Matt Balis - Director of Football Performance

[NDinBoston]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Notre Dame officially introduces director of football performance Matt Balis: <a href="https://t.co/GKyasewAHa">https://t.co/GKyasewAHa</a> <a href="https://t.co/PAMdcnASrY">pic.twitter.com/PAMdcnASrY</a></p>— Mike Vorel (@mikevorel) <a href="https://twitter.com/mikevorel/status/822173917771104257">January 19, 2017</a></blockquote>
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I didn't see a thread and I think he'll hopefully generate lots of good discussion.

Please delete if already posted somewhere else.

TWITTER:
https://twitter.com/CoachBalis_nd

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UConn BIO:
UCONNHUSKIES.COM :: Matt Balis Bio :: University of Connecticut Huskies Official Athletic Site (thanks bkess8)

A native of Chicago, he and his wife Lanette have a son Jacob.

The Balis File

• 2014-Present: UCONN Director of Strength and Conditioning
• 2009-2013: Mississippi State (Head Strength Coach)
• 2007-08: Virginia (Director of Strength and Conditioning)
• 2005-06: Florida (Assistant Director of Strength and Conditioning)
• 2004: Utah (Director of Strength and Conditioning)
• 2003: Utah (Assistant Director of Strength and Conditioning)
• 2001-02: Houston (Assistant Strength Coach for Strength and Conditioning)
• 1998-2001: Wheaton (Chicago) North High School (Assistant Coach, Strength Coach)
• 1996-98: Wheaton (Chicago) Warrenville South High School (Assistant Coach, Strength Coach)

Education:

• Master of Arts: Educational Leadership and Administration
• Aurora University, 2001
• Bachelor of Science: Education (Physical Education), Minor Sports Medicine
• Northern Illinois, 1996

Certifications:

• CSCS from the National Strength & Conditioning Association
• SCCC from the Collegiate Strength & Conditioning Coaches Association
• American Red Cross CPR/First Aid/AED
• Type 75 - Administrative Leadership Certificate

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STAFF

• Matt Balis - Director of Football Performance
• David Ballou
• David Grimes
• Jake Flint
• TBD

 

[Luckylucci]

Hinish had some really good things to say about their interactions over the weekend.

 

[bkess8]

UCONN Bio Matt Balis

 

[NDinBoston]

Hinish had some really good things to say about their interactions over the weekend.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NotreDame?src=hash">#NotreDame</a> DT commit Kurt Hinish raved about new strength coach <a href="https://twitter.com/CoachBalis_nd">@CoachBalis_nd</a>. Praised <a href="https://twitter.com/CoachMikeElko">@CoachMikeElko</a> as well <a href="https://t.co/yklNRiO3nd">https://t.co/yklNRiO3nd</a> (VIP)</p>— Tom Loy (@TomLoy247) <a href="https://twitter.com/TomLoy247/status/823231680609652737">January 22, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Thanks, I saw that but forgot which recruit.

 

[NDinBoston]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">USC assistant Torre Becton is the new Cal strength & conditioning coach <a href="https://t.co/ZuWq8nNGZG">https://t.co/ZuWq8nNGZG</a></p>— GoldenBlogs (@GoldenBlogs) <a href="https://twitter.com/GoldenBlogs/status/822240580843536385">January 20, 2017</a></blockquote>
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The guy some thought was under consideration. Should be interesting to follow his performance at Cal.

 

[NDinBoston]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Notre Dame unveils new strength coach Matt Balis, who replaces Paul Longo in the same position. <a href="https://t.co/iBcYFOOqv7">https://t.co/iBcYFOOqv7</a></p>— Irish Illustrated (@PeteSampson_) <a href="https://twitter.com/PeteSampson_/status/822175268395683840">January 19, 2017</a></blockquote>
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...Two weeks ago Irish Illustrated reported that Notre Dame’s weight room would likely add Dave Ballou, the Physical Conditioning Coach at IMG Academy, a stop preceded by 15 seasons at Avon High School outside Indianapolis. Working at IMG put Ballou in contact with offensive lineman Robert Hainsey, who enrolled early in South Bend earlier this week.
The Irish landed running back Tony Jones Jr. and safety Spencer Perry out of IMG last recruiting cycle.
However, potential NCAA legislation could make this role as Co-Director of Strength and Conditioning for football a non-starter. In April, a new rule will be put to a vote preventing college programs from hiring coaches from high school programs to their support staffs unless they are fulltime assistant coaches.

If that legislation passes and Notre Dame hires Ballou it could prevent the Irish from recruiting IMG Academy for two years while also complicating the eligibility of those three recent signees.
It is unclear how Notre Dame plans to round out its strength staff at this time.
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David Ballou (TWITTER):
https://twitter.com/img_coachballou?lang=en

Some great posts/quotes...

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David Ballou (IMG):
https://www.imgacademy.com/physical-conditioning-coach/david-ballou

Prior to working at the IMG Academy, David Ballou served as the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach at Avon High School, a top tier 6A school in Indiana for 14 years. During this time, Avon won six team state championships in multiple sports with seven state finalist runner-up finishes. David assisted in the development of 80 Division-1 athletes while serving as the strength coach at Avon.
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Anyone hearing anything more on the rule change and possible addition of David Ballou from IMG?

 

[FDNYIrish1]

Very solid hire here. I'm looking forward to seeing his work. Followed him since his time at Miss State.

 

[NDinBoston]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Coming back 2 Indy to speak at the <a href="https://twitter.com/MillerStrength">@MillerStrength</a> palace. Look forward to seeing some familiar faces & collaborate with some of the best. <a href="https://t.co/pankcBustB">pic.twitter.com/pankcBustB</a></p>— David Ballou (@IMG_CoachBallou) <a href="https://twitter.com/IMG_CoachBallou/status/823345158276128769">January 23, 2017</a></blockquote>
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"Coming back to Indy" to...

 

[Downinthebend]

Am I the only one that read the title and thought Swarbrick lost his control over the football program? "Director of Football Performance"...

 

[Crazy Balki]

I'm gonna go ahead and call BS on the ruling preventing ND from hiring Ballou. Fact is that these hires need to be made quickly and you can't just expect a school to wait until April to hire a coach. Also, are you really going to punish a team for making a hire prior to the rule going into effect. Sorry, but if that's the case, you have to do the same to all schools who hired high school coaches, including Michigan and their several.

Sorry NCAA, but this fails in aspects of ethics and timing. If you're going to decide on a ruling, then decide on it prior to hiring/firing season (Dec-Feb). In addition, this realistically can block any aspiring high school coach who is ready and has earned the right to move up to a major program because they come from a top-notch high school program that their school cannot recruit as a part of that rule.

The NCAA's practices of policing recruiting tactics are just flat out absurd and don't work well at all.

 

[Valpodoc85]

So what kind of a relationship will exist between Longo and Balis? Boy that could be weird. Like if Kelly was fired only to be made special teams coach. Curious to know if Balis was good with Longo being extra special assistant to the HC.

 

[BGIF]

Am I the only one that read the title and thought Swarbrick lost his control over the football program? "Director of Football Performance"...

I always thought the "Director" was the one that called the shots, sort of like a head coach.
Swarbrick would be more the Studio Exec type.

 

[NDinBoston]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Coming back 2 Indy to speak at the <a href="https://twitter.com/MillerStrength">@MillerStrength</a> palace. Look forward to seeing some familiar faces & collaborate with some of the best. <a href="https://t.co/pankcBustB">pic.twitter.com/pankcBustB</a></p>— David Ballou (@IMG_CoachBallou) <a href="https://twitter.com/IMG_CoachBallou/status/823345158276128769">January 23, 2017</a></blockquote>
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"Coming back to Indy" to...

Hmm, looked opportunistic a few days ago, now he is in South Bend...

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Also, note the location of one of Ballou's tweets tonight. May explain some of the tweets from IMG kids. <a href="https://t.co/GG9Wh6ALW1">pic.twitter.com/GG9Wh6ALW1</a></p>— Tyler James (@TJamesNDI) <a href="https://twitter.com/TJamesNDI/status/824470140955791361">January 26, 2017</a></blockquote>
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[NDinBoston]

 

[BobbyMac]

Did you see the kid he was tweeting at? 6-9, 400lbs converted rugby player from Australia??? Yes please. We need someone to replace that midget at LT... McG

 

[ND Fan Vancouver]

I hope, and think Balis has been instructed to, get Daelin Hayes, Khalid Kareem and Julian Okwara, and Ade of course, physically ready to compete next year.
I read an article by Driskell yesterday stating that Okwara is the more natural pass rusher as opposed to D.Hayes. He said Okwara has a long frame and to not be surprised if Okwara shows up pushing 250 next year.
I like this idea.
Kareem has a yuuuge 6'4, 270 lb frame to work with too and Driskell thinks he could bulk up to being a 285 pound end by the time he's an upperclassmen.
I expect our DE's to come ready to play in '17

 

[NDinBoston]

Did you see the kid he was tweeting at? 6-9, 400lbs converted rugby player from Australia??? Yes please. We need someone to replace that midget at LT... McG

I didn't. Yeah, we need more length on the OL.

Lots to be concerned about if we look backwards, but lots to be excited about looking forward. Thanks for all your forward-looking info! Bogs too.

 

[NDinBoston]

I hope, and think Balis has been instructed to, get Daelin Hayes, Khalid Kareem and Julian Okwara, and Ade of course, physically ready to compete next year.
I read an article by Driskell yesterday stating that Okwara is the more natural pass rusher as opposed to D.Hayes. He said Okwara has a long frame and to not be surprised if Okwara shows up pushing 250 next year.
I like this idea.
Kareem has a yuuuge 6'4, 270 lb frame to work with too and Driskell thinks he could bulk up to being a 285 pound end by the time he's an upperclassmen.
I expect our DE's to come ready to play in '17

Yeah, there is some legitimate talent on campus. Hope Balis can make a great impact. Thanks for the info.

 

[BeauBenken]

Did you see the kid he was tweeting at? 6-9, 400lbs converted rugby player from Australia??? Yes please. We need someone to replace that midget at LT... McG

Faalele needs an offer NOW. He apparently has the physical prowess to boss around Josh Kaindoh despite not knowing what he's supposed to be doing half the time.

 

[NDVirginia19]

Wait, who is this Ballou guy and why should I be getting so excited

 

[Crazy Balki]

Wait, who is this Ballou guy and why should I be getting so excited

He was the S&C football coach for IMG, and a few weeks back, it was pretty much a given that ND was going to hire him to be the Sports Nutrition Specialist and unofficial 2nd in command to Balis. However, there were reports going out that ND had halted handing him the job because the NCAA was in the midst of voting on a rule that could potentially prevent ND from recruiting IMG had they hired Ballou.

Given the recent developments, my guess is that the NCAA ultimately voted against that rule or ND was confident that either it wouldn't get passed or it wouldn't affect them since Ballou isn't actively involved in recruiting. Either one makes sense, as ND probably just waited to hire him and asked for clarification from the NCAA on the potential rule.

Either way, it seems like ND is close to hiring him and this would mark another hire I like. He's got quite an impressive resume, and his extensive experience with high school conditioning programs will help the younger players transition into the college development program.

 

[Calabrese's People]

Faalele needs an offer NOW. He apparently has the physical prowess to boss around Josh Kaindoh despite not knowing what he's supposed to be doing half the time.

Ive trained with Baby (Faalele) at Conquest. He's on another level physically. Also one of the nicest kids ive ever worked with. Hopefully IMG puts Notre Dame on his map.

Conquest is a monster factory. The athletes coming through over the next few years are going to be extraordinary. The Islanders have really become accepting of the American game as a sporting pathway.

 

[dublinirish]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="und" dir="ltr">&#55356;&#56806;&#55356;&#56826;&#55356;&#56806;&#55356;&#56826; <a href="https://t.co/gorXVn9LEN">https://t.co/gorXVn9LEN</a></p>— Daniel Faalele (@DanielFaalele_) <a href="https://twitter.com/DanielFaalele_/status/824088871554191360">January 25, 2017</a></blockquote>
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[NDohio]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="und" dir="ltr">�������� <a href="https://t.co/gorXVn9LEN">https://t.co/gorXVn9LEN</a></p>— Daniel Faalele (@DanielFaalele_) <a href="https://twitter.com/DanielFaalele_/status/824088871554191360">January 25, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Does Australian count as a foreign language?

 

[woolybug25]

Replacing Longo and bringing this kid would elevate him to God status.

 

[arrowryan]

They say he is a future LT, but I definitely would want him on the interior d-line

 

[BobbyMac]

6-10, 400lb? Mike Brey's been watching his film too.

This guy just finished watching also.

 

[woolybug25]

At 6'10/400 pounds... I want that dude destroying the middle of our opponents offensive line.

 

[NorthDakota]

At 6'10/400 pounds... I want that dude destroying the middle of our opponents offensive line.

Yeah, that dude makes Mount Cody look more like Appalachian Cody.

 

[BobbyMac]

At 6'10/400 pounds... I want that dude destroying the middle of our opponents offensive line.

Suffers broken fibula on 1st play of Navy game when 5-11.5, 289lb OG chops him.