Tennis Camp Connoisseurs: Catching Up with Travel Veterans Nate Huber and Kerri Stump

By: Luana Stanciu

Eager to explore new places and take their tennis game to new heights (while escaping the winter cold of their Maine hometown), Nate Huber and Kerri Stump have frequented several Cliff Drysdale Tennis and PBI Tennis destinations. See what they had to say about their experiences spanning California to Austria!

What events have you done with CDT and PBI so far?

We traveled to Omni Amelia Island in December 2021, Omni Rancho Las Palmas in March 2022 and Omni La Costa in January 2023. On the PBI side, we have attended World Camps at Bio-Hotel Stanglwirt in September 2022 and JW Marriott Desert Springs in January 2023.

What was the most recent World Camp in Desert Springs like?

This was a 4-day camp with tennis drills and live play. There were a handful of players at all levels and you were put with your level during drills. There was a very nice group dinner one night and this camp tries to keep things fun for learning and social. The most unique thing was that you got experience playing on hard courts, clay courts and grass courts. We normally play on clay during the summer and hard (inside) in the winter but had never played on grass – the grass makes it a different game!

I will also mention a little about PBI World Camp in Tirol, Austria. This was 5-day camp with tennis drills and live play. This was also meant to be social as they coordinated a very nice dinner at the hotel for all of us one night. Again, a nice spread of player level and on the first evening get-together, they assessed skills to split us up accordingly for drills but they did it in a way that was social and get to know everyone. The instruction was great – broken down into small groups and rotated the instructors/pros so that you got different perspectives. They didn’t break you down but took what you had and built you up.

The nice thing with Austria is that you can play inside on rainy days or outside in the most amazing location. The clay courts have a backdrop of the Alps and it is spectacular. Then add the clanging of the cow bells (cows had just come down from the mountains in September) as you play – nothing you can experience anywhere else.

Austria was definitely our favorite location from all of the camps we have done. However, Amelia Island was our favorite CDT venue. Amelia Island had a staff that brought high energy and fun to the play and made the drills a lot of fun.

What keeps you coming back to tennis camps and vacations?

We are actually trying out most of the camps to not only get some critiquing on our strokes and techniques but also to test out the area/climate for future winter getaways (Maine gets cold) and also it gives us a chance to play against new people.

What have been some of your favorite drills that you have done with our coaches?

Our favorite structure is more in line with the PBI World Camps. A lot of times the drills are set up in the morning with a specific focus and then in the afternoon it moves to live ball so you can work on those same skills but without the feed.

As for specific drills, anything that is fast paced and pushes you to perform even when getting tired is most challenging and enjoyable. We both like a good workout!

Any other destinations or tennis camps on your bucket list?

We have been talking about the fall 2023/winter 2024 and have decided we want to go back to Stanglwirt in Austria. We have also been talking about the CDT Indian Wells event that is held. We are thinking that might be a lot of fun to combine tennis play with watching the Indian Wells event.