Steve Huff

max

Legend
Steve's made some astute comments about personal stringing machines, good comments, and I'm curious about his stringing background. Steve, tell us a bit about yourself!
 

Steve Huff

G.O.A.T.
Thanks for the compliments. I've been stringing since 1979. Like many, I started with a dropweight--an ATS SuperStringer (which was actually made by Court & Slope). Eventually, I got an Ektelon H model and used it for several years. Sometime in that span, I picked up a Winn Pro and a Serrano 550B. About 3 years ago, I bought an Alpha Apex and a Wise Tension head. Sold the Ektelon and Winn. I string from home, and have never strung at tournaments. In the days of small-headed frames, I did string for a couple of guys that played on the minor level tour. I string around 800 rackets/year now. I do no advertising. I've taught tennis, organized and run tournaments, and have taught kids to string. I belong to the USRSA, though I've never bothered with getting a CT or MRT. I guess I'd say I'm a perfectionist. But, I think that almost anyone can string a racket, it's the ability to match strings/rackets to a player that makes a person a quality stringer. The only way to do that is to understand how different strings play, and by listening to each customer describe what they are looking for from their racket/string combination.

On a personal note, I have my bachelors in Business/Marketing from Ok St., an Associates in Nursing from San Juan College (Farmington, NM) and a Masters in Nursing from Virginia Commonwealth University. I'm retired now, on disability after having a kidney/pancreas transplant in 94. I'm married (also an RN), 2 kids (both teenagers). I play around 3 times/week, and hopefully will get to play seniors next year.

It's funny to see some of the new things that have come around since I started. Vibration dampeners for one. I have a small bag of rubber washers that I had cut slits in from 1975. I used them on an Arthur Ashe Comp I. I liked them because they gave a nice "thud" feel when I hit the ball. Who knew? Vibration dampeners didn't really arrive until the 80's I think.

Also, when Prince 1st came out. You'd see restrung Classics that looked round because they compressed so much. I used to use a leather belt that had holes all the way around it. I'd work it over the racket to "stretch" it a little, and to keep it from rounding when I strung it. I strung for a shop once while their regular stringer was on vacation. The customers that had Prince rackets were always suprised to find that their rackets weren't round when I returned them.

The 3rd thing that stands out was once when I broke one of my own frames stringing. It was a ProKennex Comp Dominator. I called PK and they described for me how to string an Around-the-World pattern. I've been using ATW patterns since that time.

There's probably a lot more I could write about, but don't want this post to get too long.

I'd love to hear some other autobio's too.
 

jonolau

Legend
Steve, thank you for taking the effort to share your experiences with us. This is truly invaluable and worth much more than any instructional manual can give because what you share comes from the heart and is loaded with PASSION.

Look forward to see more of your contributions.

Jon
 

diredesire

Adjunct Moderator
Yep, i've also got to give my props to steve. He's been around the boards (probably) much longer than I have. I remember when i was just starting out, I always admired and respected Mr. Huff for his amount of knowledge and friendliness towards "newbs."

Thanks steve :)
 

Steve Huff

G.O.A.T.
When I hit the courts with the HS guys, I'm just "Steve". So feel free. Thanks. You guys gave me an idea for a thread.
 

jonolau

Legend
Steve Huff said:
When I hit the courts with the HS guys, I'm just "Steve". So feel free. Thanks. You guys gave me an idea for a thread.
Steve, I wish there were more guys like you around the board who have the passion to share their knowledge and help UNCONDITIONALLY.

It is all a concept of reciprocity, to give back what has been received in the past. I'm trying to do that myself and am doing stringing almost at cost, especially for students who really deserve it. After all, it is the next generation that will be carrying the tennis flame, and I don't want to see things like finances snuff out the passion and advancement.
 

thomas martinez

Professional
You used a belt to hold the Price Classics together? Don't you remember the cross brace you could get( cannot remember who made it) for doing thearly Prince Graphite 110s? The good old days of VS Africord, VS PlastiGut,, VS Tropical, Topsize and Midsize,,, and uncoated gut. One of the first dampeners, the Donnay VibraZorb sponge, which Prince later introduced their own version which was the exact same, but different colours. And as for your Serrano, there is actually a shop local here to me that still uses about three or four of the bloody things!
 

LMW

Rookie
Steve,

I live in Williamsburg, VA, with no tennis clubs/leagues in sight (except Kingsmill $$$$). Any suggestions for places with the potential to play in the Richmond - Williamsburg area will be greatly appreciated.
 

diredesire

Adjunct Moderator
thomas martinez said:
You used a belt to hold the Price Classics together? Don't you remember the cross brace you could get( cannot remember who made it) for doing thearly Prince Graphite 110s? The good old days of VS Africord, VS PlastiGut,, VS Tropical, Topsize and Midsize,,, and uncoated gut. One of the first dampeners, the Donnay VibraZorb sponge, which Prince later introduced their own version which was the exact same, but different colours. And as for your Serrano, there is actually a shop local here to me that still uses about three or four of the bloody things!

Tom, we need you in the stringer bios thread :)
 

PBODY99

Legend
LMW said:
Steve,

I live in Williamsburg, VA, with no tennis clubs/leagues in sight (except Kingsmill $$$$). Any suggestions for places with the potential to play in the Richmond - Williamsburg area will be greatly appreciated.

In the city of Richmond, there are clay courts in a Public park. They have a great JRs program, & I'm sure you can get a match there. Just check with cityhall under their rec programs.:cool:
 

Steve Huff

G.O.A.T.
LMW---The closest club with indoor courts is where I play, Burkwood. It's in Mechanicsville, so it's only about 45 minutes from you. It's all hard courts though (4 indoor, 8 outdoor). Management is talking about adding 2-4 more courts that can be bubbled during the winter. The club has an indoor lap pool, weight room, saunas, 2 large outdoor pools and a baby pool. Still working on the ping pong tables. To join, it's $1000 for initiation, then approx. $94/month. There is no court fees or any extra fees for members. Guests pay extra though. It's a great club, easy to get matches (doubles anyway) and some 4.0-5.0 singles players. The head pro, Ed Butterworth, and his partner, John Snead, just won the Davenport Open doubles. If you need any other info, my email is; stmt@comcast.net

Belmont Park is where the city clay courts are. There are 6 of them, and early in the season, they're really nice. Later on, or when it gets hot, they don't water them enough, so you get as much as 1/2" of powder laying on top. Not much fun then. Plus, you have to keep a continual eye on golf balls which occasionally land on the courts near you.
 

Steve Huff

G.O.A.T.
Tom, those frame braces finally came out about a year after the Prince rackets came out. I bought one, but I'd already been using the belt for almost a year. It was one of those 2-2 1/2" wide belts with holes all around it. I adjust it so that it didn't quite fit around the racket head. Then, from the top, I'd force it down to the halfway point. As soon as my crosses reached that point, I'd slip it off to where I could unbuckle it an take it off. This was for stringing the Prince CLASSIC (green throat). The brace may have been made by Unique (or their predecessor). It was basically a long u-bolt that fitted around the racket at 3 and 9. you'd tighten two wing nut on the open end to pull a plate up against the frame on both sides. It did the job, but I thought it was too narrow. The belt distributed the weight more evenly and over a wider area.
 

thomas martinez

Professional
Yup, I'm familiar with the Classic, two versions, first the four hole one, and then the later three hole model. Many say the original was best, since the later model, was made from an inferior type of aluminium. There was also a machine that was sold with the cross brace, the Tremont and something else, I just cannot remember for the life of me.
 

LMW

Rookie
Steve,

Thank you for the the tip on the tennis club in Mechanicsville. I am going to drive over on the weekend to check them out.
 

joe sch

Legend
Just want to add to the Steve Huff posts as I have done business with Steve many years and he is top notch. Fantastic stringer and great person. I have had Steve string many classic rackets for me including wood rackets that span different decades of the 1900s, T2000s, max 200g's with 15g victor imperial gut, and even a spaghetti. Highly recommended for special vintage string jobs.
 

Clintspin

Professional
Steve's comments are all insightful. I also suspect Steve has a lot of racquets around. I know I purchased a PK Golden Ace from him.
 

michael_1265

Professional
Steve's made some astute comments about personal stringing machines, good comments, and I'm curious about his stringing background. Steve, tell us a bit about yourself!

I am fortunate enough to live five miles from Steve, and whatever racquet I bring to him, he makes recommendations that are ALWAYS spot on. He is definitely a perfectionist. And his front room is filled with enough cool racquets to start a museum.

Amazingly, I get great advice, flawless string jobs and he charges me the same or less than I would pay to have some teenager do it at Dick's.
 

Steve Huff

G.O.A.T.
Just saw this thread. How long ago was this started? Anyway, both kids in college now, neither play tennis. Seems I'm working too much now, as getting out even twice a week seems difficult. I'm not playing mixed, and the mixed teams or women's team seem to take all the courts most of the time. They reserve 3 courts at a time. Then, if they can't get enough people to play, they can cancel them up to 2 hours before and not be penalized. Oh well, I still have my Friday, 5am tennis that as of now, no one has infringed upon trying to take the courts at that time. Have been playing Friday at 5am for almost 5 years now. We have 12 guys (plus some subs) that play indoors. They have similar "leagues" at 5:30 am on Mon, Tues, and Wed also. In the summer, it's one of the best times to play. In the winter, it's cold. We turn the heat on when we get there, but it's still cold.
 

SteveI

Legend
Yep, i've also got to give my props to steve. He's been around the boards (probably) much longer than I have. I remember when i was just starting out, I always admired and respected Mr. Huff for his amount of knowledge and friendliness towards "newbs."

Thanks steve :)


Steve is one of the best... very professional. Great guy. You want to know anything about the PK line...Steve is your man. 5G expert!!!

Hope all is well Steve,
Steve
 

michael_1265

Professional
Just saw this thread. How long ago was this started? Anyway, both kids in college now, neither play tennis. Seems I'm working too much now, as getting out even twice a week seems difficult. I'm not playing mixed, and the mixed teams or women's team seem to take all the courts most of the time. They reserve 3 courts at a time. Then, if they can't get enough people to play, they can cancel them up to 2 hours before and not be penalized. Oh well, I still have my Friday, 5am tennis that as of now, no one has infringed upon trying to take the courts at that time. Have been playing Friday at 5am for almost 5 years now. We have 12 guys (plus some subs) that play indoors. They have similar "leagues" at 5:30 am on Mon, Tues, and Wed also. In the summer, it's one of the best times to play. In the winter, it's cold. We turn the heat on when we get there, but it's still cold.

Steve,
I LOVE early winter mornings at Burkwood. I generate so much heat that the height of the summer kills me, but 50 F on a winter morning is heaven. The only worry I have is the the visible steam coming off of me at that temperature might form a little cloud and start precipitating:) You can take the boy out of the North, but you can't take the North out of the boy.
 
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