Coach JB
Jerry L. Burrell, aka Coach JB, is a 3 time World Champion Coach/Athlete for USA DUNK, a 4 time Guinness World Record holder, An NCAA, D1 National Champion and the first person to appear on America's Got Talent 4 times.
Jerry performed as the Houston Rocket's mascot TURBO and is the founder of ACRODUNK, USA DUNK and The United States Freestyle Dunk Federation.
Jerry is also the Vertical Raise Fundraising Coach for Fresno, CA and the surrounding area where he helps local school sports teams and clubs raise money.
Born To Flip
As a young kid I became aware of how much I enjoyed flipping. My dad would entertain my siblings and I by walking on his hands. He learned to do this when he was a boy. He was stricken with polio very young and one of his legs developed differently than the other which resulted in him walking with a limp for the rest of his life. As a kid, I'm sure walking on his hands was fun and challenging and likely drew attention away from his limp. He never talked much about this, but everyone wants to be known for something as long as that something is cool and impresses people and it's likely that is one of the reasons he honed the skill to the point he was able to still do it as an adult.
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He would start on his hands and then drop to his forearms and then rise-up, one arm at a time, back to walking on his hands. It was impressive! I wanted to be like him! I don't think my Dad ever stepped foot in a weight-room but he had forearms like Popeye and we would always ask him to "make a muscle", by which we meant for him to flex his bicep and we would take turns hanging from his flexed arm. Did I mention, I wanted to be like him!
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As it turned out, of my Dad's three sons, I look most like him, my build is most like his, I have his penchant for being right all the time, like him, and strangely enough, one of my legs is slightly longer than the other one, so, I also walk with a slight limp which has become more noticeable as I've aged.
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As a kid, I was fairly self conscious. To me it seemed that I saw the world different than other kids. When we talked and joked and had fun, I often felt like I didn't "get it" but I acted like I "got it" and laughed when everyone else laughed. Faking it felt weird and over time I began to withdraw. Other than family, all through elementary school, I can remember only 2 friends that I connected with deeper than superficial. I don't remember any friends in middle school and I am still friends with my two high school friends. W that and I realized I didn't see the world like it seemed other kids did. I dreamed of being someone important, going to college, being in the Olympics, being a teacher and just being amazing! I definitely took myself seriously and to a lesser degree, I still do.