At tennis matches

At a professional tennis match, you've noticed the young boys and girls who chase balls that are hit out of play. You might have wondered: "Who are those guys?"

If you have watched a St. Louis Aces match this month, the answer is: "They are local kids about your age."

They're kids like 13-year-olds like Erin Swaller and Jimmy Chassaing. 

A couple dozen St. Louis area kids have been picked as ball boys and girls for the seven Aces matches. They are played at the Dwight Davis Tennis Center in Forest Park. 

For each match, eight kids are on duty. Two are stationed at the net, two on each baseline behind the players and two handle the scoreboards. 

That don't get paid. But, they do get some perks that young tennis players find interesting. 

For one thing, all the ball kids get free tickets, even if they aren't working that night. They also get one ticket for a parent. 

But, of more interest, they have first access to the pro players to get their autographs. Most of them want the autographs signed on the back of their official ball kids T-shirt. 

Chassaing says, "By the end of July, the shirt is really full of autographs." 

Chassaing said last year he was able to get autographs from famous pros Monica Seles and Mary Jo Fernandez among others. He said he worked their matches last year. 

Swaller said she also got autographs from Seles and Fernandez last year and star Lindsay Davenport the year before. She said Seles and Davenport are her favorite pro players. She likes them because they've battled back from troubles to become stars. 

Seles especially has had serious problems. She was stabbed in the neck during one match by an admirer of fellow pro Steffie Graf and had to sit out more than a year. 

Swaller was introduced to tennis at age five by her mother, Katherine. Her mother belongs to the Concord Tennis Club while Erin plays mostly at Sunset Tennis Center. 

Erin last year played on the 12-and-under regional Missouri Valley team. However, she doesn't think she'll try for a pro tennis career. "I feel tennis is fun to play but you can't let it control your life," she said. 

For one thing, she's got other sports to play. She's the starting catcher on her school's softball team and also is a setter and server for the school's volleyball team. 

She's looking more toward becoming a corporate lawyer like her mother. "Or, if I get better in math, maybe I could be an architect," she said. 

Chassaing is another one who started tennis at age five. He considers himself to be a good player for his age. This year, he won the "most dedicated" title for his club tennis team.

He also has other sports on his mind. In June, he attended a football camp and he plays basketball, baseball and golf. "But, tennis is my prime sport," he said. 

Both Swaller and Chassaing are straight-A students. She will be an 8th grader at St. David Junior High in Arnold while Chassaing will be a 8th grader at Immaculata School this fall.

But, this month, they'll be concentrating on retrieving tennis balls during the seven Aces matches at the Dwight Davis Tennis Center in Forest Park. 

Erin said she likes mostly to work at the net but Jimmy said he likes the baseline best. At the net, the ball kids scamper out onto the playing service to retrieve the balls. At the baseline, the kids also return balls to players and have a towel ready if they need it.

Swaller was recruited for duty at her tennis club. Chassaing said he just asked for a job.

"Two years ago, my mom and I were at an Aces match. I saw the kids and said I'd like to do that. I went to the manager and asked how I could join," he said.

His mother Lisa said, "The next match I went to, he was one of the ball kids."