University of Minnesota Athletics
Going Insane: Junior Defenseman Keith Ballard
2/6/2004 12:00:00 AM | Athletics
While it may come as a surprise, Keith Ballard is a psycho. He has this eerie trait like Norman Bates, never knowing when he may snap on the ice. He has this split personality like Jekyll and Hyde, mild-mannered student by day, enraged enforcer game night. Some things just set Ballard off, and like the Incredible Hulk, he may just smash anything in his way.
Okay, the comparisons may be slightly stretching the truth. But the key word there is slightly. Assistant Men's Hockey Coach Mike Guentzel dubbed Ballard "psycho" while watching his game time aggression sometimes get the best of him. Defensive partner Chris Harrington referred to Ballard as a "spaz" after hearing him flip out back at the bench over a bad play. But both Guentzel and Harrington agree that the seemingly insane way Ballard acts at times is fueled by the passion of the game of hockey and his drive to constantly see himself and his team reach their full potential.
"My mentality is that I am a competitive person. I want to win, and that's how I approach hockey. I've done that my whole life," Ballard said. "This is a great opportunity to play here. I would be shorting myself and the program if I didn't come everyday with the mentality of wanting to win, whether it be in a drill in practice or during a game."
"Out on the ice, he's really intense," Harrington commented. "He really wants everyone to do the best that they can because he knows he's doing his best out there and expects that from everyone else."
Off the ice, Ballard is soft-spoken, relaxed and easygoing. Clothed in his uniform of sweats and a stocking hat, he likes to joke around and just hang out with friends and teammates. "When we're off the ice, if there's any one person who that would rather sit on the couch and not do anything, it's Keith," Harrington, also a roommate of Ballard's, said.
The split personality of Ballard was first experienced by Harrington when he and Ballard both played for the Omaha Lancers of the USHL. While competing in his senior year of high school, Ballard's temper would often flair, resulting in him accumulating approximately 130 penalty minutes in just one half of a season. Lancer Head Coach Mike Hastings quickly had to get Ballard's outbursts under control.
"Coach yelled at him every weekend," Harrington recalled, laughing. "I don't know, Keith had some problems back in Omaha. He really wanted things to go his way and a lot of times it didn't and he had problems with that."
"But it's definitely toned down ten-fold since he's been here," he added.
Toned down? It still was enough for Coach Guentzel, a man who has been around college hockey since 1981 and seen many a tough competitior, to call him psycho. Ballard was a highly-touted national recruit, a defenseman who had offensive skills that would make any forward jealous. But while his hockey talent was well developed, Guentzel recalled Ballard's inability to let the negatives of the game go. As a self-admitted highly competitive person, Ballard would get caught up in everything that went wrong on the ice and let all the imperfect plays cloud his vision of the game.
"I used to get mad if I would make a bad play," Ballard admitted. "I finally realized it does me no good in the second half of last year. Then I started to not get as mad; I just don't let things bother me like they used to. I'm better off putting things behind me. I make mistakes, but everyone does. The biggest thing is how people react."
Ballard never reveled in his psycho nickname. In fact he hated it. The final turning point in the change in his game philosophy came before the 2003-04 season started when he was named an alternate captain. In August, the departure of All-American Paul Martin handed off all defensive leadership responsibilities to Ballard. Now he would be a role model every time he stepped on the ice. All the insanity would have to stop.
"Defensively, I am a lot more responsible and I see myself that way," Ballard said. "I'm playing more minutes and in more situations and I have to adjust accordingly. Coaches have to be able to depend on me in the last minutes and in special situations. Especially with a young `D' core, I have to set an example and lead by example. I'm just a little more laid back. I still play a really physical game that's in your face."
"He has become more mature," Guentzel remarked. "He's now able to read situations in the course of a game and not get caught up in things that go wrong."
Not that Ballard has lost his competitive edge. It is the fuel that he runs on every time he steps on the ice, whether it is in practice or games. It is hard to tell an emotional athlete to turn it off and stop letting the game affect them in that capacity. It is a fine line, Guentzel commented. "Keith's better when he's emotionally involved," the coach admitted.
"He was definitely a little bit of a psycho in the past," Harrington remarked, "but he has certainly calmed down as he's had more experience and as more situations have happened to him. He's learned to accept anything that goes on on the ice and that you can't change what happens."
This season, the reduction of Ballard's psychotic episodes on the bench and in the locker room during games has impressed his coaches, teammates and himself. While there still might be some anger about a poor shift or missing a wide open shot, when he gets back to the bench Ballard had learned to look forward to another shift rather than focusing everything that went wrong during the last one. The puck does not always go exactly where it is directed and as much as plays are drawn out and skills are practiced, once the game begins nothing can ever go exactly as planned. That is part of the joy of hockey. Even if it sometimes can drive a man insane.
Written by Media Relations Student Assistant Courtney Walerius. She welcomes comments at gophers@umn.edu.
Norman Bates, Jekyll and Hyde, the Incredible Hulk, Keith Ballard?
While it may come as a surprise, Keith Ballard is a psycho. He has this eerie trait like Norman Bates, never knowing when he may snap on the ice. He has this split personality like Jekyll and Hyde, mild-mannered student by day, enraged enforcer game night. Some things just set Ballard off, and like the Incredible Hulk, he may just smash anything in his way.
Okay, the comparisons may be slightly stretching the truth. But the key word there is slightly. Assistant Men's Hockey Coach Mike Guentzel dubbed Ballard "psycho" while watching his game time aggression sometimes get the best of him. Defensive partner Chris Harrington referred to Ballard as a "spaz" after hearing him flip out back at the bench over a bad play. But both Guentzel and Harrington agree that the seemingly insane way Ballard acts at times is fueled by the passion of the game of hockey and his drive to constantly see himself and his team reach their full potential.
"My mentality is that I am a competitive person. I want to win, and that's how I approach hockey. I've done that my whole life," Ballard said. "This is a great opportunity to play here. I would be shorting myself and the program if I didn't come everyday with the mentality of wanting to win, whether it be in a drill in practice or during a game."
"Out on the ice, he's really intense," Harrington commented. "He really wants everyone to do the best that they can because he knows he's doing his best out there and expects that from everyone else."
Off the ice, Ballard is soft-spoken, relaxed and easygoing. Clothed in his uniform of sweats and a stocking hat, he likes to joke around and just hang out with friends and teammates. "When we're off the ice, if there's any one person who that would rather sit on the couch and not do anything, it's Keith," Harrington, also a roommate of Ballard's, said.
The split personality of Ballard was first experienced by Harrington when he and Ballard both played for the Omaha Lancers of the USHL. While competing in his senior year of high school, Ballard's temper would often flair, resulting in him accumulating approximately 130 penalty minutes in just one half of a season. Lancer Head Coach Mike Hastings quickly had to get Ballard's outbursts under control.
"Coach yelled at him every weekend," Harrington recalled, laughing. "I don't know, Keith had some problems back in Omaha. He really wanted things to go his way and a lot of times it didn't and he had problems with that."
"But it's definitely toned down ten-fold since he's been here," he added.
Toned down? It still was enough for Coach Guentzel, a man who has been around college hockey since 1981 and seen many a tough competitior, to call him psycho. Ballard was a highly-touted national recruit, a defenseman who had offensive skills that would make any forward jealous. But while his hockey talent was well developed, Guentzel recalled Ballard's inability to let the negatives of the game go. As a self-admitted highly competitive person, Ballard would get caught up in everything that went wrong on the ice and let all the imperfect plays cloud his vision of the game.
"I used to get mad if I would make a bad play," Ballard admitted. "I finally realized it does me no good in the second half of last year. Then I started to not get as mad; I just don't let things bother me like they used to. I'm better off putting things behind me. I make mistakes, but everyone does. The biggest thing is how people react."
Ballard never reveled in his psycho nickname. In fact he hated it. The final turning point in the change in his game philosophy came before the 2003-04 season started when he was named an alternate captain. In August, the departure of All-American Paul Martin handed off all defensive leadership responsibilities to Ballard. Now he would be a role model every time he stepped on the ice. All the insanity would have to stop.
"Defensively, I am a lot more responsible and I see myself that way," Ballard said. "I'm playing more minutes and in more situations and I have to adjust accordingly. Coaches have to be able to depend on me in the last minutes and in special situations. Especially with a young `D' core, I have to set an example and lead by example. I'm just a little more laid back. I still play a really physical game that's in your face."
"He has become more mature," Guentzel remarked. "He's now able to read situations in the course of a game and not get caught up in things that go wrong."
Not that Ballard has lost his competitive edge. It is the fuel that he runs on every time he steps on the ice, whether it is in practice or games. It is hard to tell an emotional athlete to turn it off and stop letting the game affect them in that capacity. It is a fine line, Guentzel commented. "Keith's better when he's emotionally involved," the coach admitted.
"He was definitely a little bit of a psycho in the past," Harrington remarked, "but he has certainly calmed down as he's had more experience and as more situations have happened to him. He's learned to accept anything that goes on on the ice and that you can't change what happens."
This season, the reduction of Ballard's psychotic episodes on the bench and in the locker room during games has impressed his coaches, teammates and himself. While there still might be some anger about a poor shift or missing a wide open shot, when he gets back to the bench Ballard had learned to look forward to another shift rather than focusing everything that went wrong during the last one. The puck does not always go exactly where it is directed and as much as plays are drawn out and skills are practiced, once the game begins nothing can ever go exactly as planned. That is part of the joy of hockey. Even if it sometimes can drive a man insane.
Written by Media Relations Student Assistant Courtney Walerius. She welcomes comments at gophers@umn.edu.
