Tennis balls aren't just for the court, they can bring joy and comfort to shelter dogs in humane societies all over the world. Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) President and UT Permian Basin men's tennis player, Sebastian Garcia thought about the joy that tennis balls could bring to dogs after helping his friend take care of a stray dog they rescued.  

"We have some old tennis balls from our tennis team that don't get used so I thought it could be used for other things," said Garcia. "I figured, well, you know, I'm sure that Humane Society or other dog shelters would love to have some balls. I don't know what their situation is like but I'm sure they have to worry about food and other costs. I figured if we could even help them with dog toys, we should do that and it doesn't cost us anything. And it's at least we could do." 

After coming up with the idea, Garcia talked to his Head Coach Chris Tolson to see if he would be okay with him gathering up tennis balls that weren't getting used. 

"I said, 'hey, coach, I have this idea, of donating tennis balls that we've gone through that are ripped up and torn, and we don't use them anymore. Could I just maybe grab a couple boxes and, you know, donate them?' And he said, 'go for it'. I also pitched the idea to SAAC, and they all seemed excited to do it. We all love dogs, and we all have pets and animals, so it seemed like a no brainer and everyone was for it." 

Once he pitched the idea to SAAC, SAAC advisor and Deputy Athletic Director/ Senior Woman Administrator, Sarah Ramey called around the West Texas area to see who would be interested and landed on the Humane Society of Odessa and Midland Animal Services. 

With all the details figured out, Garcia hopped into the car on Tuesday, February 25, with Ramey, Kelci Martinez, Assistant AD for Compliance & Student Success, and Ryan Gawryszewski, Assistant AD for Game Operations and Promotions and went down to the Odessa Humane Society and Midland Animal Services to donate the balls.  

"It was kind of mixed emotions because it's not a part of life that you see all the time, you know, what goes on behind the scenes and when we went to the one in Odessa, it was kind of sad. You see a lot of dogs that don't have families, and you learn how they've been treated in the past, so it kind of makes you feel sorry for them. I also feel for the workers there too because that's not an easy job. So, my heart goes out to them because they do a really good job there," said Garcia. "Both the Odessa and Midland shelters were so happy to see us and that felt good." 

Garcia hopes this is something they can start doing every year to help our local animal shelters and he would also like to see bigger projects happen to help the community. 

"Maybe we can even do something more going forward, tennis balls aren't a lot but it's a small way to give back to the community," said Garcia.  "There are probably more ways to give back to the community and not just with animal shelters. You know, if we can put ourselves out there, why not? I feel like that's the least we could do."