Football
- Title:
- Director of Sports Performance
- Phone:
- 205-348-3600
Regarded among the best in the field, David Ballou joined the Alabama program in March of 2020 as the Director of Sports Performance after two years at Indiana University where he was the Director of Athletic Performance.
Ballou brings a scientific approach to the Crimson Tide's tradition of hard work and dedication that is put towards getting faster and stronger. Working alongside Dr. Matt Rhea, the Tide's director of sports science, Ballou implements Coach Saban's offseason program, which includes the well-known "Fourth-Quarter Program."
Ballou and his entire strength and conditioning staff work in unison with athletic training and performance nutrition to create the optimal environment for training and development. At Alabama, Ballou oversees the Crimson Tide's 37,000-square-foot weight room that was updated in the spring of 2020 with 20 Elite Form Power Trackers and three 1080 Sprint devices from 1080 Motion.
The $9-million Alabama weight room opened in 2013 and features 21,000-square feet on the first level and 16,000-square feet on the second floor. The ground level is comprised of a weight room that is highlighted by 24 combination racks that feature platforms built into the ground for a level surface that provides a safer training environment. The weight room also has a state-of-the-art performance nutrition center to fuel Alabama student-athletes, plus physicians' offices and strength and conditioning offices.
While overseeing the Hoosiers, 11 players earned All-Big Ten honors in 2019 as Indiana went 8-5 and played in the Gator Bowl, the team's first Florida bowl game. IU's eight wins were also its most since 1993. Four IU standouts moved on to the NFL under Ballou, including Washington Redskins fourth-round pick Wes Martin. In total, Ballou has trained 31 NFL draft picks in his career.
Prior to Indiana, Ballou spent 2017 as Notre Dame's co-director of football strength and conditioning. In his lone season in South Bend, the Fighting Irish went 10-3 with a victory over LSU in the Citrus Bowl. Notre Dame had posted a 4-8 record prior to his arrival. During his time with the Fighting Irish, Ballou helped develop a Joe Moore Award-winning offensive line, honoring the best line in the country. Two of those linemen, guard Quenton Nelson (6) and tackle Mike McGlinchey (9), were drafted in the Top 10 of the 2018 NFL Draft while four ND players were selected overall.
Before his time in college, Ballou worked as the head football strength and conditioning coach at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., for two years, helping both the 2015 and 2016 teams go undefeated. In 2016, seven IMG players were laser-timed at under 4.5 seconds in the 40-yard dash one year after having no players reach that mark. Twenty-one of the 22 starters to open the 2016 campaign also started in the final game of the season.
Ballou's longest tenure was at Avon (Ind.) High School from 2002-14. During his time as the strength and conditioning coach, the teams won six state championships in multiple sports and seven others were finalists. He assisted in the development of 80 Division I athletes. In 2014, Ballou was a finalist for the NSCA National High School Strength Coach of the Year.
A graduate of Indiana in 2001, Ballou played fullback for the Hoosiers from 1997-99 and was recognized as the Hoosier Strength Challenge Champion. Ballou earned his bachelor's degree in kinesiology while in Bloomington and obtained a master's degree in human movement from A.T. Still University in 2009.
Ballou has been a certified strength and conditioning specialist since 2001. He is married to the former Leah Horn, a Bloomington, Ind., native who was a pole vaulter and graduate at Indiana. The couple has two daughters, Mallory and Aubrey.
