Keeping his kipa on his head and his eye on the ball

The hollow sound of the ball hitting the DecoTurf at the United States Open Tennis Championships in Queens echoes loudly in the tense silence of the packed stadium as the players serve, volley and race after the ball. At the edge of the court, a seemingly staunch island of calm, stony faced, stands the ball person, but he is coiled and ready to run and grab an errant ball, hand a towel to a sweaty player, or toss another ball to be served.

In spite of all the rushing, ball boy Donny Steinberg, 16, of Great Neck, a graduate of Yeshiva Har Torah and a senior at DRS High School, manages to keep his black suede kipa firmly on his head—he uses four bobbie pins. He also catches mincha at the kosher stand. “Being a Jew is not all that different or difficult,” he said. “Being a Jew is just being another person.”

“Someone asked if magic keeps the kipa on my head,” he recounted. “I was gonna play with her and say ‘yeah, it’s magic,’” but he didn’t.

Steinberg davens maariv once he gets home and keeps his tzitzis tucked in. He takes an earlier shift on Fridays, ending at four or five. “They’re really flexible, they’re very nice,” he said.

Steinberg has been attending the U.S. Open with his father for the last few years and when he noticed a ball person with a kipa, went with a friend to the tryouts last year in June. Steinberg didn’t make the cut then, but did this year. So many were trying out, he said, that he had to wait six hours “for 90 seconds to show if you can run on the court.” He said if you make the cut, there is a second tryout of 20 minutes, demonstrating throwing, running, and control of the ball.

He noted that there are 300 ball persons (male and female) and that about twelve are Orthodox Jews. He said that it’s a “diverse, multicultural, very friendly atmosphere. As you walk to and from work you say ‘hi, what’s your name?’ You work as a team; there is a lot of communication. It’s like round robin, every shift there is a new group of six people. You get to meet a lot of people.”

He explained that there are six ball persons at each match, two in the back, two in the front and two on either side of the net. He also noted that there are always six balls on the court; the player has one in his or her hand and one in a pocket, two with the ball person on the front right and two with the ball person in the back left.

Steinberg is a “rookie” now and is paired with a veteran, someone who was a ball person before. Rookies are told when to hold an umbrella, for the sun, for the players, when to hand a towel, when to talk to players. The ball person’s shift is broken up with two hours on court and an hour and a half off, alternating. Ball persons can be age 14 and up. He noted that most are in high school and college, although there are some in their 30s and 40s. “One is 64,” he said.

There are different shifts; Steinberg’s is 12:30 pm to 7 or 8 pm. The job pays $8 an hour rain or shine over three weeks with four days off. Steinberg is taking off the Shabbatot and a day for school, starting this week. The two weeks of the “main draw,” the week before and after Labor Day, are when people “pay” to see the matches and it’s “exciting,” he explained.

During the match, he stressed, “You have to pay attention to the player and sometimes ignore the ball coming at you. If the player is asking for a ball or towel, you focus on the player, and get the ball that’s coming at you later. You have to take care of the player’s needs, but there is limited interaction with the players. I’m always doing calculations, what to do with the ball, hold the ball, throw it over. It’s like driving a car; when you start, you have to focus on the mirrors, signaling. Once you get the hang of it, it comes as second nature and you enjoy it. You always have to anticipate what’s coming next, know the player wants a towel, know to throw the ball over. I have an advantage; I know how the game works. Some know baseball and have to pick up really quickly.”

Steinberg started playing tennis when he was 12. “I started playing with my dad as a kid. Once I started winning it was not much of a challenge.” He plays on the school team at DRS in the Yeshiva League against teams from MTA, North Shore Hebrew Academy, Ramaz, Rambam, and SAR.

A ball person has to be efficient and not interfere with the action. “The greatest challenge,” emphasized Steinberg, “ is not being able to cheer for certain points, not being able to clap.” They also can’t comment. “One of the players asked for confirmation (of a point). I couldn’t answer so I just smiled,” he said.

He will probably be a ball person next year as well. “I’m now a rookie; next year I’ll be a vet. If I want to do it next year, it’s secure, I’ll get a job. Each year you get promoted, more experience, better at it, get better matches, that’s the plus side to coming back. The salary is upgraded a few cents an hour, I think. If a match goes to five sets and cheering at every point, even though it looks like we’re just standing there, we love it. The better you do the job, the less you’re noticed. It’s only when you mess up they say ‘look at that ball boy/girl.’ It’s a great conversation starter, though we don’t interact that much with the players.” He said that he almost “messed up” once. “During the qualifying rounds I ran for the ball and lost my balance and wobbled to the wall. I braced myself on the wall. The worst mistake would be throwing the ball between the first and second serve,” he pointed out.

The U.S. Open is held at the United States Tennis Association Billie Jean King National Tennis Center at Flushing Meadows-Corona Park in Queens, New York City.

It originated in 1881 in Rhode Island and later moved to New York. Five tennis events merged into the U.S. Open in 1968.

Steinberg stated that he “learned a lot from this job” but stressed that it “forced me to learn how to do my own laundry. Many nights I would get home at around 9 or 10 when I need my clothing for the next day. In the beginning, the laundry machines were very, very confusing, but with much trial and error, I eventually figured out what to do.”