#101- Kevin Ball Sport Scientist at Victoria University
Channel: High Performance Content for AFL Staff & Athletes 
Date: 03/02/2022

Prior to Victoria University, he worked across multiple High-Performance sporting teams including Melbourne Football Club, Hawthorn Football Club, Fremantle Football Club, and the Australian Institute of sport. 

Highlights from the episode:

00:00 Intro
00:07 Drills to improve a footballer's strength, skill acquisition, and confidence
01:16 Healthy amount of volume of kicks 
02:26 Mentors and influencers
03:27 Things he does to build confidence and technique
04:39 What he learned from the best kickers

Kevin Ball, a sport Scientist at Victoria University, discusses various aspects of training and coaching for young footballers. He emphasizes the importance of a basic strength training program for athletes aged 14-16, highlighting core strength and glute function as crucial elements. Ball suggests that athletes can handle more kicking volume than they typically do, and he shares insights from a conversation with Eddie Jones about training intensity. Ball credits influential mentors from his hometown in New South Wales for instilling a passion for coaching and emphasizes the importance of watching off the ball during games. When it comes to building confidence in technique, Ball suggests using statistics, feedback from others, and focusing on players who have successfully improved their kicking skills. He also mentions the significance of a range of motion in the knee and hip for achieving long kicks.

People mentioned:

- Luke Hodge
- Sam Mitchell
- James Hird
- Joel Selwood
- Tom Hawkins
- Garry Abblett
- David Mundy
- Matthew Pavlich
- Peter Bell
- Aaron Sandilands
- Nathan Chapman
- Jade Rawlings
- Brett Deledio
- Scott West
- Peter Blanche
- Cooper Cronk
- Cameron Smith
- Greg Ingles
- Adam Larkham
- Bohdan Babijczuk
- Chris Connolly 
- Eddie Jones
- Craig Bellamy
- John Baker

Connect with Kevin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-ball-15399529/

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