Ballperson tryouts unite HS rivals

They were rivals on the football field and baseball diamond, and five friends from Western Queens recently came together again to compete for spots on the U.S. Open ballperson team.
&#8220It would be pretty cool to be reunited through sports,” said 17-year-old Farouk Houssein, an outside linebacker for Long Island City's football team, at the tryouts on Thursday, June 28 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
During the season, his squad went head to head with William Bryant High School and friend 18-year-old Ivan Halpern, a receiver. Houssein, a team captain, joked that just like LIC trounced Bryant during the November 2006 match-up, he would fare better than his comrade.
&#8220I've got a little more mass than him,” Houssein said.
&#8220But I have something else,” Halpern countered. &#8220Speed and intellect, that's what I have on him.”
Buddies Jamie Rojas, 18, and Jonathan Contreras, 16, who at one time both played baseball for Bryant, and Lisandro Amezquita, 19, who had a spot on Newtown's 2006 lineup, rounded out the five-man group, and each hoped that their athleticism would hold them in good stead during several tests of their running, throwing and catching abilities.
Only Contreras ever played on a tennis team, but Houssein did have a tennis permit as a kid to play in Astoria Park.
During three hours of tryouts, the teens and other would-be ballpersons were subjected to a series of evaluations. Those with the best arms are chosen for the backcourt, to hurl the balls back and forth during sets, and the quickest on their feet are picked for the net position to retrieve stray balls during the games.
The only requirement to try out was that participants be 14 or older, but some young tennis players like 13-year-old Chris Casamassima from Franklin Square were also given a shot.
Instructors told participants to catch the balls with two hands, make a grab before the second bounce, not try anything too fancy, and to tread quietly and quickly across the court.
&#8220When you don't hear the sound of their feet, that's a good thing,” one tester barked.
After they got their chance, both Halpern and Houssein were winded but pretty pleased with the results.
&#8220I think all of our sports paid off,” Houssein said. &#8220I think we have an advantage in that regard.”
On Monday, July 9, the USTA will contact participants to let them know whether they made it to a second grueling round of trials. Then, they will select a final crop of 75 rookies to join the USTA's 270-member ballperson team to work at the Open, scheduled to run from Monday, August 27 through Sunday, September 9.
Although the pay for first timers is minimum wage, the ballpersons work eight-hour days on average, and for teenagers who recently graduated from high school, the take home salary would be a &#8220nice chunk of change,” Halpern said. In fact, the Open is the only Grand Slam event that even pays its ballpersons, officials said.
For 15-year-old Bayside resident Aliya Donni, an 11th grader at St. Francis Preparatory, the tryouts alone were worth the effort.
&#8220It's a lot harder than it looks,” said the trim teen, who plays basketball for her school, after 10 minutes on the court. Donni had waited two hours with older brother Sunny for her number to be called. &#8220I figured it would be a lot of fun.”
Although she does not think she made the squad, Donni said she would give it a go again next year.
&#8220Sure, I would,” she said.