We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Cordaryl Ballard a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Cordaryl , thanks for joining us today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

The story behind the brick initiative was to create not only better athletes but also to create leaders and role models on and off the court.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

How did you get into your industry?

I played professional basketball for ten years and around year six I start to train kids for free at a local recreation center. The co-founder Renny Tyson, and I had started to build a good clientele so we decided to build a training academy and basketball league. It started with only 60 kids the first year and by year 4 we were up to a 1000 kids. We wanted to continue helping the community so we then decided it was time to expand to help kids become better basketball players and better role models.

What problems did you solve/set you apart?

I think the thing that sets us apart is we go above and beyond to create the ultimate experience not only for the kids but also the families.

What are you most proud of?

I am most proud of how many kids we have impacted. Whether that is making them better role models, or all the kids that we have sent off to college. To see all they have accomplished makes me proud.

What do you want people to know?

I call our brand the melting pot because you get all walks of life. We have many different groups of people that come to the academy or join the basketball leagues and in the world we live in today I think that it is important to know everyone always has a place to come. Brick Initiative is more than a non-profit its a community.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I use to think professional basketball was my passion. At the time it was my passion and I am thankful to have been able to play professional basketball. However, my passion changed once I started training kids. I realized my passion was bigger than just professional basketball and I had to pivot from what I was use to if I wanted to make a difference. I wanted to help people with not only basketball and training but also with any struggles they may be facing at school, work, or within the community. I want make an impact in peoples lives.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Presentation, organization, and honesty. Presentation because people appreciate when things look good and are consistent, and it makes them want to keep coming back. Organization because people appreciate when things are ran well and are on time especially when you are dealing with families with multiple kids, timing is everything. Honesty because the kids appreciate when we do not sugarcoat things. It not only gets them ready for higher levels of basketball but also gets them ready for the real world.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.bricksports.org
• Instagram: TheBrickLeague
• Facebook: BrickLeagueColumbus
• Twitter: @thebrickleague1