Steve Ball

Ball was appointed as manager of Maldon & Tiptree in December 2015 after former manager and fellow Colchester United coach David Wright was promoted to assistant manager at the U's. Ball continued to combine his coaching role at Colchester with his part-time role managing the Jammers, working with John McGreal with the under-21 side. He led his side to a seventh-placed finish in the Isthmian League Division One North table. After Colchester United manager Kevin Keen left the club following their relegation from League One on 26 April 2016, Ball was named as assistant to newly appointed caretaker manager David Wright for the final two games of the season. Ball was then appointed assistant manager to incoming first-team coach John McGreal on 4 May. This meant Ball parted company with Maldon & Tiptree after a successful season in the Isthmian League. With McGreal's role set to commence following Colchester's final game of the season against Rochdale on 7 May, Ball was named as the club's fifth caretaker manager of the season after David Wright was made unavailable for personal reasons. The game ended 2–1 to Rochdale.

In October 2014, Ball left Leiston to make a return to Colchester United in a full-time coaching role.

In summer 2012, Ball was offered a full-time coaching position with the Colchester United Academy at their new training complex based in Tiptree. He returned to Leiston as assistant manager to Steve Pitt in October 2013, however, Pitt left the club after just six weeks in the role, leaving Ball in charge.

Ball was appointed assistant manager of Clacton Town in 2004, but financial problems in the summer of 2005 led to him leaving the club. He returned in 2006 as manager, but was required to resign after his job based in Colchester was restructured to cover Birmingham and the Midlands. Ball later returned to Stanway Rovers as assistant manager, before joining Leiston as assistant manager in 2010.

Ball was manager at Stanway Rovers between 1998 and 2003, and has also managed Clacton Town and Leiston, where he had also been assistant manager. Ball has been long-associated with the Colchester United coaching team, where he worked full-time alongside his part-time role managing Maldon & Tiptree. He was named as assistant manager to David Wright at Colchester United after Wright was named caretaker manager of the club in April 2016. He then replaced Wright as caretaker for Colchester's final game of the 2015–16 season, having been named assistant to new Colchester manager John McGreal in May 2016.

Ball made 77 appearances and scored 14 goals for Sudbury until 1998. He joined Heybridge Swifts briefly, before being appointed manager of Stanway Rovers. While managing Rovers, Ball worked for a Colchester-based stationery company. He left in 2003 to join Long Melford as a player, but was not fit enough to play regularly. He quit in December 2003.

He had an improved second stint with the U's, accumulating 64 league appearances and scoring seven goals. He had been restricted to signing a rolling monthly contract, struggling with injuries, before leaving to join Sudbury Town in 1996.

Ball signed for Norwich City after leaving Colchester, managing just two appearances for the club between 1990 and 1992. He briefly signed for Cambridge United in August 1992 but had left by September to re-sign for Colchester.

After his release from Arsenal, Ball joined hometown club Colchester United and made four appearances during their ill-fated 1989–90 season in which they were relegated from the Football League to the Conference.

Ball began his career with Arsenal, where he won the FA Youth Cup in 1988, but failed to make a first-team appearance for the club. He made his Football League debut with Colchester United, where he had two stints separated by spells with Norwich City and Cambridge United. In a career blighted by injury, Ball could only muster 70 Football League appearances between 1987 and 1996. He also spent time in non-League football with Sudbury Town, Heybridge Swifts, and briefly Long Melford.

Ball, born in Colchester, began his career with London-based club Arsenal. In 1988, he won the FA Youth Cup, but failed to live up to his promise with the club, failing to make a first-team appearance following an ankle-ligament injury.

Steven John Ball (born 9 September 1969) is an English football manager and former professional footballer who is currently assistant manager at League Two club Colchester United.