Our Leadership

Chicago Sky Basketball Academy is run by Korie Hlede and Simona Sidaugaite, and assisted by Kayla Jackson.

Korie Hlede

Leader of Basketball Curriculum

Korie brings 11 years of experience playing professional basketball in the WNBA, Spain, Brazil, Turkey, Hungary, Croatia, and Russia and 12 years of coaching experience at all levels to Sky Basketball Academy. In addition to being an Assistant Coach for the Detroit Shock when they won their WNBA Championship, Korie was an Assistant Coach at the University of Rhode Island and has spent time developing players from grades 4 to 11. Through the years, she has integrated her interest in sports psychology with basketball and youth development. In the Winter 2016, Korie completed her master's degree in psychology with a specialization in sports psychology at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology. She graduated from Duquesne University as their all-time leading scorer and Academic All-American.

Kayla Jackson

Operations Coordinator

Kayla is a Graduate Assistant Coach for Saint Xavier University, bringing experience from a five-year playing career at Concordia University Chicago. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Sports Management from Concordia and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Business Administration at Saint Xavier. Growing up as a fan of the WNBA and NBA, she developed a deep passion for the game and is committed to sharing that passion with younger players. Specializing in player development, she emphasizes decision-making, counter moves, and reading the defense through live drills and film breakdown. With a player-focused approach and a passion for an up-tempo style of play, she is dedicated to helping athletes maximize their potential on and off the court. She also coaches our 14U team.

Simona Sidaugaite

Academy Director

Simona holds a master's degree in Sport Administration from the University of Cincinnati. She was a 4-year varsity basketball player and team captain at Tinley Park High School. She then continued her basketball career at Trinity Christian College. She has coached travel basketball since 2016 and was also a Varsity Assistant Coach at Providence Catholic High School. Her greatest childhood memories revolve around basketball, and she enjoys being able to share that experience with the girls of CSBA. As a woman in sports, Simona understands the importance of female representation- less than 25% of youth sports coaches are women. Growing up, she had very few female coaches and is actively working to break that trend for younger generations. Simona has a heavy focus on basic skills, particularly shooting. Beyond that, her primary objective is to mentor her players to be great reliable teammates and to maintain a positive attitude throughout the hardships they may encounter, both in basketball and life. She also coaches our 16U team.

Margaret Stender

Senior Advisor Scholarship & College Recruiting

Sky Basketball Academy is the perfect intersection of three of Margaret’s passions: the life lessons of sports, inspiring girls, and continuous learning. In addition to being a minority owner and founding CEO of the WNBA’s Chicago Sky, Margaret has 22 years’ experience in business leadership at Quaker Oats Company and PepsiCo, where she served as President of both Juice Drinks and Ready-to-Eat Cereals. She was a three-sport student athlete and basketball team captain for 3 years at the University of Richmond and earned an MBA from the University of Virginia.