WESTON, Mass. - The Regis (Mass.) men’s and women’s tennis teams use more than 20 cases of tennis balls every year - 500 cans, 1,500 balls. The Pride uses just a portion of the more than 125 million tennis balls that are sold in the United States each year and eventually end up dead and unplayable. Some are used on the bottoms of walkers, to occupy the spare time of dogs or on the feet of chairs in classrooms to keep school room floors in good shape. Regarding the latter, Regis Tennis gave away a couple of hundred used balls to several local schools from 2009 to 2011.

In the spring of 2013, the Pride began donating used balls to Project Green Ball, after head coach John Ciarleglio met Ben and Scott Soloway at a Boston Lobsters World Team Tennis match. Ben, a high school player from Wellesley, Mass., had wondered what happened to all those 125 million tennis balls after practices, matches and tournaments. The Soloways created a nonprofit group and began soliciting dead balls from tennis clubs and local college teams.

By 2015, the father and son had collected more than 200,000 balls. Scott Soloway persuaded IGK Equestrian, a company that makes products for horse facilities, to use recycled balls in turf for three equestrian arenas, which included a therapeutic riding program and a group working with people with developmental disabilities. After the equestrian company shifted directions, Soloway discovered Ace Surfaces and its partnership with reBounces, as well as Advanced Polymer Technology and its Laykold surface.

Since our first donation of approximately 800 balls, the Regis tennis teams have contributed approximately 5,000 tennis balls, with all intentions of continuing their small but meaningful effort to reduce trash and help our environment.

For more info on Project Green Ball, please go to www.projectgreenball.org.

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