Sophomore Shane Ball is a multisport athlete at La Salle — an avid participant in both soccer and basketball. He started playing soccer at the age of three and later took on basketball in the third grade, but what first sparked his love for sports was his father.

Growing up, Ball’s father was a photographer for high school sports. “I’d always go around with him to the local high school games, so I’d always be around sports,” he said. Because of his constant immersion in sports, Ball quickly fell in love with them. 

Ball chose to attend La Salle because of his older sister, senior Allie Ball. “She kind of just paved the way for me,” he said. Ever since, he has been a part of La Salle’s basketball and soccer teams, and feels as though he has found his place both on and off the field and court, describing the athletic environment as “where I feel most belonged and most like myself.” 

In the fall, Ball played on the JV2 soccer team, but has now transitioned to the winter basketball season, and is currently playing on the JV basketball team. 

Although he enjoys both sports, Ball’s main focus is basketball which he puts the majority of his work and time into. Additionally, he mainly uses soccer as a way to prepare himself and get in shape for basketball. “I still love the sport, of course, but I mostly prioritize basketball,” he said. 

Ball has developed many connections with both his teammates and the coaching staff on the basketball team during his time playing at La Salle thus far. “I love our varsity coach, Sean Kelly,” Ball said. “He’s a really good coach and I’ve really connected with him over the past two years.”

In addition to Coach Kelly, Ball looks up to senior Aidan Cate, saying that he has “been there since day one,” helping Ball navigate tryouts and other challenges during freshman year. 

Naturally, juggling both sports and academics has not been an easy task. “It was hard freshman year to transition to high school and get used to the workloads,” Ball said. “Especially at La Salle because I came from a public school.” Although it’s a lot of work, the challenges of being a student athlete have helped Ball develop skills such as time management, allowing him to create schedules that simultaneously prioritize his own free time whilst balancing things like practice and homework. 

Overall, basketball has helped Ball strengthen his connections with others and create new friendships across all grade levels — a valuable aspect of high school sports. He particularly enjoys the bus rides to games, and says they “create a lot of memories off the court.” 

Looking ahead, Ball hopes to make varsity basketball. “It’s always been a goal,” he said. “I would have to work hard.”

His advice to future Falcon athletes is to always have fun. “There’s times you take it seriously, and there’s also times you get to have fun, too,” he said. “Come in and do your best, and your best will be enough.”