Brandon Ballard

Brandon+Ballard

MJ Ivy

Brandon Ballard

Camden Metheny, Editor

ISLAND

“The biggest struggle for me as a young coach is separating myself from being friend-oriented and coach-oriented and gaining the respect from the players. I’ve made giant leaps in that, as far as being respected more and being an older figure to them, other than being a friend. It’s not all about coaching. It’s all about the kids, and that’s super important and you have to do your job 24/7. There’s a lot of hours that go into it aside from the practices and the games. The other side of that is you have to get the community involved and you have to be good with them. You have to go up in the stands with the crowds and talk to everyone. You’ve got to sell your program to them.”