BocaNews.com
Andy Roddick is known for his bull-rush net charges and his screams of joy following match point, but the Boca boy also has a soft side that not too many people know about.

“He’s probably one of the more sensitive human beings I’ve ever met,” said Andy’s mother Blanche who paid The Polo Club a visit Wednesday. “I think that’s the one misunderstood thing when people watch him play.”

Two years ago at the RCA Championships in Indianapolis, a girl with Down syndrome was wearing a hat that had the word “down” crossed out and in its place spelled out “UP SYNDROME”. The little girl gave Andy her hat, which prompted the tennis superstar to melt into a puddle of tears.

Andy’s love for kids began when he was 18 with the formation of the Andy Roddick Foundation. In just five years, the organization has raised over two million dollars to benefit abused children.

“These children, they’re three, four and five years old and you go in there and they can’t smile,” said Blanche. “Their life and what has happened to them and the abuse and the neglect is just totally unbelievable.”

The ARF is involved in a shelter that includes Palm Beach, Broward and the tip of Dade County takes care of a vast 6,000 kids.

Unfortunately, there are kids that still need to be found. Four children ages 2-7 were found living behind a dumpster after being abandoned, with the seven-year-old crawling into the dumpster to get food to feed his other brothers and sisters.

That is what prompted the ARF to issue blue rubber band bracelets that are equipped with the inspirational slogan: NO COMPROMISE. Bracelets can be purchased on Andy’s website: http://proshop.andyroddick.com.

Basic things that average people take for granted, has these forgotten kids experiencing life’s pleasures for the first time.

“We sponsored an ice-cream day for kids that were nine-years-old,” said Blanche. “They didn’t know chocolate was chocolate. They would say, ‘I want the brown, I want the white, I want the pink.’ They didn’t know strawberry, vanilla and chocolate.”

However, even with kids being helped, that still doesn’t guarantee them a normal life as only two percent of foster kids make it in a university setting. Of those kids, 60-70 percent won’t ever get above the poverty line.

Blanche is very happy that her 23-year-old son is concerned about youth, but it has also opened her eyes as well. “I’m very proud, but it’s just been an education for me,” she said. “When I go down to the shelter, my husband says to me, ‘Take the small car’ because he knows that I would fill the big one up and bring kids home.”

There is also delight streaming from Andy this year after advancing to his second consecutive Wimbledon final, and compiling a 37-8 record with three titles won this season. But American tennis is different now that Andy is the only dominant force remaining.

“Andy’s in a difficult position, because he doesn’t have anyone pushing him here,” said Blanche. “For tennis to grow in the United States, you need the excitement of the (Michael) Changs, the (Jim) Couriers, the (Pete) Sampras’s, the (Todd) Martin’s and the (Andre) Agassi’s. What happens now is, as soon as Andy loses, then everything that goes on with tennis dies.”

For some, it seems that wins and losses don’t matter.

“Oh my god, her son is Andy Roddick,” said 12-year-old Boca native Sloan Stevens. “Can you believe that? He is like the most beautiful player in the world.”

It’s pretty remarkable that Andy is only 15 wins shy of 300 for his career because he wasn’t raised in a normal tennis family. The tennis seed was planted by his second-oldest brother John who watched him battle Roger Federer in the Wimbledon finals earlier this month.

“We had no idea people played with more than one racket,” said Blanche. “We had no idea there were junior tennis tournaments.”

Andy broke into tennis with humble beginnings. And, after five years, helping out the next generation humbles the ARF.

“They’re our biggest resource,” said Blanche. “Our biggest natural resource is our children.”