A ball boy/girl is an individual who retrieves balls for players or officials in a variety of sports including association football, American football, tennis, baseball and basketball.
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Ball boys were first introduced at Wimbledon in 1920. From 1920 until 1930 they were provided by Shaftesbury Homes. Since 1946, ball boys are chosen from schools as volunteers.
Feeding is the term used to describe how the ball boys and girls give tennis balls to the players. At different tournaments they use different techniques for feeding. At some tournaments bases have both arms in the air, then feed the balls with one arm; At others, they have one arm in the air which they feed the balls with and the other arm behind their back. When feeding the ball, they must also be aware of a player's preference. Most players accept the standard, which is for the ball boy or girl to gently toss the ball (from the position with their arms extended upwards) such that it bounces one time then to the proper height for the player to catch the ball easily.
There are various methods for selecting the ball boys and girls for a tournament. In many tournaments, such as Wimbledon and the Queen's Club Championships, they are picked from or apply through schools, where they are selected by tournaments and they have to go through a number of selections and tests.[1] In some other tournaments, such as the Nottingham Open, Australian Open and the US Open,[2] positions are advertised and there are open try-outs.
Applicants are required to pass a physical ability assessment. In addition to fitness and stamina, the abilities to concentrate and remain alert are essential.
The role of a ball boy is to retrieve balls that leave the immediate vicinity of the field and to carry a spare ball to quickly replace the lost ball in order to restart the match. Professional football matches may have anywhere from 4 to 8 ball boys stationed around the field. Generally at least one is located on each side of the pitch with additional ball boys being added in higher leagues and for more important matches. The rules that a ball boy must follow when returning balls to players vary depending on the league sanctioning the match and the club that provides the ball boys for a given match. However, the generally accepted standard is to have at least one spare ball in the possession of a ball boy stationed on each side of the pitch. If the ball leaves the immediate vicinity of the field the ball boy should throw a spare ball onto the field in the vicinity of where it is required or immediately provide a spare ball to a player requesting it. Ball boys are never allowed to place a ball for a player nor to chase a ball that is still on the field. Generally they must remain outside of the field and its immediate vicinity, usually defined by the advertising boards. In Europe clubs often hold tryouts for team associated ball boys and girls where there can be as many as 1,200 applicants.[3] In North America the standard practice is to employ volunteers from local youth teams as a form of community outreach.