Missouri Valley / Iowa

How tennis saved Fernando Garcia's life and inspired him to help others

David Smale | August 21, 2026

Tennis is known as the “world’s healthiest sport.” But did you know that tennis can actually save a life?

That is certainly the case for Fernando Garcia.

Garcia was born and raised in Michoacan, Mexico, where he was introduced to tennis by his father, who steered Garcia and his siblings away from other sports. They could still play soccer — the national passion of Mexico — but just for fun.

“It was tennis or … tennis,” Garcia said of his sports choices in his early years. “There were no other options.”

Garcia, his mom and his two siblings immigrated to Las Vegas, where they shared one bedroom in his uncle’s house. For the first three years in the U.S., Garcia and his brother slept on the floor so their mom and sister could have the bed.

A Second Chance

Because tennis was forced on him when he was younger, Garcia started to dislike the sport. When he got to Las Vegas and his mom told him he didn’t have to play tennis anymore, he stopped playing.

His mom worked two jobs just to survive economically, so for the early teenage years Garcia was on his own more than someone that age should be. Not surprisingly, he found himself in trouble.

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“I started hanging out with the wrong crowd,” he said. “I had a bad attitude. I was definitely going down the wrong path.

“My brother was a pretty good tennis player. He had been ranked as high as No. 3 in his age group in Mexico, and he got a tennis scholarship at the No Quit Tennis Academy in Las Vegas. After a year, he asked if I could join him. Initially, they said no.”

Garcia’s brother persisted. After another year, he convinced No Quit to give Garcia a chance, which Garcia said saved him from a life of trouble. In fact, it saved his life.

Through tennis, Garcia met several mentors who all played a role in helping him become who he is today. The biggest influence was Stan Tomchin, who poured into the youngster.

He helped Garcia and his brother start their own sports academy called the Vega Sports Academy. Ironically, they started with summer soccer camps for at-risk youth in Las Vegas, and there were plenty of kids who fit that category.

Fernando Garcia (center) received a second chance in life thanks to the persistence of his brother Omar (left) and the generosity of mentor Stan Tomchin (right).

Fernando Garcia founded Vega Sports Academy and Forever Strong Children's Foundation to give back to the community.

Through sports like tennis and soccer, Fernando Garcia has helped youth in places such as Cedar Rapids and Las Vegas.

Fernando Garcia (center) received a second chance in life thanks to the persistence of his brother Omar (left) and the generosity of mentor Stan Tomchin (right).
Fernando Garcia founded Vega Sports Academy and Forever Strong Children's Foundation to give back to the community.
Through sports like tennis and soccer, Fernando Garcia has helped youth in places such as Cedar Rapids and Las Vegas.

“These kids were getting straight F’s in middle school,” Garcia said. “We did the camp, took them to professional soccer games, mentored them and introduced them to influential people in the community for exposure. That is what changed their outlook.

“Later, we started getting emails and Facebook messages saying, ‘I went to summer school, and I got B’s and A’s. You inspired me to want to go to college.’”

Paying It Forward

When Garcia graduated from high school, he attended two different colleges before graduating from the University of Alabama. Tomchin actually paid his tuition for his final year at Alabama. Garcia was the first one in his family to graduate from college.

Garcia told Tomchin he wanted to pay him back, but Tomchin insisted that he pay it forward instead.

After graduating in the winter of 2017 Garcia took a job with GM Financial, which put him through extensive training and then sent him to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he still resides.

Upon establishing himself there, he opened another tennis academy. He didn’t have access to indoor courts, and being used to the warmer climates of Mexico and Las Vegas, he didn’t embrace the cold Iowa winters.

After leaving GM Financial, he started teaching tennis at Elmcrest Country Club in Cedar Rapids.

In 2022, he and his wife founded Forever Strong Children’s Foundation, which he said is inspired by the 2008 movie “Forever Strong.”

“We’re giving them an opportunity to see that there is more than what their circumstances are showing them,” Garcia said. “I’m not the only one who goes through what I had to go through. There are kids who just don’t know better. They think that all they’ll ever do is go to school and get a job. There’s more to life than that. You can go to college and get a good career. But you can not only change your life, but change your family’s lives.

“Being able to help kids that can’t afford it — to keep them away from going the same path that I was going — that’s what drives me. You know, I don’t have to teach. I don’t have to coach. But it’s something that I told Stan that I would do. So, that’s what I’m doing.”

Now, through tennis, he is saving other kids’ lives.

Check out additional feature stories for National Hispanic Heritage Month from across USTA Missouri Valley by clicking here.

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