Northland Community & Technical College has hired Brandon Ballard as the new Head Coach for Pioneers Wrestling. Ballard is the second Head Coach since the program's reinstatement in 2013.
"Coaching at the college level has always been a dream of mine," shared Ballard. "It is something I've always wanted to do, so when I saw the opportunity, I jumped on it."
Ballard comes to the Pioneers from Milton, FL, where he was the Head Coach for the Panda Wrestling Alliance. Before the Pandas, Ballard was at the helm of the University of Baltimore County, where he coached eight national qualifiers and one All-American at the National Collegiate Wrestling Association National Championships.
"We are very excited to bring Brandon on board," says Lisa Bottem, Northland's Former Athletic Administrator. "Brandon is a former high school state champion wrestler and also wrestled at the collegiate level. He has coached at the high school, college, and club levels and brings experience working with wrestlers of all ages and skill levels. We are confident that Brandon will continue to grow the Pioneer Wrestling program that Scott DCamp has built over the years."
Following high school, Ballard wrestled at South Dakota State University, earning a spot as a starter during his true freshman season. After a one-year stint at SDSU, Ballard went to NJCAA Labette College in southeast Kansas. After obtaining his degree, Ballard ended his career at York College of Pennsylvania, where he qualified for the NCAA Division III National Championships and fell just one match shy of making the podium.
Ballard aims to build a good environment for his athletes in the upcoming season. "I want to build really good wrestlers, National Champions are great, but I think it's more important who they become after wrestling," Ballard said. "I want to prepare these kids for the next step in life. I hope I can push them to be even more than they thought they could become."
Ballard will replace Scott DCamp, who resigned earlier this year after having qualified over 25 wrestlers to the NJCAA National Tournament and coaching eleven MCAC Region XIII Champions.
The Pioneers look to add eight new commits to the roster who will join one returning sophomore. "I am excited to help lead this program to even greater things through hard work, structure, and instilling that competitive mindset to improve each day," Ballard said. "I'm working hard to bring in a great group of wrestlers and I am very excited to see where we can take this team."
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