Brother, sister connection

Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2008

Click here to enlarge this photo Submitted photo In the SMAC championships on May 10, Lackey graduate Kyla Jones finished second in the 100-meter dash and finished as one of the top three sprinters in the state in Class 3A in the event. E-Mail This Article | Print This Story

The heavy workloads, rigorous training, and busy schedules can be hard to manage at times if you don’t have a strong mindset or the passion to focus on both sides of the spectrum.

There are two individuals that have a sense of connection, Tracy and Kyla Jones. It’s a brother-sister relationship that grows every day. This Jones connection is preparing for the challenges and future plans ahead.

The two have been exceptional students even before arriving on the high school or college scene. They strive to be the best individuals they can be and are not afraid to fail. Their objective is taking the lead.

Kyla, a 2008 graduate from Lackey High School and an elite Southern Maryland Athletic Conference phenom, knows what it takes to be a scholar-athlete. She not only maintained a 4.3 grade-point-average in her four-year high school career, but was a member of the National Honor Society, ranked ninth in her senior class, was the vice president of her class and a member of the Student Government Association.

Along with the success in the classroom, Kyla brought that same fire and determination to the outdoor track and field season this past spring.

In the SMAC championships on May 10, Jones finished second in the 100-meter dash and finished as one of the top three sprinters in the state in Class 3A in the event. She also led the Lackey girls team to a second-place finish in the 800 relay at the state championships on May 24 as the anchor.

‘‘I take everything in stride, always prepare for the future and try to stay humble,” Jones said of her state performance. ‘‘Just taking life step by step is the most important thing I focus on.”

Jones has also been the voice of the community media, working as a College of Southern Maryland sideline sports reporter and being a youth leader at Pleasant Grove Baptist Church, while still completing her Advance Placement college studies.

Jones said: ‘‘It wasn’t hard managing my time, because the support from my family has been great and I just love being innovative and learning new things.”

For Jones, high school was a great experience, but, at that level, it wasn’t anything new to her. Since the fifth grade, she always wanted to be behind the scenes and focused on her resources at an early age.

‘‘You know in high school you had your friends here and there, but my best friend was Jessica Thomas who was always by my side with advice and was pretty sensible,” said Jones.

The accolades will continue, as Jones now is preparing to hit the road to LaSalle University in Philadelphia on an academic and athletic scholarship.

This summer, Jones has put in countless hours of training on the track, lifting weights to prepare her body and has stayed on top of her education to keep up on her knowledge. ‘‘I’m definitely an over achiever,” Jones said. ‘‘Training is really important, because it is always someone out there that is better than you, so you have to be able to balance time to read, workout, relax and just be comfortable in life.”

This fall, Jones will major in communications, where she plans to produce, write and direct movies, and start her own production company in the future.

‘‘I’ve always looked up to Spike Lee, because he incorporates his family, especially his sister, and he can do all three things really well.”

There have been some inspirations in her road to success, her mother, Kelly, and her brother, Tracy.

‘‘My mom was the first person to say that I could be a DJ on 106th Park and inspired me to think outside of the box.

‘‘Motivations have been my brother, who has been always in my ear about everything, but that’s why I respect him, the connection has grown, and he has always been my interest at heart.”

To represent her success in life and road to college, Jones mentioned a statement that her father, Tony, always told her.

‘‘To whom much is given much is tested and expected.” Jones said, ‘‘Don’t take anything for granted, I put faith in God and overcome different obstacles, so I’m ready to start my career.”