Nicholas Mihai Nechifor (Supplied)

By Alessia Proietti

Red Deer Games Foundation grant

Local 11-year-old tennis player ranked third in province

Jun 24, 2022 | 4:49 PM

A Red Deer athlete is no stranger to winning at just 11 years of age and he says it’s all due to mental strength.

“I don’t need people to cheer me on; I just need myself,” said Nicholas Mihai Nechifor. “I just stayed focused, kept rallying and waited for ball to attack.”

Earlier this week, Nechifor was awarded a $500 grant from the Red Deer Games Foundation to help with his training costs.

Currently with 201.955 points under the Rogers Ranking system, Nechifor is the third-best player in Alberta for Tennis Canada’s U12 age group and number 33 in Canada.

For players born in 2011, Nechifor is ranked first in the province, and is number 10 nationwide.

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Competing in Alberta, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan, Nechifor has won numerous tournaments, including the 2021 U10 Provincial Tournament in Edmonton and the U12 Lakewood Indoor Junior and Future Stars Tournament in Saskatchewan. This March, he represented Alberta, as one of the youngest players at 10-years-old, at the 2022 U12 Fischer National Championships in Vancouver, placing 20^th in the singles event and second out of his team of four.

At times, he has competed against players four years older.

Nicholas Mihai Nechifor (Supplied)

Inspired by his big brother, Nechifor began his tennis career at the age of three, and is a member of two tennis clubs: the Red Deer Tennis Club with trainer Rene Simon, and Calgary’s Osten & Victor Alberta Tennis Centre with trainer Diana Jacobs.

Nechifor practices five times a week between the two clubs, some days for up to five hours, and has gone as far as Spain for a seven-week training session where tennis is a predominant sport.

At just five feet tall, Nechifor participated in this year’s month-long Champions Strength Training program at the G.W. Harris Centre, where he trained with players of various ages, many older and of larger stature, he says.

He says the one of the biggest lessons he’s learned from playing tennis is how to develop mental strength.

“I’ve learned to not always get mad when I lose a point or when they make bad calls,” he said. “I usually just go up to my towel, calm down and wipe my face.”

His most recent competition in Garneau, Edmonton earlier in the month, Nechifor played five hours straight in back-to-back tournaments. Before his next competition the following day, his arm began to get sore.

“I just forgot about the pain,” said the youngster. “I said, ‘go away, I’m focusing.’”

Nicholas Mihai Nechifor (Supplied)

His father, Nick, praised his son’s mental endurance, saying the rising star loves and handles moments of pressure very well.

Both parents originally from Romania, Nechifor Sr. says he is proud of his son’s initiative and independence as far as balancing tennis and his Grade 5 online educational responsibilities at Maryview School, noting it has been convenient for their demanding sports schedule.

“At such a young age, he has so much maturity. He realizes he has to work; I don’t push him,” he said.

The Red Deer Games Foundation funds have been helpful, the father adds, saying the sport’s expenses for traveling, club fees, and more add up to, “buying a new Tesla.”

Although Nechifor says he wants to play tennis all day, every day, he also enjoys being outside, racing and playing basketball with the neighborhood kids and playing the video game Fortnite.

His ultimate goal, however, he says, is to represent Red Deer as the number one tennis player in the world.