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Shawn Jones

DIRECTOR, ATHLETICS

Shawn has 30 years of head basketball coaching experience combined with 11 years as an athletic director. He has coached in Colorado and Texas, and has taken teams to three Final Four tournaments and a state championship. He has seen numerous players of his continue on to compete at the college and professional level of the sport. He is also proud to have seen many of his athletes become high school and collegiate coaches themselves. As director of athletics, Shawn is a key member of Ballogy’s team, driving the company’s athletic strategy, partnerships, coach engagement, and product vision. He has been married to his high school sweetheart for 32 years and they have raised three wonderful children together. Shawn has a passion for player development and the desire to assist coaches with effective, time-saving tools of administering and assessing skill development drills.

by Shawn Jones on Dec 30, 2024

Over the past year, I have had the privilege of building a personal and professional relationship with LeTourneau University Head Women’s Basketball Coach Scot MacAllister. “Coach Mac” is a passionate, driven coach who does not shy away from building from the ground up.  He has been fortunate to coach highly talented teams, as well as challenged to chisel success out of hard granite. What stands out about Coach Mac is that he has learned to keep his purpose and outlook consistent no matter what his circumstances.

Ascending to the collegiate ranks via a successful high school career, Coach MacAllister enjoyed much success in California with two-hand-fulls of Sweet 16’s, two Elite 8’s, and one Final 4.  He then moved to Kentucky where he achieved one more Final 4 before moving to the college level and leading Saint Mary of the Woods (IN) to the National Championship game and runner-up finish in 2022.

Now accepting the challenge to build LeTourneau University (Longview, TX) into a winning program, Coach Mac is drawing upon those successes and lessons learned earlier in his career. 

When did you know you had it in you to coach?

I knew I wanted to coach since the 6th grade because of the coaches who helped me make it as a messed up kid. But I knew I had it in me to coach when I was tracking stats and player behavior while I was in high school and using that information as part of my own scouting report on how to play against individual players from other teams… what did they do a predominant amount of time in certain situations, and psychologically what pushed their buttons to get frustrated and play poorly, as well as  what pushed my teammates buttons to play better?

What still drives you to get up and lead your group year after year?

I love watching the growth! Seeing them get better individually as ballplayers and as people…the maturity of not only their game but how they interact with their teammates and other people and handling situations. There’s an incredible joy that manifests when we’re all performing and competing at our best, regardless of the score, because we get lost in the game.

What value do you see (or even use yourself) in skill development tools such as Ballogy?

I just love the instantaneous feedback! We can finish a six minute shooting drill and have stats to read off to our kids for immediate feedback. The skill development app for our players provides them with a plan, tracks it so they can see their progress so we’re talking immediate positive feedback. Too many times players get caught up in how they “think” they’re doing that day while Ballogy shows them longitudinally, over time, their improvement.

If you could describe your program in three words or less, what would that be?

 Gritty = Tenaciously Persevering!

What is the staple or core that your program is built around?

 G.R.I.T. – the word itself has meaning: “passion and perseverance for long-term goals” but we have a word for each letter that helps define our program even further

➢ Growth minded in all circumstances in order to improve.

➢ Resilient that we will bounce back from adversity.

➢ Intentional in all that we do in order to make the most of every situation/interaction.

➢ Tenacious to never give up-never stop trying.

What one or two pieces of advice would you give your younger self in the early years of your coaching journey?

It really is the ‘Jimmys & Joes’ not the X’s & O’s that make a good team. I would tell my younger self to be quite a bit more humble during the “easy” winning years as we were blessed with exceptional players. Don’t lose the laughter. I lost it by focusing on winning instead of focusing on helping people improve and being excited for their success, but I’m getting that laughter back after the Lord had a good talk with me!

It is this mindset that resonated with me the most in getting to know Coach Mac.  Coaches are egotistical and tough.  We struggle against revealing deep emotions, fears, or sometimes honesty with ourselves. Coach Mac has learned what can steal joy and what can produce joy in coaching. He is not afraid to be honest with himself and his players.  He has learned that there are some things you can change and some things you can’t; so it is important to focus on the things you can change. His faith serves both as a driving force to joyfully serve others in his coaching, as well as to sustain him when circumstances or outcomes are difficult. He has learned to find the joy in the difficult profession of coaching so many of us chose to accept.

Coaches who stay in the profession over decades begin to understand the real meaning and value coaching provides. Yes, it can make us pull our hair out and force the family dog to hide in the corner after frustrating games…but with people like Coach Mac influencing and shaping young adults into life-long winners, it all comes back to the fact that the efforts are worth every second.

“It’s not about perfect. It’s about effort. And when you bring that effort every single day, that’s where transformation happens. That’s how change occurs.” –Jillian Michaels

Ballogy wishes LeTourneau University and Coach Scot MacAllister the very best of success and joy this season!  He is making a big difference in his players this season, as well as for eternity! Go Yellowjackets!