Starting out early, Nicholas Notarnicola was able to master his game at both tennis and golf. Now, in his sophomore year, he is bringing his talents in both sports to a varsity level for the second year in a row.

A freshman making varsity isn’t typical. What’s even more unheard of is a freshman making varsity for two sports, but that’s exactly what Nicholas Notarnicola was able to do. His primary sport of the two is tennis. After making a start in tennis at his country club, he began taking classes and progressed from there.

“I’ve been in a country club since I was young,” Nicholas said, “so I just started playing classes there. I think it was maybe when I was six or seven.”

This early start to the sport would see Nicholas excel in the sport at the high school level.

Being on varsity right off the bat has some definite perks. It pretty much solidifies a spot for you for the remaining three years. But it has significant impacts on the athlete’s ability.

“I think it’s really improved my game, mentally and physically. I’ve seen myself improve a lot since the start,” Nicholas said.

Having the skillset to make varsity is obviously impressive, but never-ending improvement could set up for a very successful varsity career.

Early time on varsity also means that Nicholas could be a prominent team leader in the coming years.

“I do think I’ll be one of the team leaders in the next year or two years,” Nicholas said.

As his game improves, so will his connection with his coaches and fellow teammates, meaning he could be looking at a heavy leadership role junior and senior year.

Not only does Nicholas excel at tennis, but he also is playing golf at a varsity level. Tennis has been Nicolas’s number one sport ever since he picked up a racket, but once high school started, he decided that he wanted to put some more focus on his golf game.

“I got into golf the same way as tennis—through my country club—, and I just picked it up more going into high school,” Nicholas said.

Playing varsity tennis freshman and sophomore year is one thing, but adding on varsity golf to that is incredibly impressive.

Golf and tennis are scheduled closely together, so managing a schedule can be pretty tricky, but that doesn’t stop Nicholas from playing as much as possible.

“No, I think it’s pretty easy to manage,” Nicholas said. “Although, sometimes, when I’m playing tennis, I can’t play as much golf—and vice versa. But I think it’s pretty easy to manage.”

When an athlete makes such a splash in varsity as Nicholas has, many people wonder what is to come after high school. For Nicholas, there are no actual plans for playing after high school.

“Maybe. Probably just for fun; I don’t know how serious I’ll take it after high school,” Nicholas said.

He does, however, hope to continue enjoying both sports for as long as he possibly can.