Two Eureka boys are
Young Saint Louis.com ball kids

Two eighth graders from Eureka will be YSL.com's official ball kids at the Missouri Valley Conference men's college basketball tourney. The meet runs from March 1-4 at the Savvis Center.

In January, YSL.com announced a drawing to select two kids to represent the website as ball kids at the MVC tournament. The winner of the MVC's Arch Madness meet gets an automatic bid to the NCAA's 65-team national championship.

Bobby Belleville and Peter Simon have been selected for the ball kid positions. They will work at least one two-game set at the tournament. Other kids working the games were selected by the MVC.

Bobby and Peter said they've attended events at the Savvis Center.

Bobby said he's seen about a dozen St. Louis Blues professional hockey games and "I've been to one (St. Louis University) Billikens game."

Peter said most of the events he's seen at Savvis were Blues games. But, he added, "I've gone to Missouri Valley tournament games there before."

However, this time, the Eureka middle schoolers' seats will be much closer to the action.

Ball kids are on the basketball floor right behind the basketball goals. They help the referees to keep the floor clean and dry during the games. Also, they help give out and retrieve practice balls at the end of warm-up times before games and at half-time.

Bobby and Peter are looking forward to having a up-close look at college basketball players in action. Both say they hope to play college basketball. Peter said, "If I'm good enough, I'd like to go pro."

Now, the boys play on an 8th grade basketball team at LaSalle Springs Middle School. The team plays in a Rockwood School District league. Asked if the team is any good, Bobby said, "Yeh. We've got a .500 record."

Bobby is a 13-year-old who is 5'11" and weighs 161 pounds. He plays forward for his team. He also plays outfield and pitches for his summer baseball team.

He'd like to play college basketball at either Mizzou or Duke.

Peter Simon

Peter is 14 and between 5'10 and 5'11 in height. He weighs 150 pounds. He plays different positions on his school team, sometimes guard and sometimes forward.

If he gets to play in college, Peter said he'd like it to be at MU or UCLA.

Both boys have the MU Tigers among their favorite teams.

Bobby said he also likes the Indiana Hoosiers. He likes the play of the team's star, Jared Jeffries. Peter said, "I like to watch Duke beat everybody."

Neither boy had any favorite teams in the Missouri Valley Conference because they didn't know much about the schools in the league.

But, as ball kids at the MVC tournament, they'll get a chance to not only see the players but talk with them during the warm-up periods.

Among perks at games, the boys will get MVC T-shirts and free refreshments.

They'll also get a chance to see if working the games might rank among their best sporting experiences.

So far, both boys said their best experience was attending the 4A Missouri boy's high school basketball tournament two years ago. The tournament was played in the University of Missouri's Hearnes Fieldhouse in Columbia.

That year, they got to see their home team from Eureka High School win third place in the meet, beating Hannibal.

Bobby said Eureka's team that year was led by Matt Foster. "He could bring the ball up the court and shoot a 3-pointer or he could post-up and score down low," he said.

The two boys have been teammates on school teams for four years.

Peter said, "I come from a basketball family so I started playing real early, when I was three. But, I started playing on a team in 4th grade."

Peter's grandfather, Gene Myers, was a basketball coach at Eureka High School. He's now an assistant coach at Northwest Missouri State University at Maryville, Mo.

You can learn more about the Missouri Valley Conference by logging on to its website at www.mvc.org.