Open serves up racket reducer so deaf boy can go to mainstream school
Monday, September 1st 2008, 10:52 PM
Alvarez/News
Luc Bordier, 4, sits in White Plains class where used balls from U.S. Open are affixed to chair legs to reduce noise.
It's not just about the bounce.
Used U.S. Open tennis balls have been given a new lease on life so a hearing-impaired kindergarten student can attend a mainstream school.
When 4-year-old Luc Bordier arrives for his first day of class Tuesday, he will find hundreds of bright yellow balls affixed to table and chair legs in his Westchester classroom.
The U.S. Tennis Association donated the balls - which could have been hit by aces like Andy Roddick or Serena Williams - to Church Street Elementary School in White Plains to reduce the sound of furniture scraping across the floor, which would distract Luc during lessons.
"He can't tune out background noise," Luc's mother, Julie Bordier, said.
"He's a really smart boy, and we want him to get the same education everyone else is getting, but the acoustics have to be as close to optimal as possible in order for him to hear," she explained.
"This will make a huge difference."
Luc was born deaf, but had a cochlear implant in his right ear, which hooks up to a transmitter and microphone, enabling him to hear.
Because the device cannot distinguish between background or foreground noise, a class of 20 kindergarten students shuffling in their seats would have made it near-impossible for Luc to concentrate on his teacher's words.
"He doesn't really understand that people are trying to put tennis balls on his chair, but he's so excited he's going to kindergarten," Bordier said.
"I think it's great. I was so happy because they didn't have to do this."
The USTA first heard Luc's story when his teacher-to-be, Joan Cruz, wrote a heartfelt letter asking for help.
Up to 70,000 balls are left over after the Open each year.
They get reused at Flushing Meadows tennis camps throughout the year and are sent to community programs around the city.
Nursing homes have also received balls for furniture legs and the bottom of walkers to reduce noise and friction, but this is the first time they have been donated for such a unique cause in a school.
"There's really no end to the life of a ball," said Rita Garza, chairwoman of the USTA green initiatives program.
"It really sounded like an urgent need; this little boy has a pretty unique problem, and we wanted to take care of him."
