Editor’s note: 10sBalls thanks Noah Rubin for giving us permission to repost these great stories. We wish him and this endeavor the best of luck. Great seeing Noah wearing K-Swiss and playing Solinco Strings.
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#MyBTR– “For somebody soft-spoken like myself, stringing is the perfect craft to become adept at in the tennis world. It’s all behind the scenes, and I’m mostly content operating in anonymity. No glamour, nor big salaries involved, and there are a very select few who would be crazy enough to actively pursue this line of work. I’ve been extremely lucky thus far, being granted opportunities to grow and remain involved with high-caliber programs. I worked my way from a student manager earning $8/hour, 7 years ago, to getting a business license and freelancing exclusively as a racquet tech for 2 years after graduation. I was then rehired this past fall as a part-time Operations Coordinator, for a coaching staff who created an administrative position that previously didn’t exist, to go along with my stringing duties. Here, I’m surrounded by an incredible group of people who look out and care for each other, and I’m grateful to be part of the team atmosphere despite not having any on-court accolades. I pride myself in being a problem-solver at work and for others, to a fault, where I spend more time addressing them than at home with family. Working with current/former student-athletes, and professionals, is both a blessing and curse. At times it’s enjoyable being a small piece of the puzzle and others not so much. When chaos reigns and essential to-dos are all we can communicate to each other, combined with long days and all-nighters while the teams go through tough moments, it can be unbearable at times. With as many people as I’ve met and interacted with over the last 14 years through tennis, there are only a select handful I’ve begun to open up to recently. There are many solo evenings where some of my thoughts consume me. I wonder a lot about others and myself, as there’s lots of time to dwell. The loans I have to repay, or my mom and sisters I wish I could take care of and get the house we’ve never had before. I put my education degree and teaching on hiatus to see if I could find my place in tennis. The negatives overwhelm at times, and I snap out of being extremely tired, replacing it with general wonderment of the trajectory I’m on.” -Jonathan Pham
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