By Brian Towey
With the late afternoon sun providing no relief on a sticky Thursday, a tennis ball trickles into the net and a teenaged ballboy is in hot pursuit. Snatching the ball up, the pursuer wheels and fires to a ballgirl positioned at the back of the court. Scampering back to his sideline position, he readies himself for the next shot that finds the nylon, hands clasped behind his back.
The scene played out time and time again at the 2001 US Open Ballboy/Ballgirls Tryouts at the National Tennis Center in Flushing on July 12. But before any of the ball-collectors can cobble together the misfires of some of the world’s greatest athletes for real, they are put through a series of drills that help to assess who is best suited to snatch up a Goran Ivanesevic heater that nicks the netting and who might be a threat to plunk a sideline judge in the heat — competitive and otherwise — of the moment.
“We’re basically looking to see that they’re coordinated,” said Tina Taps, a College Point resident who is a program coordinator at the tennis center and has overseen the tryouts for the last 12 years. “We’re checking out their throwing arm, as well as quickness and agility. Consistency is very important as well.”
The tryouts generally attract around 400 hopefuls, a pool of candidates that range from those in their early teens to those in their golden years. While the event annually attracts adults who man the sidelines, some of the most helpful ball people are those around high school-age.
“It’s still relatively young,” said Taps. “We get some great 14- and 15-year-olds that come out. Eighteen-year-olds are like gold because they can work long hours, but we often lose some during their freshman year of college. But they often come back.”
After conducting a series of drills to get a feel for the prospects, evaluators, who are usually past ball persons in their 20s and 30s, rate their performances and pare the list down to 200 people for a separate try-out that usually takes place about two weeks after the initial go-round.
“We usually have a second screening around July 24 and 25, with 100 on one day and 100 the next,” said Taps. “That’s when we’re going to take a closer look and learn a little bit more about the person. We have interviews to see if they know about tennis and to find out why they are interested in doing this.”
The candidates try out for either one of two positions: the station at the back of the court, or those on the sidelines. Those positioned at the back of the court often have to make cross-court throws and long tosses, so evaluators check for arm strength and see how consistently ball persons can make the long lobs. Evaluators have candidates make anywhere from six to nine throws to other hopefuls on the far side of the court, some directly across, others cross-court. While some used the drill to highlight their throwing strength.
The general consensus was that the back position was most difficult.
“At the net I did pretty well, but the back was a little difficult,” said 27-year old Jamaica resident Thomas Trinidad. “I couldn’t quite get used to that position.
On the sidelines, agility and quickness are two of the biggest factors in the equation. While tennis players from the center drill balls into the net, prospective ballboys chase down the serves and lob them to candidates positioned in the back. Evaluators check to see how quickly ballboys can go line to line, while making sure they cleanly pick up the ball and reach their cohorts in the backcourt.
“Either a person has [the ability] or they don’t,” said evaluator and Middle Village native Peter Kedrovic, who plays tennis for Queens College. “It’s really not hard to tell.”
Evaluators stress that a number of physical attributes are useful for the position, but certain intangibles, like enthusiasm, can also put a prospective ball person over the top.
“You have to have speed and you have to have accuracy,” said Hector Justino, a Jackson Heights resident entering his third year as a member of the evaluating crew. “But they also need to show that they are confident on the court.”
“Enthusiasm is very important,” said Taps. “Sometimes you find a kid or an adult who is not that athletic, but they can learn.”
While evaluators used to rank candidates based on a numeric system, judging their performance from one to five, now the evaluators rely on comments when trying to gauge a person’s performance, something they find to be more precise.
“How can you tell the difference between someone judged as a three and someone judged as a five?,” said Taps. “We basically use comments from each evaluator. From the comments we get a better feel for them.”
While candidates’ motives for trying out are as varied as the ages of those casting their lot, most prospective ballboys are intrigued by the idea of sharing the court with some of the biggest names in tennis.
“The thrill of being out there with some of tennis’ idols and legends is what brings me out.,” Trinidad said. “To be near the players in some sense — it’s a good feeling.”
Other candidates are students looking for a rewarding summer job.
“I watch tennis a lot so I figured it would be an interesting experience,” said Ariel Munoz from Corona, a student at John Bowne High School in Flushing. “But I also needed a summer job and I thought this would be a cool thing to do.”
Whether their interest in braving on-court temperatures that sometimes top 100 degrees and serves that are known to top the century mark stems from the need for an unique summer job or a craving to share the court with their tennis idols, most candidates have a passion for tennis that goes beyond that of the average fan.
“I play tennis and I’m just looking to get a better understanding of the game,” said St. Albans native Sean Roker, who will enroll at Stuyvesant High School in the fall. “I want to see how their different shots and mind sets affect how they win and to relate how I’m playing to what they’re doing.”
Reach Contributing Writer Brian Towey by e-mail at TimesLedgr@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 130.
