The Why and How of Primetime Elevation's Roots

---

Jason Ballard's Elite Performance Coaching roots began in Middle School in his home state of Wisconsin. At that point in his life, he developed a deep passion for basketball and his goal was to be an NCAA Division One Basketball Player.  The summer between 5th and 6th Grade he had a transforming movement when he attended a basketball camp at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside where ex-NBA star and TV voice of the Milwaukee Buck Jon McGlockin was a guest speaker.  Jon's speech on how the most successful people think and spend their time was a life changing moment.   Because of Jon's teachings, Jason became obsessed with separating himself from his competition with a mission to be the best conditioned athlete on the floor.  

During the summer, every evening before he went to bed he would plan his next day around his workouts. That motivation to outlast his opponents on the hardwood led him to developing speed and endurance. By his Sophomore year in high school, family and other coaches encouraged him to try Track and Field. During his Junior year in high school, he became a top-tier 400 meter runner in the state of Wisconsin. When letters and interest from colleges around the Midwest started arriving, he decided that it would be fun to go on a nationwide self-recruiting campaign to see which schools would give him the opportunity to run for them.

Through that campaign, the University of Miami began to recruit him and ultimately that was the school he decided on. Being a student-athlete was something that Jason excelled at.  Not only did he have a solid career on the track but had similar success in the classroom.  He graduated Cum Ladue from the School of Business with a degree in Finance and Minor in Accounting.  In addition, he was the Treasurer of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee.  The experience of having to maximize his time and productivity as a student-athlete built an extremely great foundation for his future success in business and as a family man. 

Furthermore, during his college track career he had the blessing of learning from some of the best sports performance scientists on how the greatest athletes prepare off of the playing surface to give them the best chance for peak performance every time the competed.  Jason was fascinate on how being detailed orientated with numerous intangibles gave the world's best athletes a leg up on their competition.   These lessons stuck with him well past his athletic career was over and later applied them to both his personal and professional lives.

During the Summer between his Junior and Senior year in college, he was blessed to land an internship at AK Capital LLC, a New York based Broker/Dealer of securities.  That summer of hard work paid dividends for him by being offering a full-time job after college and placed on the Mortgage-Backed Securities Trading Desk.  Being on a Wall Street trading desk where split second decisions and time management are the difference between making money and losing money, his efficiency and productivity were honed. In addition, long and exhausting days on a capital markets trading floor taught him not only how to maximize his energy, but how to recover properly from it.  Early in his career he earned his Master’s in Finance from Florida International University while working full-time.  That exhausting process taught him what are his priorities lie and reinforced how to have laser focus.  That focus helped him structure over One billion Dollars in Mortgage related securities during his career.

As Jason's career progressed, many colleagues started to notice that he was more efficient and productive than almost everyone else.  More importantly, he seemed to be abnormal on Wall Street because he did seem to suffer from burnout despite the ambitious pace of life that he led.  As time went on, Jason started to mentor and teach people similar skills that he learned from Jon McGlocklin as a kid and those sports scientists in college.  Most people would tell him they wished they learned what he taught them 20 years earlier because it was so impactful. 

The University of Miami is also where Jason met his wife Leanne. She would often complain to him when they first started dating that "Nobody else prioritizes what you do with your time quite like you".  Little did she know those would be the building blocks to build a thriving dual parent income household.  Currently, Jason and his wife Leanne reside in Jupiter, FL. Each day they tackle the challenges of managing both of their careers while raising their two kids Emily and Blake. Leanne works on a Global Marketing team for a Fortune Top 50 Healthcare Company. Outside of work, Jason enjoys balancing his exercise routine, playing golf, coaching numerous youth sports teams, and being an active member of his church in many leadership roles.

When Jason started to coach his two children in youth sports, two things happened.  First, his wife continuously said you have a special talent and passion for coaching.  Second, many parents of the kids he coached started to ask how do you balance your time and energy to coach will all of the other responsibilities on your plate?  Just like with his colleagues, he began to mentor these parents and they started to comment they wished these tools had been learned 20 years ago.