Board of Directors
Crickett Thomas-O’Dell
President
Crickett Thomas-O’Dell has been on the Board of Directors of the Saratoga Sparks since 2000 when her then 10-year-old daughter began playing basketball for the Clifton Park Girls Basketball program. She has had the pleasure of serving as a Member-At-Large, Uniform Coordinator, Secretary, Vice President and became the President in 2018. Crickett has stayed with the Saratoga Sparks because she truly believes in the mission of the organization which is to provide an opportunity for young women to develop basketball skills that teach them discipline, good character and positive citizenship in a nurturing environment that will provide them with success both on and off the court. Crickett is from a basketball loving family – she, her husband and their daughter all played basketball in college, she has coached and she and her daughter are now basketball referees
Stacey Carey
Treasurer
Stacey Carey joined the Saratoga Sparks Board in 2015 after her daughter Bri started playing for the Sparks in 3rd grade (2013). She was Uniform Coordinator until 2020 when she took over as our current Treasurer.
The experience that her daughter Bri had playing with the Saratoga Sparks and the goal of the Saratoga Sparks to inspire young athletes to be better players but also to be better people is what inspired her to join the board.
Theresa Russo
Secretary
Theresa Russo has been a Member of the Saratoga Sparks Board for the past five years serving as the Board Secretary. During her tenure, she has drafted various legal documents and policies for the organization and has assisted with try outs and tournaments. In addition, she coordinates the Mother’s Day Raffle; raising money to allow the Sparks to keep their registration fee affordable for all families. Her daughter Tori has played with the Sparks for the past six years.
Theresa graduated from the State University at Albany and Albany Law School. She is the CEO and Co-managing Partner of a local law firm and she resides in Loudonville with her daughter Tori and niece Lonnie.
Ron Goodell
Ron Goodell has been serving as the Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake Girls Youth Basketball Director and CDGBL Coordinator since 2018. In his tenure, Ron has significantly increased the number of new players in the BH-BL youth program. Ron has coached multiple sports including basketball, soccer, and football. He has served on the Sparks board since 2019 and assists the Sparks with coaching, player evaluations, and administrative tasks. Ron volunteers his time to provide every player the support needed to become the best versions of themselves on the court.
Ron graduated from Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake High School and Union College. He was a 4 year member of the Union College football team which made 2 NCAA division III tournament appearances during his playing days.
Ron and his beautiful wife Christine live in Charlton. They have 3 daughters Abigail, Megan and Samantha.
Jim Shields
Jim Shields is excited to coach once again for the Sparks. As means of an introduction, he has been with the Sparks as a coach and board member for 11 years. Jim’s background is that he played in college at the University of Richmond, went on to play professionally in the NBA G-league here in the US and then 12 seasons spent in Germany, Turkey and Greece.
Jim’s involvement with the Sparks started with his daughters getting involved in AAU – all three of them played in the organization. He has had the pleasure of coaching at multiple levels: Men’s professional team in Europe, women’s German club team, travel, CYO, and AAU. Jim says “You have found a great place for you daughter to fall in love with the game and I will do all I can to help foster that enjoyment.”
Sharon Webster
Sharon Webster is a proud Saratoga Sparks Board of Directors member as of 2019 and the mom of 3 amazing Sparks players, each with their own strengths. Her family joined Sparks in 2017 with her oldest daughter on the 5th grade blue team. Sharon’s middle daughter joined in 2018 as a 3rd grader on the 4th grade Orange team, and her youngest has joined this year as a 3rd grader on the 3/4 grade Orange team. Sharon and her family has found a great home with Saratoga Sparks and fully appreciate the role the organization plays in the AAU world as it is today. The importance of development is a focus for the Sparks as a whole. The Sparks care about the growth of all our players and want to see them all succeed.
Sharon serves as the uniform coordinator for the program which is very exciting for her. She love to see the players get so excited to receive their uniforms and how proud they are to wear them. Saratoga Sparks is a breeding ground for solid athletes and players that want to be good people. Sharon is very proud to be a member of this organization.