant. After 12 years I the manufacturing engineering sector, Nikki brings managerial, standardizations, and financial and budget planning skills to the ministry. As an added dimension to the ministry, she has a proven record in program and project management and performance management based on data-driven results. Nikki and her husband live in Mooresville, AL and have one child.

Melissa Woodruff joined Nations of Coaches in May 2013 as the office assistant and personal assistant to Executive Director Tommy Kyle. With 5 years of experience in data management, 5 years experience as an athletic assistance and 10 years of experience as an insurance analyst/research in medical business office, Melissa brings the functional capabilities of all facets of office managerial standardization still to the ministry. Melissa and her husband live in Decatur and have one child.

Lisa joined the Nations of Coaches team as Character Coach Administrator in January 2019. After graduating from college, she spent 12 years in ministry with her husband, Pete, and their two sons, PJ and Drew. Before serving at NOC Lisa’s work experience included a three-year tenure as Dean of Women at a small college, supervising the Guest Relations desk, and running the Thrift Store at First Baptist Church in Orlando. Lisa and Pete reside in Mt. Dora, Florida with their oldest son, their daughter-in-law, and their two grandsons, while enjoying frequent trips to Birmingham, Alabama to visit their younger son.

Scott Brewer has been serving the Baylor Men’s Basketball program since 2012. Scott brings a passion to share life and the love of Jesus Christ to each individual. His invaluable leadership in the lives of the coaches, players and other supporting staff has deep impact from encouragement, in-home meals, character development and Bible studies. Scott and his wife, live in the DFW metroplex.

Greg serves on the Midwestern State University men’s basketball team as a full-time Nations of Coaches character coach. Since joining Nations of Coaches in 2017, his passion for basketball and love for mentoring young men has had a powerful impact on every coach and player he’s served at MSU Texas. Greg, his wife Keri, and their young daughter live in Wichita Falls, Texas.

Ric Callahan serves as the Character Coach for the Samford University Men’s Basketball Team in Birmingham, Alabama. He has been a pastor for 35 years serving in the local church. Ric and his daughter own and operate a non-profit ministry called Quest Kids Club. His passion is to lead and guide men to become like Jesus. He loves ministering to the coaches and players at Samford. Any financial support given will be used to cover expenses for his ministry to the team. Ric is married to Carla and they have two daughters.

Billy acts as a part-time Nations of Coaches character coach for the Lehigh University men’s basketball team. Having coached basketball at the high school level for 15 years, starting a sports ministry called Push The Rock, and being ordained as a minister, Billy brings a passion for the game and for investing in the lives of young men. He’s had a tremendous impact on the team at Lehigh University. Billy and his wife Cindy live in Macungie, Pennsylvania and have two children.