"Ball" was his first word. Of course, with an elder sister and brother playing basketball, a father coaching and a mother coordinating a youth basketball program, he was surrounded by balls -- specifically basketballs.
Joey Hall, the youngest of Kevin and Ronda Hall's three children, followed in his elder siblings' footsteps. His prowess on the court was recognized as he was named All-NWADG Newcomer of the Year by the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for schools 5A and below.
Jacob Hall was named scholar athlete for the MCAC - Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference.
The eldest of the Hall children, Jessica, played basketball for the Blackhawks during high school, then in college for North Arkansas College in Harrison for two years.
Jacob Hall, the eldest son, is a sophomore at Oklahoma Wesleyan University in Bartlesville, Okla., where the 6'3" shooting guard has worked his way up to being in the top seven and starting a few games.
All cut their teeth on basketballs, so to speak, each beginning with a team when in the third grade playing for Youth Competitive Basketball where Kevin was a girls' coach and Ronda was the director. Then, they played for the Blackhawks, in junior high and high school.
Jessica, 23, graduated from Pea Ridge High School in 2009 and then Arkansas Tech University in 2013, where she earned a degree in professional studies. She works at Consumer Testing Lab in Bentonville.
At 5'10", Jessica wasn't the tallest girl on the Lady Blackhawks team during her high school years, but she was one of the tallest. She was a post and played basketball since the third grade. Her father was her coach until she entered seventh grade.
"It's amazing -- the whole experience, the atmosphere, being part of a team. It's something you're never going to experience anywhere else," Jessica said of playing basketball. "I'm really proud of both of them (her brothers). They've worked extremely hard."
"I critique them. I definitely tell them what to do," she said with a smile.
Jacob, 20, graduated from PRHS in 2013, where he saw action on the court throughout high school. The 180-pound shooting guard said his freshman year at college was a learning experience.
"I made 15,000 shots last summer," he said wryly. "They give you a goal. I knew I needed to get a little better so I set a goal for 15,000."
Contrasting his and his brother's styles, Jacob said of Joey: "I use more of my body. He's long, skinny, he uses his length. I tried to use my strength."
He, too, played beginning in third grade. Jacob credits basketball with helping him with team work and improving his work ethic. He is majoring in marketing and hopes to eventually work for Walmart in Bentonville.
"Being a business major and working in small groups, (I use) a lot of the knowledge I have I learned from basketball."
Hall cites his father as a major influence in his life. After his father, Hall credits former Blackhawks coach Charley Clark with building his skills, both in basketball and character.
"He knew what I could do. That's the part of the game that pushes you mentally until you no longer have a physical boundary. You ask yourself: 'Can I do this?'" Jacob said.
Joey, 16, a sophomore, hopes to play college basketball after high school.
"It feels good," Joey smiled of his honor a Newcomer of the Year. "I get compared to them (his siblings) a lot. For the most part, it's good... It's awesome. It's truly a blessing. I hope to get my college paid for. I think that I want to play college basketball. Like my dad tells me, it helps you with your work ethic when you choose a business.
"My family helps me. They push me in a good way," Joey said. "They know what makes me go. My brother helps ... he is the biggest part of knowing that I'm good and he wants to see me get better and he knows what I'm capable of."
When he makes a mistake or plays badly, Joey said: "My initial thought is to get mad at myself, but then I think about it and realize there's nothing I can do about it."
This year, Joey was point guard, a number two guard, a shooting position, he said. At 6'1", 145 pounds, he's still growing.
"I'm playing with a traveling team out of Tulsa called the Tulsa Gators," Joey said. "We come up to the gym every day with coach Loyd, then work out with my brother. Just basketball and weight lifting."
Sometimes he's at it beginning at 6 in the morning. "I pretty much just have a ball in my hand all day," Joey grinned.
Kevin played baseball and basketball as a child through high school at Calico Rock. "It was the main thing I did," he said, explaining that his family moved often and sports was his avenue for connecting to other students when he was the new kid in town. "It helped me meet people."
"I started coaching when Jessica was in third grade," Kevin said, adding that Ronda took over as director of Youth Competitive Basketball, so the entire family spent their evenings and Saturdays at basketball practice and games. Hall continued coaching youth teams until Joey left YCB.
"I encouraged 'em. All of them really seemed to like it when they were young. I copied a lot remembering what my coaches had done and I would go to coach (Larry) Walker's and coach Farrar's practices, see what they were doing, what they were running, and get 'em on the fundamentals," Kevin said of his coaching style, referring to former Blackhawks coaches.
Ronda didn't play basketball. She played softball. She was a manager for the White Hall High School basketball team. When 23, Ronda went on a blind date with Kevin, set up by his sister. The couple got married the next year and just celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary last August.
"I knew I'd married the right woman," Kevin quipped, "when we were going out on a date a few years ago. Jake was in junior high. We didn't have anything to do. We'd lost in the semi-finals. I was going to take her out. But, I knew Huntsville and Farmington were playing. We got almost to Bentonville and Ronda said she'd really like to go watch the basketball game. I knew I'd married the perfect woman!"
Soon after they married, Kevin played on a church basketball team. Then, the children started coming along.
"We've been very blessed. They had natural, God-given ability, but they've all worked hard at it. We've given up family vacations, we've done traveling teams," Ronda said.
"It was our choice," Jacob said, adding that his parents still emphasized working on both learning and character. "I knew academics came first. One year, I missed a tournament because I'd been mean to my sister and had bad grades."
"I wouldn't say that we pushed you, we didn't make you play," Ronda said they counseled their children. "But, Dad, especially, pushed you to not give up. Everything is not always fair, don't blame anyone else, get out there and work for it. If you love the game and it can help pay for your school, that's an extra.
"If we'd kept a tally of all we've spent," she mused.
"It doesn't come easy!" Joey said.
"Yeah. Just because you're the best in Pea Ridge, Ark., doesn't mean you'll be the best in Bartlesville, Okla.," Jacob said.
"There's a whole world out there," Ronda said.
"It is a job. You do get burned out. That's the struggle," Jacob said.
"If we'd only documented how many hours you spent up here," Ronda recalled of Jacob's two hours every day practicing, driving himself to improve.
And, there were the years of YCB with Jess and Jacob playing, Ronda directing, setting schedules, cleaning up afterwards, and Joey "eating the snacks," according to his family.
"It's been fun!" Ronda said.
"Yes," all three Hall children resounded in unison.
Sports on 03/25/2015