Alan Ball, Coach and Software
Developer.
Alan Ball, the President of Aball Software, is an experienced
athlete and successful amateur coach. He has been racing
and coaching in the endurance sports of cross-country
skiing and biathlon since the early 80's.
Progressing from coaching 4 - 10 year old cross-country
skiers in the 1980's, Alan is currently coaching national
and international level biathletes. Along the way he has
gained much experience and many formal qualifications.
Currently pursuing NCCP
Level 5 Tasks in Biathlon,
Alan is fully certified at Level 4 in Biathlon and Level 3 Cross Country. He
is also a CANSI
ski instructor and holds NCCP qualifications in Target
Sports. He is the recipient of two 3M Coaching Canada
Awards for coaching excellence.
National coaching assignments include coaching the BC
Team at Cross Country, Biathlon and Cadet Biathlon competitions and latterly for Team Alberta.
International coaching assignments with the Canadian Biathlon
Team include North American Tours and Biathlon World Cup
competitions. Alan was the Head Coach when Canada won
its first-ever gold medal at a European Biathlon Championships
in 2001.
He is currently employed as a development coach by Biathlon Alberta.
Periodized training plans, which coordinate all aspects
of training over the course of a year, provide a meeting
point for his coaching and business skills.
After high school, Alan pursued a career in Molecular
Biology and Biochemistry, which segued into a career in
the software industry via information science. He brings
the skills and insights of this professional background
to the design of software that helps him make training
plans.
Aball Software Incorporated
In 1997, Alan Ball began working on Training Planner
and Electronic Diary software to support his coaching
habit. The software was designed to help coaches and individual
athletes plan and monitor year-round training programs.
Over the years we received technical advice and encouragement
from Biathlon BC, Biathlon Canada, Sports and Recreation
Branch, BC, and the various individuals thanked in the
Acknowledgements. In 2001 we decided to make this a commercial
product and are currently marketing the version 1.07 via
the Internet.
Aball Software Inc. started life as BCD Library and Automation
Consultants in 1978. It was founded by Alan Ball after
a career as a university professor and librarian. The
automation of the Saskatchewan Provincial Library Network,
1978-80, was its first major project. In the early 80's,
library consulting expanded to include research on electronic
information systems, videotex and teletex, particularly
Telidon, precursors to the Internet (Videotex Networks,
IEEE Computer, 13(12), 1980, and Videotex: Chimera or
Dream Machine, Can. Lib. J.,38(1), 1981.)
With the advent of the microcomputer, BCD became Aball
Software Inc. In 1983 we developed an IBM PC-based On-line
Public Access Catalogue (OPAC), M10, for UTLAS, Toronto,
which captured 40% of the Canadian school library market.
Aball launched the Ocelot Library System in 1984, in Canada,
the USA and Australia. It automated all aspects of library
processing, including Cataloguing, Circulation, Acquisitions,
Serials, Authority Control and Public Access Catalogue.
In 1987, with over 450 sites world-wide, Ocelot was sold
to Columbia Computing Services and Aball became the Library
Division of Columbia Computing Services, Vancouver. By
1995, there were over 5000 sites world-wide, including
30% of Canadian schools (With M10, a 70% market share
for Aball designed products). Customers included the US
Dept. of Defense Dependents Schools and Los Angeles Unified
School District, two of the largest school districts in
the world.
Coaching Qualifications:
| Qualification |
Cross Country |
Biathlon |
Target Sports |
|
NCCP Level 1
|
|
|
|
|
CANSI Level 1 Instructor
|
|
.
|
.
|
|
NCCP Level 4
|
|
|
.
|
|
NCCP Master Course Conductor
|
.
|
|
.
|
Leadership Positions:
Cross Country Skiing:
|
|
1982 - 1988
|
Jackrabbit Leader, Regina, SK
|
|
1988 - 1991
|
Parent Volunteer, Junior Challenge Program, Vancouver,
BC
|
|
1991 - 1995
|
Coach, Junior Challenge Program, Vancouver, BC
High Performance Committee, CCBC
|
|
1995 - 2000
|
Coordinator, Junior Challenge Program, Vancouver,
BC
|
|
2000 -
|
Nordic Racers Challenge Program, Club Coach
|
| |
|
Biathlon:
|
|
1995 - 2005
|
Lower Mainland Regional Director, Biathlon BC
|
|
1995 - 2005
|
Nordic Racers (Biathlon), Club Coach
|
|
1995 - 1996
|
Biathlon Coordinator, BC Winter Games, N. Vancouver
Built 10-target Biathlon Range for BC Winter Games
|
|
1996 - 1999
|
Executive Director Biathlon BC
|
|
1998 - 2003
|
Development Squad, Biathlon BC, Head Coach
|
|
2002 - 2003
|
Biathlon Facility Design Group, 2010 Olympic Bid
|
|
2003
|
Canada Winter Games Team, Biathlon BC, Head Coach
|
|
|
|
Other Coaching Experience:
|
|
1991 - 1992
|
BC Winter Games , Cross-Country Coach, Zones 3,
4, 5 (Lower Mainland)
|
|
1993 - 2002
|
BC Winter Games, Biathlon Coach, Zones 3, 4, 5
(Lower Mainland)
|
|
1995
|
Asst. Coach, CCBC at XC Nationals, waxing and feeds.
|
|
1995
|
Asst. Coach, Biathlon BC at Nationals, waxing and
splits.
|
|
1997
|
Asst. Coach, Biathlon BC at Nationals; wax tester;
jury; lead coach for 2 races.
|
|
1998
|
Head Coach, Biathlon BC at NorAm Championships,
Valcartier, PQ.
|
|
1999
|
Head Coach, Biathlon BC at NorAm Championships,
Canmore, AB.
Head Coach, Biathlon Canada, NorAm Tour.
|
|
2000
|
Head Coach, Biathlon BC at NorAm Championships,
Fort Kent, Maine.
|
|
2001
|
Head Coach, Biathlon BC at NorAm Championships,
Canmore, AB
Assistant Coach, Biathlon Canada, European Tour.
Head Coach, Biathlon Canada, European Championships
(gold medal)
|
|
2002
|
Assistant Coach, Biathlon BC, NorAm Championships,
Valcartier, PQ
BC Team Coach, Cadet National Championships, Valcartier,
PQ
|
|
2003
|
Head Coach, Biathlon BC, Canada Winter Games and
National Championships;
BC Team Coach, Cadet National Championships, Valcartier,
PQ
|
Formal Resume: Alan John Stuart Ball
Personal:
Address: ABall Software, 50 East 40th Ave., Vancouver,
BC, V5W 1L4
Birth date: May 11, 1943
Marriage: Married, 1969. One child
Citizenship: Canada and UK
Career Profile:
|
|
Present:
|
Director, R & D, ABall Software Inc., Vancouver.
Responsible for directing ABall's research and development
efforts, targeted at developing next generation
personal, electronic, information systems and athletic
training systems.
|
|
1989 - 1992
|
Director, Library Software Development, CTB/Macmillan
McGraw Hill, Vancouver: Responsible for development
of the Columbia Library System as part of CTB's
line of LAN-based, integrated school administration
software.
|
|
1987 - 1989
|
Vice President, Library Division, Columbia Computing
Services, Vancouver: Responsible for planning, marketing
and development for the Columbia Library System,
including re-development and reorientation of the
software for the K-12 market.
|
|
1983 - 1987
|
President and CEO, ABall Software Inc., Regina,
Saskatchewan: Major shareholder, responsible for
development and marketing of the Ocelot Library
System.
|
|
1980 - 1983
|
President and Owner, Videotex Consulting Services,
Regina, Saskatchewan: Provided consulting and research
services to government, university and business
clients exploring on-line Videotex and teletex services
(Telidon and Prestel).
|
|
1978 - 1983
|
President and Owner, BCD Library and Automation
Consultants, Regina, Saskatchewan: Together with
sub-contractors, provided automation advice and
implementation services to large, small and medium
sized libraries in Canada.
|
|
1977 - 1978
|
Science Librarian, University of Regina, Regina,
Saskatchewan: Provided reference, on-line searching
and instructional services to faculty and staff
at the university.
|
|
1971 - 1976
|
Associate Professor (tenured), Biological Sciences,
Brock University, St. Catharines: Taught Biochemistry
and Genetics, supervised full-time laboratory staff
and graduated 6 M.Sc. students. Published 21 papers
in peer-reviewed journals.
|
|
1970 - 1971
|
Post doctoral Fellow, University of Western Ontario,
London, Ontario.
|
|
1969 - 1970
|
Post doctoral Fellow, University of Warwick, Coventry,
UK.
|
|
|
|
Education:
|
|
|
1955 - 1962
|
Monmouth School, Monmouth, UK
|
|
1962 - 1965
|
B.Sc. (Hon.) Microbiology, University of London,
UK
|
|
1965 - 1969
|
Ph.D., Molecular Biology, McMaster University,
Hamilton, Ontario Canada
|
|
1976 - 1977
|
MLIS, School of Library and Information Science,
University of Western Ontario
|
|
