This past year when I was in 6th grade, I thought about what I could do during my summer vacation. During the school year, I like working at the BNP Paribas Open in Индиан-Уэллс, so I wondered if I could volunteer as a ball kid at other tennis tournaments in Southern Калифорния. Because I don't like the summer heat in the Desert, I wanted to volunteer to work as a ball kid at two tennis tournaments in Лос-Анжелес. In Июль, I worked at the LA Tennis Open which was held at UCLA. Formerly called the Countrywide Classic, this tournament is a Открытый чемпионат США Series tournament which allows professional mens players to earn points on the tour before the Открытый чемпионат США. Past champions include Pete Сампрас и Андрэ Агасси.
 
The second tournament I worked at this summer in the Лос-Анжелес area was called the LA Женщины Tennis Championships. This tournament, formerly called the East West Bank Classic, was held in Carson in Август at the Home Depot Center и is where the LA Galaxy Soccer team plays. Past champions include Steffi Graff и Динара Сафина.
 
As a ball kid, my job is to work on the court during tennis matches, collecting tennis balls и tossing them to the player who is serving. To qualify to be a ball kid, you must have knowledge of how to keep score in tennis, run fast, roll the ball accurately и be responsible for holding an umbrella for the player while he or she is sitting down. In general, the age requirement is usually 12-13 years old.
 
I think there are a lot of benefits to being a ball kid. I love to work as a ball kid for the world's top players so I can see their emotions during the match. Sometimes they are really happy и enthusiastic и other times, they get really angry и mad. Also, when I am walking around at the tournaments, I get to see some of the players и ask for autographs. I have the autographs of Роджер Федерер, Rafael Nadal, Энди Роддик, Juan Martin del Potro, Томми Хаас, the Bryan Brothers, Марди Фиш и Джон МакИнрой. Another benefit is that your meal is provided during the day or session that you work. Usually, you get lunch tickets to purchase lunch or a voucher for a meal. My favorite place to eat at the LA Tennis Open is Калифорния Pizza Kitchen. Another benefit of being a ball kid is that you are given an official outfit to wear on the court. These clothes include shorts, shirt, shoes и a hat. I like to receive Adidas и Fila shoes и apparel.
 
When you work as a ball kid, you get a credential which identifies you as someone who works at the tournament. By showing your credential, you get to go into the tournament any day for free и you get complimentary tickets for your friends и family. At the tournaments, there are booths which sponsor things, so you can pick up samples like sunscreen и mineral-fortified water. At the LA Tennis Open at UCLA, there was a booth sponsored by Electronic Arts показ Wii Games. All of the ball kids got to play electronic tennis during the tournament when we got a break. Another benefit of being a ball kid is that there are sometimes exhibition matches between former world ranked players such as Pete Сампрас и Джим Курье.
 
This summer at the LA Tennis Open I worked as a ball kid for Томми Хаас, Марди Фиш, the Bryan Brothers, Sam Querrey, Marat Safin, и Pete Сампрас. At the LA Женщины Tennis Open I worked as a ball kid for Динара Сафина, Мария Шарапова, Zera Zvonereva, Даниэла Хантухова, Caroline Wozniaki, Ана Иванович, Agziezka Radwanska, и Шахар Пеер. At the BNP Paribas Open, where I have worked as a volunteer for three years, some of the players I have worked for as a ball kid were Роджер Федерер, Рафаэль Надаль, Энди Мюррей, Новак Джокович, Хуан Мартин Дель Потро, Энди Роддик, Ллейтон Хьюитт, и Джеймс Блейк. The Женщины players I have been a ball kid for are Динара Сафина, Мария Шарапова, Zera Zvonareva, Даниэла Хантухова, Каролин Возняцки, Агнешка Радваньска, Ана Иванович, Flavia Pennetta, Елена Янкович, и Светлана Кузнецова. Most of the players practice on the practice courts so everybody can take pictures и try to get autographs.
 
Being a ball kid is very fun. I would recommend it for many reasons. You are helping your community. You get to be around world-class tennis players. You are part of a tennis tournament which is organized и a nice place to work. At the tournaments, most of the players practice on the practice courts so everybody can take pictures и try to get autographs.
 

 
James Handal, a veteran ball kid, standing to the right of the chair umpire at the tennis tournament in Индиан-Уэллс:

 
James Handal standing to the far left of the chair umpire at the tennis tournament in Индиан-Уэллс:

 
James Handal working as a ball kid at the tennis tournament in Индиан-Уэллс:

 
James Handal working at the back of the court assisting a player:

 

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