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GoachVinceSallardo's
SAN MARCOS * Vince Ballardo
was a natural athlete with dreams of
going professional.He was an allcity
high school quarterback in Los Angeles during the early 1970sas well
as an all-starbaseball,basketballand
football player.
"fhere were no video gamesback
then," he said. "Kids played in the
streets and didn't specializein one
sport,"
Bailardo sustained a knee iniury
during his first year of college that
dashed any hopes of playing college
or professional iootball. Instead, he
turned to 'coaching his, nieces and
nephews, as well as youngsters who
dropped by the Glendale Parks &
Recreation Department; where he
worked as recreation director while
going to college.
"I learned about kids during this
time," he said. "They came to the
center becauseI was there and they
wanted to piay organized sports.
"I started off as a nice guy but then
learned that the kids come first and
rot to pay attention to the parents."
After earning a bachelor's degree
in businessfrom California StateUni
versity Long Beach in 1981,Eallardo
went to work in the family printing
business.
Looking back, he realizes this was a
wnrdc
"(Coaching)goesway
beyondteachingsports.
Youteachthingsaboutlife.
Everythingrelatesto real life.
Youthcoachesneedto know
that andteachthat.
"KidsI coacheddidn'tknowI
was teachingthem aboutlife,
becauseI was instillingit in
tn" nu*u"'
...
"TheonethingI'velearned
as a resultof illness:Subtract opinions,and subtract
philosophies,
andall that's
left is that you havepeoplein
your life who careabo[ltyou.
lf youarefortunateenough,
you'llfinda soulmateand
havechildren.Peoplesay,
'Whataboutreligion?'I say, ,
'Subtractphilosophy."'
Vince Ballardois the owner of Coach& Play Teamgports in San Marcos.He
not only sells athletic suppliesand uniforms for youth sports; the longtime
youth copchalsois there to providehis own styls of adviceand wisdom about
slorts - and life - to players,coachesand parentsalike. rirrran
cox
"I was stubbornand thought,'I ean
at least coach my kid's Trball,' " Ballardo said."So I lied abouthis ageand
said he was 5, even though he was 4. I
thought, 'Here I'm dying, and I want
WHERE
815GrandAve.,
to coach my son'sTlball league.'
Suite104,sanMarcos
"i thought, 'He'll thank me iater
pHoNE{.J60)47r-4344
when he coacheshis own kids.' "
ONtINEthecoachingstore.
During the next few years,Ballardo
com
coached his son's soccer, baseball,
basketbailand flag football games,
"I coachedmore than 20 teamsthat
my kid was on and another l0 that
life-alteringdecision.
he wasn't on," Ballardo said. "Some
"I remember a label on a solvent peoplelike to read,some watch telecontalner rnat rcao,'l'lease use tnrs
product with prop€r ventilation.This
In 1999,Bruce Bochy, then managproduct can causeblood diseases,'" er of the Padres,presented Ballardo
he said.
with Legoland's Heart of Learning
"There were giant ventilation fans, Award for his positive influence on
but we couldn't aford them."
children and his willingness to coach
In1991Ballardowasdiagnosedwith through an adversesituation.
chronic myelogenousleukemia.
At about the same time Ballardo
"Some people work around these launched a home-based Internet
chenricalsand are 6ne," he said."I've sporting goods businesscalled The
learned there's something that trig- Coaching Store with his nephew,
gers cancer.I iust hit the wrong com- Chris Morales.
t
'
'
I
r
d
4
lrf wi:dnrn
flourished.he said. until 2006 when
Sports Chalet opened a store a few
biocks away.
"I couldn't compete with them, so
I started hooking up with leagues,"
Ballardosaid.
Since then, his businesshad provided jerseysand eqripment for local
youth leagues.
"My main business comes from
San Marcos Pop Warner," Ballardo
said. "They respect my knowledge of
the game,honestyof the product and
pricing.
"i can also help the coaches,espe-
i
i'lfe
parents."
Sarah Rivera orders products for
the SanMarcosteam.
"Vince takes care of everything
fast and beats everyone's prices,"
she said. "He's upfront and always
stands by his word and does what
he says."
Altholgh Ballardo's leukemia is
in remission, he continues to have
systemicproblems with rejection as
"There'sthe mentalitythat
everyone
shouldplayquar"
terback.Kidsand parents
haveto learnabout reallife.
At 9,a childneedsto realizethat you don't get what
you want;you get what you
deserve,You'renot always
goingto be the guywho gets
the job or position.Thatgirl
that you like is not alwaysgoingto likeyou.Soyoumake
adjustments."
.
"Becausetherewas no treatmentfor my leukemia,they
hadto replacemy bloodwith
a bonemarrowtransplant,No
relativesmatched,but they
foundan unrelateddonor.I
couldn'tlearnhis identityfor
a year,
"WhenI foundout about
George(the donor),I discoveredhe was an undercover
policemanfrom Nei^/Jersey
who got into the registrybecausehe wantedto helpthe
daughterof a fellowofficer.
He'sso strongthat I'm not
surprisedhe'skept me alive.
"NowGeorgeis an oncology
nurse.I thankhimfor saving my life.Hethanksmefor
changingthe directionof his."
-T6?mqTFdF0ea1isel
gaveut mt
true passion,coaching,for money."
After undergoing a bone marrow
transplant, Ballardo moved to La
Costa in 1992with his wife, Christy,
and their son, Blake.
For the next year, Ballardo had to
eat oniy sterilizedfood from a can to
avoidinfection.Ifhe went outside,he
had to wear a mask. He was unable
to work.
all over the nation," Morales said.
"With his coachingbackground,he's
an expert on everything.
"They'll ask him,'What bat should
I use?'or'How do I get my kid to play
sports?'"
A few years later, Ballardo gave
the city of SanMarcos its first sporting goods store when he opened
Coach & Play Team Sports on San
Marcos Boulevard. The business
plant,
Morales said that when Ballardo
isn't feeling well, no one knows it.
"Every day he comes in and treats
the customerwith respect,"Morales
said. "In his mind, they are always
right."
Patti Inzanoand her husband,Don,
havebeen friends with the Ballardos
since1991.
"Vince was my son's first Tball
coach,"Patti Inzano said."The thing
he wanted to do most was coach.
"He's an amazingdad.He givesback
to the community. He is motivational
and is frequently asked to speak at
fundraisers. Vince can't hold down
a 9-to-5 iob, but he's found his niche
with his business.It's his lifeline."
LillianCoxis a fre€lance
writerwholives
in Encinitas.