Napoleon Sykes Jr.

Napoleon Sykes Jr., a Baltimore native, has been building a career in the coaching profession since 2006, after graduating from Wake Forest University where he majored in English, while playing for the football team as a linebacker. He has had stops at the high school level (Gilman School- MD, Mallard Creek- NC), collegiate level (Wake Forest University, UNC Charlotte, United States Naval Academy), and the professional level (Washington- Bill Walsh Diversity Fellowship, Chicago Bears- Bill Walsh Diversity Fellowship, DC Defenders of the XFL). Sykes first met Joe Ehrmann in 1998 as a student at the Gilman School, and their relationship has grown stronger ever since. The culture at Gilman at the time was built around building men for others, focusing on the overall development of the person, not the player. This same philosophy has been embodied by Napoleon, and can be seen in the way he coaches on and off the field. At every stop, Sykes has taken the same philosophy that we celebrate here at ISO Initiative. Napoleon Sykes married his close college friend and former All-ACC volleyball player at Wake Forest University, Christy Williams. They have two sons, Bodhi and Noah, and they currently reside in Arnold, Maryland.