Collegiate tennis programs use a lot of tennis balls over the course of a year. A lot of tennis balls.
 
On Friday, one of the DeLand Police Department's K-9 Units stopped by the Mandy Stoll Tennis Center to collect a few used up tennis balls for their police dogs to enjoy.
 
Officer Damon Clark and his K-9 partner Midnight got to meet the coaches and players from both programs as part of their visit. Midnight has been a part of the DeLand Police Department for less than a year and is just the second K-9 in the department.
 
"We go through about 3,000 tennis balls a year, as they become unusable for us after just a month of training," Stetson men's tennis coach Christophe Noblet said. "We are happy to re-purpose those used balls and give them away to the local community, including the K-9 Unit of the Deland Police Department. Midnight was a happy dog this morning!"
 
Officer Clark and Midnight specializes in search and rescue as well as narcotics. The tennis balls are used as part of continuing training for the dogs. They help relieve the stress from work and serve as a reward for when the dogs complete tasks of find something and alerts their human partners.
 
Many of the Stetson players from both programs were on hand on Friday and Officer Clark and Midnight accepted the donation of the tennis balls.
 
"What an experience these student-athletes had this morning," Stetson women's tennis coach Travis Sandlant said. "We are lucky to have had this opportunity. Thanks to Officer Clark and the Deland Police department."
 
In addition to donating the tennis balls to the DeLand Police Department, the Stetson tennis programs give the balls away to many others in the community.
 
Since the tennis balls can be repurposed for many different uses, the used ones are given away to the Police Department, to local schools to put under their tables and chairs, for use in art projects, to the local YMCA, to local dog parks, etc.
 
About Stetson University Athletics: Stetson University's Athletics Program is driven by a shared purpose. It is what inspires, motivates and binds us together. More than a task, a reason for being. THE HATTER PURPOSE is to create and provide an experience of a lifetime through teamwork and relationships to achieve excellence. This purpose is achieved through five Core Values: Communication, Integrity, Excellence, Value People and Commitment. To learn more about the HATS program and our Core Values, visit GoHatters.com/HATS. Get in on the conversation on social media by following Stetson Athletics on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. For video content, visit our YouTube channels: Stetson Hatters, Stetson Athletics and, for live events, Hatter Vision.