Local business offers advantages to students from Pre-K to graduate school

After traveling the world playing basketball, Brandon Hogg returned to Edwardsville and started his business in hopes of using basketball to “educate, motivate and inspire” young basketball players in the area.

Ball Hogg Academy was founded in 2018 by CEO Brandon Hogg, who got the idea for his business after working with Triple Threat Mentoring in Chicago, Illinois, and California.

Since starting his business, Ball Hogg Academy has moved to a sportsplex that he hopes will house multiple sports in the future.

“We were blessed last January, to be able to expand to 20,000 square feet,” Hogg said. “So we went from a basketball training facility, which is our phase one. And now we're heading into our phase two, which is the Bridge Sportsplex, where we plan to house multiple sports, multiple athletes, and just keep expanding.”

The current sportsplex houses three basketball courts, a conditioning area, a weight training area, a lounge and a film room. Some sports Hogg plans to offer in the future include volleyball, baseball and football.

Ball Hogg Academy is not just focused on the physical side of sports. Hogg said they also focus on the “mental and spiritual” sides of athletes. Their brand motto is “educate, motivate and inspire.”

“Footwork, speed, agility, that's the physical side of it,” Hogg said. “Our mental side is motivate. We believe in a relational versus transactional approach, we focus on the person, rather than the player. These kids are dealing with a lot, they got a lot going on at school, and they need an outlet. And then the last one is inspiring. After we get to learn who the athlete is, we want to do the last and final step which is ‘What's your why? What do you want to do as far as impacting the world, now that you have been through our program?’”

According to Hogg, the number of students is growing as well. He said that this year is the most enrollment they’ve had since opening, with over 430 kids registered for basketball trials. Which will hopefully lead to over 40 teams, Hogg said.

Ball Hogg Academy offers training opportunities for kids ages 5-18. According to Hogg, they offer training to kids who are not interested in being on their travel team as well.

For anyone interested in being a part of the Academy but unable to afford it, they offer sponsorships through their not-for-profit called The 40rty Foundation.

“We have local businesses and boosters try to help out and get donations into the academy so that these kids will be able to have that opportunity to play and compete,” Hogg said. “We’re just trying to give everybody the opportunity to be a part of it.”

Outside of opportunities for children and teenagers, Ball Hogg Academy offers opportunities for SIUE students through internships or jobs.

As of right now, Ball Hogg Academy offers internship opportunities to kinesiology majors, physical trainers, and physical therapists.

In the future, Hogg hopes to offer internships to students majoring in marketing and mass communications.

“We want to start shooting videos creating highlight tapes for athletes, and show workouts. We want people that want to record games and break down films to get kids recruited,” Hogg said.

Outside of internships, Hogg said they are always looking to hire coaches and trainers.

As Ball Hogg Academy moves towards expanding, Hogg hopes to continue expanding the creativity of the brand.

“Everybody has their own lanes and their own creativity,” Hogg said. “So we just don't want to box people in here. We want people to think outside the box. And that's pretty much what we did here. We literally took a 20,000 square feet pole barn and just got creative and started thinking outside the box and created a whole sportsplex.”

For more information on enrolling in Ball Hogg Academy visit their website here.

For more information on applying for an internship at Ball Hogg Academy, visit the Career Development Center’s page here.