News        from ABAC

Michael D. Chason Director of Public Relations ABAC 30 -- 2802 Moore Highway Tifton, GA 31793-2601 Phone 229-391-5055 Fax 229-391-5056 mchason@abac.edu

Immediate May 2, 2005

Jimmy Ballenger, New Head Coach of the Women’s Soccer Team at ABAC.

Ballenger Named Coach of Women’s Soccer Team

TIFTON- Jimmy Ballenger has been selected as the head coach of the first women’s soccer team in the history of Abraham Baldwin College.

Alan Kramer, Director of Athletics said, “Jimmy is a perfect fit for our Division.  He has played college ball here at ABAC and coached locally.  He is competitive, organized and strives to be the best at all times in everything he does.  I look forward to working with him in the upcoming year to get ready for the inaugural season to begin in August of 2006.”

Ballenger will become a full-time member of the ABAC faculty in fall 2005, teaching health and wellness, weight training, and golf; classes he currently teaches on a part-time basis at the college. He will also serve as the Recreational Sports Director for the 2005-2006 school term.

“Jimmy will be a tremendous asset to our HPER program of instruction. He has already proven himself as an instructor of high quality in the classes he’s taught for us on a part-time basis. He’s thorough, dependable, and passionate about his work.” said Andrea Willis, chair of the Division of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation.

Originally from LaGrange, Ballenger is a graduate of Troup County High School where he played baseball and football. He played baseball for the Golden Stallions while a student at ABAC. He received his undergraduate degree in Education in May, 1999 from Valdosta State University and his master’s degree in Health and Physical Education in December, 2004 from Albany State University.

Ballenger has been a resident of Tifton since 1994. He was an assistant baseball coach at Tift County High School for two years and an assistant football coach for three years at Eighth Street Middle School. Currently, he teaches 5th grade Health, Science, Math & Social Studies at Matt Wilson School.

Ballenger will spend the 2005-06 year recruiting players while the new soccer complex is being built. The first women’s soccer season will begin in the fall of 2006.

“It’s exciting because ABAC has never had a soccer team before, and I get the opportunity to be the first coach. And I’m even more excited about the community supporting this sport and its players,” Ballenger said.

He already has some goals in mind for his team.

“First and foremost, I want my student athletes to graduate from ABAC. Second, I’d like to win the Region 17 Championship and dethrone Young Harris College (currently ranked second in the nation), and third, to provide exposure for young women to move on to a four-year school,” Ballenger said.

Ballenger and his wife, Joy, reside in Tifton with their three year old son, Carson.

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