We began as a group of around 40-50 boys from Years 9 and 10, all doing their best to achieve a place in the BBG programme. After two months of training in school with ex-ball boy sixth formers, and the number of potential ball boys decreasing every week, ten applicants were chosen to go to the selection trial. Training then began at Raynes Park once a week, each session focusing on new information from the modules or court play. However, before beginning the session everyone had to complete a tiring warm up that increased in intensity every week. This was consolidated with training done at lunchtimes with the sixth formers and rolling and feeding practice done in our own time.
Two months flew by, and soon we only did court play sessions, with a handful of 15-20 minute performances per session to secure our place in the programme. After the summer half term break we did our training opposite the Wimbledon site, encouraging us to always perform as well as possible to have the opportunity to walk through those gates as an official Wimbledon Ball Boy. In the session before our grass court training we received the kit we had tried on a week or two before. We wore it to our final training session on some of the grass courts on the Championships site. The grass was different to the indoor courts we were used to, but as all BBGs do, we adapted. At that moment, on an actual Wimbledon court, in our official kit, it felt like our ambitions, after all of our hard work and effort, could actually be realised.
But that isn’t the end. We worked at the Wildcard Playoffs a couple of days later, our first time performing our role for a full day. From the time of writing, we have the Qualifying event to go from Monday to Thursday, before a site tour and induction on Friday. Then, on the Monday following the induction, we will be on court for the Championships; the moment that every roll, every feed, every ball change, every tie break, every sprint has been leading up to. The teams are being finalised, the site is being prepared, the wait is almost over. I can’t wait.
Alex (Year 10)
Wimbledon is often regarded as one of the most prestigious tennis grand slams in the world and is as quintessentially British as anything can really get. It's therefore a great opportunity to be able to be one of the many ball boy and girls that are taking part in this year's championships. Whilst the actual championship takes place over the first two weeks of July this year, the trials and training began all the way back in October last year, when students from several schools started trying out for a place. Through the helpful guidance and support from the sixth formers who had also been ball boys in the past, we were trained to be as agile, reactive and accurate as possible, from ensuring all our rolls were flat and fast to making sure we remained smart and disciplined at all times.
Through several (admittedly, rather exhausting) fitness tests and assessing our performance on court, what started off as a large pool of new Year 9 and 10 applicants was brought down to a small group of ten, who were to go for the "main trials" in one of the AELTC grounds in Raynes Park in the early days of the January. What was meant to be a three-hour trial felt like years and pushed our bodies to the limit: gruelling fitness tests, nerve-racking agility tests, rolling and feeding tests and several sessions on hard court left us knackered. However, the intense training we had been doing for the past few months and the pinpoint guidance from our seniors meant we were well prepared for what was coming our way, but also made us all motivated and having a burning desire to claim a spot in the championships. Fortunately, our sweat paid off and all 10 of us were successful.
Whilst this did feel (to me, at least) like a relief, it was only just the beginning. For the many months to come, we had training sessions with the Wimbledon BBG training staff at Raynes Park every week. Each session started with a "warm-up", which was really 15 minutes of running around three tennis courts non-stop as a way of testing our endurance and fitness, followed by two hours of demonstrating our abilities on court. After several months of training in Raynes Park, the championships felt more and more enticingly close, especially when we moved to the grass courts in the main site at Wimbledon. We also received our Polo Ralph Lauren uniforms, which, for someone who was never fascinated by fancy clothes, really excited me, as it reminded us that the most renowned tennis (and arguably sporting) tournament was just a few weeks away. Fuelled by this thought, we became more determined than ever to deliver our best and secure a place in the top BBG teams and ultimately the top courts during the two weeks.
The last 7-8 months have gone by in a flash, but with the idea of being part of one of most significant sporting events soon forming into a reality, I guess it's safe to say that it was all worth it and definitely one of the best journeys of our lives.
Aditya, Year 10