Barclays Ball Kids squad announced
Originally published on: 16/04/10 13:17
The four-month nationwide search is now over – the final Barclays Ball Kids squad has been announced!
After putting 1,601 applicants through their paces, the elite band of thirty boys and girls aged 12-16 have been chosen to serve at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals at London’s Oâ‚‚ arena in November 2010.
After impressing at the ten regional trials across the country, 115 hopefuls were selected to attend the national finals last weekend at Westway Sports Centre in west London. Under the watchful eyes of the Barclays Ball Kids Talent ID team, headed by Mark Magrath, they were tested for their agility, endurance, co-ordination, ball skills, speed and team work.
And to add to the atmosphere, former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash, Andy Murray’s former coach and Sky Sports pundit Mark Petchey and tennis trickster Mansour Bahrami were also on patrol to try and pick out just 30 from what proved to be a very strong field.
“All the kids showed a great attitude and the standard has been fantastic, far better than I expected,” said Cash, himself a ball boy as a youngster to Australian legend Peter McNamara. “When I was younger being a ball kid had a huge influence on me wanting to become a tennis player, so I think the scheme is a great idea as it gives kids from any area of the country the chance to have a go and get involved.”
“I think the Barclays Ball Kids programme shows how much interest there is in tennis in this country,” added Petchey. “There are a lot of talented kids here and to see how motivated and inspired they are is just thrilling. The standard has been extremely high, a lot of these kids have travelled quite a distance to get involved in this programme and to see that kind of commitment shining through is really exciting.”
The squad of Barclays Ball Kids aren’t done yet though – between now and November they will undergo two further weekend training sessions and an intensive five-day ‘Base Camp’ in October where they will hone their skills.
So, who’s in?
Evelina Belevich, London
Ben Brook, Surrey
Amelia Coltman, Leicestershire
Frank Davis, East Sussex
Martha Dawkins-Schwiening, Warwickshire
Calvin Duke, Liverpool
Louis Farquharson, London
Rebecca Gray Norfolk
Arran Hall, Dorset
Daniel Holding, Tunbridge Wells
Louise Holtum, Derbyshire
Tom Hubble, Canterbury
Holly Hutchinson, London
Andrew Isaac, Lincolnshire
William Johnson, Surrey
Charlotte Johnstone, Bedfordshire
Nicola Judge, Essex
Maxwell Knight, Essex
Zoey Myles Nottinghamshire
Charlie Pisker, London
Andrew Pugh, Worcestershire
Amy Quagraine, London
Edward Saxton, Herefordshire
Katrina Smith, Ascot
Balraj Sohal, Essex
Shivani Sondhi, London
Matthew Stenson, Coventry
Sophia Thomas, Kent
Natalie Wilshire, London
Nicole Cruse, Essex
Congratulations to the squad members – we’ll see you in action from November 21-28 2010. And for more information about how you could take part in the 2011 Barclays Ball Kids trials, head to www.barclaysballkids.com for more details.
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