Ballard High School (Louisville)
Encyclopedia
Ballard High School is a senior high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

 in the eastern suburbs of Louisville
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...

, Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

. The school opened in the fall of 1968. The first students were in grades 7
Seventh grade
Seventh grade is a year of education in the United States and many other nations. The seventh grade is the seventh school year after kindergarten. Students are usually 12–13 years old. Traditionally, seventh grade was the next-to-last year of elementary school...

-9
Ninth grade
Ninth grade is the ninth post-kindergarten year of school education in some school systems. The students are 13 to 15 years of age, depending on when their birthday occurs. Depending on the school district, ninth grade is usually the first year of high school....

, and a grade was added each year as the building was expanded. This kept the school system from having to transfer upper class students from other high schools. The first class (consisting of the original freshmen) graduated in 1972. Ballard has had an interesting tradition of long serving principals. From its founding until the mid 1980s the principal was Patrick Crawford. Sandy Allen served from the mid eighties to the 2003-2004 school year. The principal as of the 2004-2005 school year is Dr. Jim Jury. The school offers grades 9-12
Twelfth grade
Twelfth grade or Senior year, or Grade Twelve, are the North American names for the final year of secondary school. In most countries students then graduate at age 17 or 18. In some countries, there is a thirteenth grade, while other countries do not have a 12th grade/year at all...

.

Ballard has a long-standing tradition of excellence in academics, athletics and the arts. Ballard's mission is to expose students to a solid liberal arts curriculum consisting of high-level courses and award-winning arts programs. Ballard offers a solid Advance Program curriculum which, according to their website, includes 19 College Board
College Board
The College Board is a membership association in the United States that was formed in 1900 as the College Entrance Examination Board . It is composed of more than 5,900 schools, colleges, universities and other educational organizations. It sells standardized tests used by academically oriented...

 Advance Placement(AP) courses. Ballard consistently scores above the national mean on the ACT and SAT test, and has the highest CATS scores in Jefferson County
Jefferson County, Kentucky
As of the census of 2000, there were 693,604 people, 287,012 households, and 183,113 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 305,835 housing units at an average density of...

 of non-selective schools. Ballard offers French, Japanese, Latin and Spanish and has a world travel program, which gives students the opportunity to travel to Europe each year. Ballard continues to rank 2nd in the district and top 10 in the state for numbers of National Merit Scholars. Ballard High School was the first Jefferson County public high school recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as an exemplary school.

Ballard is a good academic institution in the Louisville metropolitan area and consists of students from all across the city. The student body is known for their outrageous school spirit. Ballard was the first Jefferson County public high school recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence. They were also the national high school academic quiz bowl champions in 1990 by winning the Panasonic Academic Challenge
Panasonic Academic Challenge
The National Tournament of Academic Excellence is one of a small number of national competitions that is held in June for high school quizbowl teams in the United States. The NTAE has been run in June of each year since 1988...

. In 1984 Sherleen S. Sisney, a teacher of History, Economics and Political Science, won the National Teacher of the Year
National Teacher of the Year
The National Teacher of the Year is a professional award in the United States. The program began in 1952, as a project by the Council of Chief State School Officers , and aims to reward excellence in teaching...

 award.

Campus

The campus at Ballard High School consists of the main school building as well as the fine arts building. The main building is referred to by students and faculty as four separate buildings (North, South, East, and West), although all four sections are connected to each other by overhead walkways. The South and North buildings house the majority of the classrooms at Ballard High School as well as the North and South offices. The West building's first floor is the home of Ballard's famed art department and the 2nd floor houses the Library. The East building's 1st floor contains the three cafeterias, the Ballard Bank, and the Ballard Student Guidance Center (College Counselor.) The East building second floor is the home of Ballard's award-winning Music department as well as both the large and small gymnasiums.

The Sandy Allen Fine Arts Center is a state-of-the-art performing arts facility on the Ballard High School campus. The 22500 sq ft (2,090.3 m²). facility, which opened in 1998, seats 900 and features some of the best architecture in the Louisville
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...

 area. The fine arts center is used for musical and theatrical productions put on by the school's fine arts department.

In Kentucky care must be taken not to confuse this school with Ballard Memorial High School, the public high school that serves Ballard County
Ballard County, Kentucky
Ballard County is a county located in west of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It was created by the Kentucky State Legislature in 1842, and is named for Captain Bland Ballard, a soldier, statesman, and member of the Kentucky General Assembly. He was one of the few Kentucky volunteers to survive the...

 in the far-western Jackson Purchase
Jackson Purchase
The Jackson Purchase is a region in the state of Kentucky bounded by the Mississippi River to the west, the Ohio River to the north, and Tennessee River to the east. Although technically part of Kentucky at its statehood in 1792, the land did not come under definitive U.S. control until 1818, when...

.

Current student body

Subset Number of students Percent
All 1700 100%
White 1140 67.1%
African American 442 26.0%
Asian 64 3.8%
Hispanic 28 1.7%

Choir, band, orchestra and speech

The Ballard choral program is one of the largest in the state of Kentucky's and has numerous students that are accepted to KMEA. The choir received distinguished ratings at the regional KMEA Assessment in 2005 and has received national and international awards in the past. They have offered a tradition dating back at least since the early 1980s of having select choral students comprise a madrigal
Madrigal (music)
A madrigal is a secular vocal music composition, usually a partsong, of the Renaissance and early Baroque eras. Traditionally, polyphonic madrigals are unaccompanied; the number of voices varies from two to eight, and most frequently from three to six....

 singers group.

Ballard's concert band received distinguished ratings at regional and statewide concert band and solo/ensemble events. In 2006 the Marching Bruins won the prestigious Grand Champion Award at the Mid-States Band Association's championships. The Ballard High School marching band also was in state three times in a row, the only marching band in Louisville to make it three consecutive years. The marching band has proven themselves to be one of the top marching bands in Louisville.

The Ballard Orchestra received distinguished ratings at the 2005 regional KMEA Large Ensemble Assessment. Ballard's quick recall team is ranked second in the county league, while suffering only one defeat to DuPont Manual High School.

Athletics

Athletics at Ballard are competitive and very successful, winning 57 team state championships and many other individual championships. Ballard is a Kentucky powerhouse in baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

, basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

, cheerleading
Cheerleading
Cheerleading is a physical activity, sometimes a competitive sport, based on organized routines, usually ranging from one to three minutes, which contain the components of tumbling, dance, jumps, cheers, and stunting to direct spectators of events to cheer on sports teams at games or to participate...

, American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

, lacrosse
Lacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...

, track
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...

, softball
Softball
Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...

, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...

 and soccer. Ballard Baseball, Ballard Basketball, and Ballard Football have sent many athletes on to college and to the pro ranks. The head basketball coach is Chris Renner, and the head baseball coach is Greg Gilbert. The basketball team was the state runner up in 1987, 2003, 2007, and 2010, and won the state championship in 1977, 1988 and 1999. Many Ballard basketball players have gone on to play college basketball, such as Antiquawn Beckham who currently plays for the University of Kentucky.

Ballard's nine state championships in soccer outnumber those of any other program in Kentucky (1976, 1981, 1982, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1993, 1995 and 1999). The soccer team was also ranked number one in the nation in the championship season of 1999. Under the leadership of coach Damon Bootes they went 27-0 en route to a state championship. That same team sent 14 players on to play Division 1 soccer at the collegiate level.

The girls' softball team is a perennial power and were the state runners up in 2005.

Ballard's Varsity cheerleading team continues on the great tradition of taking home many 1st place trophies. The girls have been nationally recognized, and travel to various cities to compete at a high level. Some of the cities include Dallas, Lexington
Lexington, Kentucky
Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...

, Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...

, and Indianapolis
Indianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...

. This program has sent numerous ladies into the division 1 level - including Kimberly Brakmier (whom is currently the varsity coach), Michelle Lose, Jasmine Taylor, and Paige Hagan.

Football

Founded: 1970
Conference: Class 6A
Division: District 6-5
Home field: Pat Crawford Stadium, seating capacity
Seating capacity
Seating capacity refers to the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, both in terms of the physical space available, and in terms of limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that seats two to a stadium that seats...

 of 6,000.
Uniform colors: Maroon, white, Black
Helmet design: Maroon shell with Ballard B on one side and white numbers on the opposite side
Athletic director: Chris Kinney
Main Rivals: Eastern Eagles, Male Bulldogs
Louisville Male High School
Louisville Male Traditional High School is a public secondary school serving students in grades 9 through 12 in the southside of Louisville, Kentucky, USA. It is part of the Jefferson County Public School District....

, Trinity Shamrocks
Trinity High School (Louisville)
Trinity High School is a Catholic, all-boys, college preparatory high school located in St. Matthews, Kentucky, a city within the Louisville Metro governmental area. Trinity first opened its doors in 1953, when Archbishop John Floersh anticipated the growth of Louisville's eastern suburbs by...

Coach: Mike Jackson
Record: 8-4" (2010) - #5 in Ky. 6A

Basketball

Founded: 1970
Conference: Class 6A
Division: 7th Region
Home Court: Jim Reuther Gymnasium, seating capacity
Seating capacity
Seating capacity refers to the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, both in terms of the physical space available, and in terms of limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that seats two to a stadium that seats...

 of 2,000.
Uniform colors: Maroon, White, Black
Main Rivals: Eastern High School, Louisville Male High School
Louisville Male High School
Louisville Male Traditional High School is a public secondary school serving students in grades 9 through 12 in the southside of Louisville, Kentucky, USA. It is part of the Jefferson County Public School District....

, Jeffersontown High School
Jeffersontown High School
Jeffersontown High School is a public high school in the Jefferson County public schools district in Kentucky....

, Trinity High School
Trinity High School (Louisville)
Trinity High School is a Catholic, all-boys, college preparatory high school located in St. Matthews, Kentucky, a city within the Louisville Metro governmental area. Trinity first opened its doors in 1953, when Archbishop John Floersh anticipated the growth of Louisville's eastern suburbs by...

, Scott County High School
Head Coach: Chris Renner (most victorious coach of all time in Ballard's history: 258)
Record: 2010-2011 season 30-4, District Champs

Men's Lacrosse

Founded: 2003
Conference: Class 3A
Division: 7th Region
Home Field: Pat Crawford Stadium, seating capacity
Seating capacity
Seating capacity refers to the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, both in terms of the physical space available, and in terms of limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that seats two to a stadium that seats...

 of 6,000.
Uniform colors: Black, White Maroon, Baby Blue
Main Rivals: Trinity High School
Trinity High School (Louisville)
Trinity High School is a Catholic, all-boys, college preparatory high school located in St. Matthews, Kentucky, a city within the Louisville Metro governmental area. Trinity first opened its doors in 1953, when Archbishop John Floersh anticipated the growth of Louisville's eastern suburbs by...

, Louisville Collegiate School
Louisville Collegiate School
Louisville Collegiate School is a junior kindergarten-12th grade, co-ed independent day school located in the Highlands neighborhood of Louisville, Kentucky...

Head Coach: Bryan Moore
Record: 2007-2008 season 11-4

Women's Lacrosse

Home Field: Charles Musson Sports Complex/ Shelton Field
Uniform Colors: Black and White
Main Rivals: Kentucky Country Day School
Kentucky Country Day School
Kentucky Country Day is an independent co-educational college preparatory day school for junior kindergarten through 12th grade located in Louisville, Kentucky. It is located in northeastern Jefferson County on a large suburban campus. Today KCD is recognized as a regional leader in educational...

, Louisville Collegiate School
Louisville Collegiate School
Louisville Collegiate School is a junior kindergarten-12th grade, co-ed independent day school located in the Highlands neighborhood of Louisville, Kentucky...

Head Coach: Dane Brown
Record: 2007-2008 season JV 10-0

Fight song

(Sung to the tune of the Notre Dame Victory March
Notre Dame Victory March
The "Notre Dame Victory March" is the fight song for the University of Notre Dame. It was written by two brothers who were Notre Dame graduates. The Rev. Michael J. Shea, a 1905 graduate, wrote the music, and his brother, John F. Shea, who earned degrees in 1906 and 1908, wrote the original lyrics...

)
Three cheers for our Ballard High
Maroon and white our colors fly High
Send a victory cheer on High
Our spirit and pride will never Die!

Whether the odds be great or be small
Our Ballard High will win over all
As our mighty team goes marching
Onward to victory, VICTORY!

Trivia

Ballard has one of the highest graduation rates in the state of Kentucky, with 97.27% of seniors graduating.

Ballard is considered a 5 star school and is ranked 8th out of 213 schools for being one of Kentucky's best public high schools, according to a popular high school analyst called SchoolDigger.

The school has a history of senior-year pranks. Some of the more infamous ones was the 1974 release of three greased pigs into the school hallways; more recently, a pair of seniors vandalized the principal's office and the famed mural hallway with eggs and whitewash, which was reported on the next morning's television news.

In the 2005-2006 school year, a local news channel trespassed onto the school's property. They had a hidden camera and recorded their trespassing, and hallway routines in the school. Later that week, the story was on the nightly news and told viewers how easy it was to break into Ballard High School.

Notable alumni

  • Jerry Eaves
    Jerry Eaves
    Jerry Lee Eaves is an American college basketball coach and the current head men's basketball coach at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University....

    , NBA basketball player for the Utah Jazz
    Utah Jazz
    The Utah Jazz is a professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. They are currently a part of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association...

    , men's basketball coach at North Carolina A&T
  • Earl Heyman, CFL
    Canadian Football League
    The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....

     football player, defensive lineman for the Edmonton Eskimos
    Edmonton Eskimos
    The Edmonton Eskimos are a Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. They currently play in the West Division of the Canadian Football League . Edmonton is currently the third-youngest franchise in the CFL, although there were clubs with the name Edmonton Eskimos as early as 1895...

    .
  • Allan Houston
    Allan Houston
    Allan Wade Houston is a retired American professional basketball player for the NBA, and currently the Assistant General Manager for the New York Knicks. He was one of the top 3-point shooters in the NBA until a knee injury forced him to retire...

    , NBA basketball player, guard for the New York Knicks
    New York Knicks
    The New York Knickerbockers, prominently known as the Knicks, are a professional basketball team based in New York City. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...

  • Jeremi Johnson
    Jeremi Johnson
    Jeremi Ray Johnson is currently a free agent American football fullback in the National Football League. He was drafted by the Bengals in the fourth round of the 2003 NFL Draft...

    , starting fullback for the Cincinnati Bengals
    Cincinnati Bengals
    The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the AFC's North Division in the National Football League . The Bengals began play in 1968 as an expansion team in the American Football League , and joined the NFL in 1970 in the AFL-NFL...

    .
  • Shawn Kelley
    Shawn Kelley
    Shawn Andrew Kelley is a Major League Baseball relief pitcher for the Seattle Mariners. He attended Ballard High School, and later Austin Peay State University. Kelley was drafted by the Mariners in the 2007 Major League Baseball Draft. He made his professional debut in 2007, and later made his...

    , Major League baseball player for the Seattle Mariners
    Seattle Mariners
    The Seattle Mariners are a professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington. Enfranchised in , the Mariners are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Safeco Field has been the Mariners' home ballpark since July...

    .
  • James Kim
    James Kim
    James Kim was an American television personality and technology analyst for the former TechTV international cable television network, reviewing products for shows including The Screen Savers, Call for Help, and Fresh Gear...

    , 1989, CNET editor and victim of hypothermia
  • Jeff Lamp
    Jeff Lamp
    Jeffrey Alan Lamp is a retired American professional basketball player who was selected by the Portland Trail Blazers in the 1st round of the 1981 NBA Draft. A 6'6" guard-forward from the University of Virginia, Lamp played in 6 NBA seasons for 4 different teams...

    , NBA basketball player
  • Bill Plaschke
    Bill Plaschke
    William Paul "Bill" Plaschke is an American sports journalist who has written for the Los Angeles Times since 1987. As a child he attended St. Albert the Great Elementary School in Louisville. He then went on to attend Ballard High School. He spent his freshman year at Baylor University in Waco,...

    , sports columnist for the Los Angeles Times
    Los Angeles Times
    The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....

     and panelist on ESPN
    ESPN
    Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....

    's Around the Horn
    Around the Horn
    Around the Horn is a daily, half-hour sports roundtable on ESPN filmed in Washington, D.C. It airs at 5:00 pm ET, as part of a sports talk hour with Pardon the Interruption. The show is currently hosted by Tony Reali.-History:Around the Horn premiered on November 4, 2002, hosted by Max Kellerman...

  • Jeremy Sowers
    Jeremy Sowers
    Jeremy Bryan Sowers is an American professional baseball pitcher. Sowers grew up in Louisville, Kentucky, where he attended Ballard High School...

    , baseball player for the Cleveland Indians
    Cleveland Indians
    The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...

  • Ben Thornewill, lead singer and pianist of Jukebox the Ghost
    Jukebox The Ghost
    -Everything Under the Sun:Jukebox the Ghost's second album was released on September 7, 2010. 'Empire' the first single, was released on June 1, 2010.-External links:* * * * *...

    , which has toured nationally and internationally with acts such as Ben Folds, Ra Ra Riot and Adam Green
  • DeJuan Wheat
    DeJuan Wheat
    DeJuan Shontez Wheat is an American professional basketball player, formerly of the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves and Vancouver Grizzlies...

    , NBA basketball player
  • Keisten Jones, 2011 Division II Mens' Basketball National Champion with Bellarmine University

External links

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