College Hall of Famer, Jim Ballard, on Quarterback Development

Today’s guest on the Coach and Coordinator podcast is Jim Ballard, College Football Hall of Famer and founder of the Jim Ballard Quarterback Academy. He also had a long professional career across a variety of leagues. Ballard played in the NFL, CFL, NFL Europe and Arena Football from 1994 to 2003. Some of the teams included the Cincinnati Bengals, Buffalo Bills, Scottish Claymores, Toronto Argonauts and the Indiana Firebirds. Ballard had his most success during his collegiate career at Mount Union College, an NCAA Division III school in Alliance, Ohio. Including being induced to the College Football Hall of Fame for his play at Mount Union, Ballard was also an All-American while in college. Ballard started his college career at D-III Wilmington (Ohio) College for one season before transferring to Mount Union. Across his career, Ballard broke 17 D-III passing records and was named all-conference all three seasons. In addition to being an all-American, Ballard was also awarded the Gagliardi Trophy for the Division III college football player of the year in 1993. Today, Ballard works with developing high school quarterbacks at the Jim Ballard Quarterback Academy. On today’s podcast, Ballard and host Keith Grabowski talk about Ballard’s Quarterback Academy, the challenges of coordinating with high school coaches and parents, and how Mount Union prepared him to teach young athletes. Show Notes 1:16 Mentoring local quarterbacks into college 2:36 Working alongside high school coaches 3:53 Beginnings of the quarterback development camp 6:16 Developing players going to Mount Union 7:55 Being flexible in teaching how to be a quarterback 10:50 Increasing Football IQ of the quarterback 12:29 Advice to parents of players going through the academy 14:54 Helping athletes gain exposure through camps 16:32 What to show on highlight tapes for quarterbacks 18:50 Having a strong base when throwing the ball 20:51 Being a leader in the huddle and knowing everyone’s role 22:25 Building confidence into leadership 23:42 The Roll Pass at Mount Union 25:15 Simulating the RPO 26:52 How can coaches develop players in-season 28:35 Providing 1-on-1 teaching with the quarterbacks

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