Do you even notice them?
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A Ball boy and Ball girl collect the new balls in a Men's match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London. (AP) -
A ball girl hands a towel to South Africa's Kevin Anderson at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships. (AP) -
A ball boy stands along the side of the tennis court at Wimbledon. He is ready to dart out and pick up a ball or bring a towel to a player. (AP) -
A ball boy hurries to pick up a ball. (AP) -
Ball boys and girls have to be fast. (AP)
They zip across the court. They bend and scoop up balls. They roll them to the right place. They rush towels to hot players. These are ball boys and ball girls. They work at Grand Slam tennis matches. The U.S. Open was played last month. It had three hundred ball boys and girls!
READ MORE: Ball boys and girls can be as young as 14 and as old as 50 or older. They must be quick, quiet, and alert. Sometimes they stand at attention in the corners of a court. But mostly, they run. Their job is to get balls quickly off the court. Most ball persons feel that it is “a blast” to be so close to tennis professionals. Colossians 3:23 tells us to “work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.”
Lesson #6: Tennis Anyone? If your driveway or patio is fairly level, you could put up a net for your kids to learn tennis basics. One player serves the tennis or other soft ball over the net with a racquet. The ball must bounce on the opposite side before the other player hits the ball back. The ball is out when it touches the net (or gets away from the player). Kids must pay attention. They get exercise running and bending too.
