Flushing Meadows, N.Y. - For Stan Stolar, watching the movie ‘The Bucket List’, was inspiring.

In the 2007 movie, two terminally ill men make a list of things they want to do before they die and while Stolar, 69, is not sick, watching the movie got him thinking about new things he wanted to try.

And on Thursday Stolar did indeed try something new. He was one of over 300 people who auditioned at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center for the chance to become a ballperson at the 2008 US Open.

The ballperson tryouts were open to anyone over 14 years of age and participants were auditioning for a ballperson spot at either the net, the back of the court or both. Approximately 80 new ballpersons will be chosen for the 2008 US Open, which will be held August 25-September 7. In total, the US Open employs about 275 ballpersons each year.

Stolar, of Beechhurst, NY, auditioned for the back of the court position only. The back position requires the ballperson to be able to throw the ball the length of the court and veteran ballpersons and supervisors evaluated the participants on the distance and accuracy of their throws as well as their court awareness.

The US Open is the only Grand Slam tournament that requires its ballpersons to throw the ball across the full length of the court rather than roll it along the sidelines. The US Open is also the only Grand Slam tournament that pays its ballpersons.

“I saw the movie ‘The Bucket List’, (and) I figured, ‘let me try this,’” Stolar said of auditioning. “If they tell me no, they tell me no…Everyone said (to me), ‘You are really going to do it? I said, ‘I’m absolutely going to do it.’”

Stolar is an avid tennis player who plays three times a week, having picked up the game in his mid-50s. He frequently attends the US Open, has volunteered at Arthur Ashe Kids Day and is a USTA member. Overall, he was pleased with his tryout.

“My second set of throws were much better because my arm loosened up,” he said.

Trying out not long after Stolar was Haina Just-Michael, 49, as her daughter, Sara, 16, of New Rochelle, NY, watched after her audition. Haina tried out for the back position while Sara tried out for the net spot. Participants for the net spot were evaluated on speed, footwork, hand-eye coordination as well as net-to-backcourt throwing ability.

The Just-Michaels are avid tennis players and US Open fans as well as USTA members. Haina was a little disappointed in her throwing and Sara thought her net audition went well. The two had made a plan last year to tryout together for the 2008 US Open and really enjoyed the atmosphere.

“This has been on our calendars for months,” Haina said of the tryout. “I was nervous but everybody was so nice.”

“(The net tryout) was good, there is a lot of running,” Sara said of her tryout. “The evaluator said, ‘You had a good workout.’ I did okay. I’ve played here (at the USTA National Tennis Center) once before and I think it’s cool to get on the courts where the pros play.”

All participants will be notified through the mail whether or not they are selected for the second round of callbacks, to be held the week of July 14. There is no specific cutoff number for the callbacks round, as it depends on how many participants received high scores Thursday. During the second round, Tina Taps, the Director of US Open Ballpersons, and her staff look at the participants in smaller groups and evaluate them again.

Kelly Bruno, 24, and Scout Bassett, 19, both tried out for the net positions but were unique in at least one respect from the other participants. They each have a prosthesis in place of part of one leg and are top-notch athletes who regularly compete in triathlons.

They two heard about the tryout from John Korff, a member of the USTA Board of Directors and owner of the New York City Triathlon. And they also came a long way, with Bruno traveling from Durham, N.C. and Bassett from Palm Desert, Calif.

“I don’t have as good an arm to go across on one bounce yet,” Bassett, also a recreational tennis player, said of why she just tried out for the net spot. “I think it went well. This morning was a bit shaky in practice but it went better at tryouts.”

“I think it went well,” Bruno agreed about her tryout. “I felt pretty good.”

This is the first year that Peter Kessler, 24, of East Meadow, NY will be available if selected for the US Open. In previous years Kessler had already left for college before the end of the US Open or was already in class at Brooklyn Law School. Now having graduated law school and currently studying for the bar exam, he thought of trying out for both the back and net positions.

“I’ve always had class just when the US Open starts,” he said. “But now I have a couple of weeks free. I thought it (coming to the tryout) would be a nice stress relief (from studying) and this is my last chance before I start to work.”

On the No. 7 subway line on the way to the tryout, Kessler met Ray Sweeney, who also tried out for both the net and back positions.

Sweeney, 23, just moved to Manhattan a week before the tryout from Philadelphia for a new job and came Thursday with a friend.

“I think it went well. I didn’t fall on my face,” Sweeney said. “Hopefully I will have what they are looking for. I liked the back (position). I’ve played baseball and I think I have a decent arm.”

Stephen Huerster, 14, of Pleasantville, NY, also hoped his arm was strong enough to earn him a spot. He tried out for a back position after coming down with his friend Tom Gilroy, 14, also of Pleasantville.

“My friend (Gilroy) told me about it (the tryout),” Huerster said. “We decided to come down. You get paid, to interact with tennis players - it sounds like fun.”

With so many people to choose from for a limited number of spots, the veteran ballpersons and supervisors evaluating were looking for people who they would want working with them based on their potential, attitude and enthusiasm.

William Cove, 16, of Kew Gardens, NY, will be a ballperson at the US Open for the seventh time this year and is usually assigned to either Louis Armstrong Stadium or the Grandstand but has also worked matches in Arthur Ashe Stadium. Cove, who mostly works in the back position now, knows being a ballperson requires a lot of hard work and summed up some good advice for the rookies trying out.

“You have to be very athletic - it can be very tiring,” Cove said. “You can be working in hot temperatures. You need to be fit, always heads up and very alert.”