Above: Darcy Jones of Selby gets ready for the on court action at the Australian Open.By Tania Martin
AS TENNIS fever takes hold of Melbourne this week two hills teenagers will take to Centre Court as two of the Australian Open’s ball kids.
Jordan Donnelly of Belgrave Heights and Darcy Jones of Selby have been training for months for this moment.
They will join a team of more than 300 Aviva Ballkids from around Australia and the Asia Pacific region.
The ball kids are chosen from thousands of applications each year.
Aspiring ball kids then train during November and December where they are tested on fitness, ball skills and on their attitude towards the important role that they would play during the Australian Open.
Aviva Australia chief executive officer Allan Griffiths said he was proud of the ball kids’ efforts, hard work and determination to get where they are today.
“Aviva has been a proud sponsor of the Aviva Ballkids for several years and each year, the team rises to the challenge and ensures that they are among the best, providing support to world class tennis champions,” he said.
Darcy in his third year as a ball kid says that practicing his ball skills and keeping fit has been important in developing his skills.
“I’m trying to stay fit by training and practicing my ball skills,” he said.
For fellow ball kid Jordan being a part of the Australian Open is fast becoming a family tradition.
This year will be his fourth and final year as a ball kid after he followed in his older brother Liam’s footsteps.
Jordan said he first applied to be a ball kid because he saw how much fun his brother had.
He also said being a ball kid was a great way to see the world’s leading athletes in action and to make new friends.
Jordan said being a ball kid was hard work but it was also a fantastic opportunity to be part of such a great sporting event as the Australian Open.
He will be joined at the Open this year by his two older brothers, who are also a very important part of the competition.
Liam, 19, a fellow ball kid is in charge of court operations this year.
His job is to prepare the courts for play including making sure everything is ready for the umpires, the drink bins are full, the towels are on hand and that the players have everything they need.
Following his years as a ball kid Liam has had a passion for the Australian Open and has been working with the human resources department ever since.
Joining his brothers, Matt, 17, also has been given an opportunity of a lifetime as a court statistician.
He is in charge of collating all the statistics such as unforced errors during the Open.
For the next two weeks the Donnelly boys and Darcy Jones will live, and breathe the excitement of the Australian Open which started yesterday (Monday).
