After graduating from Morris High School, Eric Balluff faced the difficult choice many have after turning 18: What to do next.

“I wasn’t a very good high school student,” Balluff said. “I was a good athlete, but after I graduated, I wasn’t really ready for (college) at that point in my life.”

A standout wrestler and football player at Morris, Balluff initially tried his hand at construction. He realized quickly that it wasn’t for him, so he thought about giving school another shot.

“I wasn’t sure what I wanted to study,” Balluff said. “My parents laughed at me when I said I was going back to college, and they said they wouldn’t help pay for it.”

So, like many people at that point in life, he decided to answer the call of the service.

Balluff, the head boys and girls tennis coach at Lincoln-Way Central, joined the Army in 1999. He served six years, traveling across the country and serving a one-year tour in Iraq in 2004.

He’s used lessons that he’s learned during his time in the service to help him as a tennis coach and an assistant girls wrestling coach with the Knights.

Back in 1999, though, he was just a kid going to a totally new place with total strangers and learning a whole different life.

“(Basic training) was definitely difficult,” Balluff said. “I grew up in Morris and didn’t see a lot of the country. Going from that to seeing all kinds of different people and places was definitely a culture shock.

“Physically, it was difficult, but it was kind of the first decision as a man you’ve got to make. You move out from your home at 18 and start growing up on your own.”

Balluff was initially stationed in Fort Bliss, Texas, where he specialized in air defense artillery. He was trained to shoot down enemy aircraft and taught how to launch Stinger missiles from tanks.

The service sent him across the United States, including Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and Fort Polk, Louisiana. During that time, he got married and had three daughters.

But it was early in his military service that he realized what he’d want to study when he did finally go back to college: Education.

Balluff said he initially joined the Army so they’d pay for his college education. His early training helped him realize he had a passion for teaching.

“I got put in a couple of leadership roles through basic, and I enjoyed that,” he said. “Coaching has always been important to me since I’ve been in athletics my whole life, and I knew I wanted to coach as well.”

A year after getting married in 2003, he was informed he’d be heading overseas during the Iraq War. It’s a difficult call for anyone, but especially a new husband with three children.

“It was tough,” Balluff said. “I remember when I got the call saying I was going, I kind of knew it was coming. Even when I got it, I knew I wasn’t going to see my wife and kids for a year, and I knew that was going to be tough.”

While Balluff specialized in shooting enemy aircraft, he said Iraq “had no enemy aircraft.” As such, he primarily operated a .50 caliber gun on a Humvee. This kept him occupied during his time away from home.

“It was exciting at times,” Balluff said. “We would drive and escort officers and stuff to different bases in gun trucks, which could be exciting.”

Balluff served in Iraq throughout 2004 before leaving the military in 2005. He returned to the area with his family and enrolled in courses at Joliet Junior College, transferring to Lewis after two years. As challenging as basic training and Iraq were, these times were nearly just as difficult.

“Going to school was tough,” Balluff said. “Having three kids and going to school while working was tough times.

“When I got back, one thing I realized is I had no job experience,” Baluff said. “It was tough finding a real job when I got home. That also encouraged me to go back to school.”

Delivering pizzas and other “small jobs” to pay the bills eventually paid off. Balluff landed a job with Lincoln-Way and is now in his 17th year with the school. He initially coached football and boys wrestling before shifting to tennis and girls wrestling later.

Even now, he says his time in the service continues to shape him, influencing the teacher and coach he has been – and hopes to remain.

“Having real-life experience helped me not take myself too seriously,” Balluff said. “I also teach special ed, so the military taught me the patience for that. … Having high standards and expectations while also understanding it’s not the end of the world.

“I learned a lot of different leadership styles that I liked and didn’t like. That helped me learn what kind of leader I wanted to be. Most of all, though, it’s taught me patience.”