Freshman Ballard prepares for Louisville homecoming

In the backyard of duPont Manual High School, freshman midfielder Richard Ballard’s alma mater, Louisville men’s soccer Coach Ken Lolla was building a program that has found itself in the top 25 the last few seasons.

The team took a trip to the national championship in 2010.

In contrast, Indiana is decades removed from its first trip to a national championship in 1976.

A former Hoosier midfielder, John Michael Hayden coached Ballard’s club team in Louisville, Ky.

IU Coach Todd Yeagley said Ballard knew what it took to don a Hoosier uniform, but Hayden also helped guide Ballard through the college process.

Ballard, who will make his first trip back to Louisville on Wednesday, said he sought a change of scenery.

“I looked into that school,” he said, referring to Louisville. “I knew their coach really well. He’s a great coach. I kind of wanted to move out of the area because I’ve grown up there my whole life. The school (Indiana) is awesome, and the soccer’s even better. That led me here.”

Although Ballard wanted to break away from his roots for college, he said his homecoming is special.

“It’s really sentimental,” he said. “It’s going to be awesome. I’m going to have a huge home crowd there and bring everyone out. It’ll be awesome to see everyone. I expect the best out of our team and hope for a victory.”

Yeagley said Ballard has performed well with the ball at his feet.

“He reminds me a lot of Jon Michael, which is the crazy part,” Yeagley said. “He’s technically extremely gifted, which is Jon Michael’s trade. He’s got a lot of creativity, and he’s an unbalancer of the dribble. He’s got great shifty hips, his ability to unbalance and create guys to step. You need to penetrate off the dribble. He’s got that ability, similar to (junior midfielder) A.J. (Corrado), where he can beat guys and lay it off. That’s where Richard’s game is when he’s at his best.”

Though Ballard has appeared in only three matches so far, his teammates said his attitude is fantastic.

“He has (some) of the fastest feet I’ve ever seen, maybe,” junior midfielder Nikita Kotlov said. “He works really hard. He never gives up, and when he comes on the field, he brings a different style with his shifty feet.”

Kotlov also created a nickname for his freshman teammate.

“I call him Giggles, because every time I see him, he’s always smiling,” Kotlov said. “That’s always good to have. I’ve never seen him down. He seems in a comfortable position, and he knows he’ll get his chance. I’m sure of it, as well.”

Ballard said he’s relished gaining the nickname.

“He calls me that because I laugh a lot,” Ballard said. “Whenever he makes eye contact with me, he just happens to laugh because I’m laughing. So he calls me Giggs sometimes. Or Giggles. Not much to it.”

As he matures, Yeagley said Ballard will play a significant role.

“Richard’s going to have a really nice career here, no doubt,” Yeagley said. “He’s driven. That’s what we liked. Call him a soccer junkie. He still needs to get a little bit stronger, understand the physical part of the game.

“Right now, it’s just getting him to become a more effective finisher. He’ll definitely help us around the corner.”