Ball began his career with Arsenal, with whom he won the FA Youth Cup in 1988, but failed to make a first-team appearance for the club.
He also spent time in non-League football with Sudbury Town, Heybridge Swifts, and briefly Long Melford.
[3] 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.
[5] He had been restricted to signing a rolling monthly contract, struggling with injuries, before leaving to join Sudbury Town in 1996.
[3] Ball was appointed assistant manager of Clacton Town in 2004, but financial problems in the summer of 2005 led to him leaving the club.
[3] In summer 2012, Ball was offered a full-time coaching position with the Colchester United Academy at their new training complex based in Tiptree.
[16] Having returned to the club in the role of technical director, Ball was placed in interim charge of the first-team in September 2022 following the sacking of Wayne Brown.