Inja Fric (pronounced ‘Freetz’) has always marched to the beat of her own drum.

While soccer/football, handball and basketball are obsessions in her native Slovenia, Fric went in a very different direction, pursuing golf. A lifelong environmentalist, the North Carolina State University junior joined the school’s sustainable athletes’ group. And now, she is the first golfer to become an EcoAthletes Champion.

“I am passionate about bringing sustainability to golf,” shared Fric. “Becoming an EcoAthletes Champion appealed to me because I will be able to learn from athletes who leading on climate in other sports and bring that learning to golf.”

Despite there only being six 18-hole golf courses in Slovenia, her dad — who played golf mainly as a hobby — exposed Fric to golf when she was about six years old.

It was not a match made in heaven, at least at the start.

“I will be honest — I did not like it,” Fric admitted. “I was always the worst in the group, and I let my coach know I didn’t want to be there! But I liked the group of friends I played with — mostly boys — and so I stayed with it. Finally, when I was around 13, I was still last among the group so, it finally stuck in my head that I should really practice and see if I could get good at it.”

Practice she did, sometimes for five to seven hours a day. And she quickly got better, beating her friends regularly and then winning age group tournaments when she was 15.

“I went from a nine handicap to a two-three to a scratch golfer in a short time period,” recalled Fric. “Then, I started breaking par. A big key to my success was my work with a sports psychologist Andreja Holsedl, which gave me mental toughness that my friends just didn’t have. Her main insights were that ‘everything is in your head’ and that ‘needs make you stiff but changing need to wants, makes change much more doable.”

Fric worked even harder, teaming up with the Italian National Team coach Enrico Trentin. This meant a 2-hour 30-minute trip each way, every weekend. He completely changed her swing, breaking her game down and building it back up. The improvement was significant after only four or five months, and that led to 20+ scholarship offers from top U.S. golf programs. She ended up choosing NC State in the ACC.

And then COVID-19 hit.

“We’ve had lots of ups and downs with COVID; I ended up leaving for 10 months,” Fric offered. “When I returned, my game was also up and down. But this season, we’ve been able to play normally, without COVID restrictions. That has helped a lot and I have been playing much better.”

Fric is not certain about what her career path she will take post-graduation. Playing professionally in Europe is a possibility, so too is working in sports marketing. No matter what she does, the environment and climate action will be a part of it, thanks to a lifelong passion for the natural world.

“It was natural for us as kids in Slovenia to be green,” said Fric. “Environmental care and sustainability education is integrated into our school system going as far back as middle school. Things like switching off lights and not wasting water were second nature. When I came to the States I noticed the massive amounts of plastic pollution, food waste and other pollution. So, I felt I needed to do something!”

That something presented itself to Fric in September 2020 in the form of a nascent sports sustainability group at NC State that was part of a growing ACC league-wide Green-Sports organization.

“I was excited about the group — there was a lot of interest right away,” she noted. “And there is a lot to do just in the golf program! Keeping golf balls out of landfill, dramatically reducing single use plastics and microplastics, while increasing recycling.”

While those advances are to be celebrated, Fric became an EcoAthletes Champion because she wants to accelerate the #ClimateComeback.

“Some athletes have stayed on the sidelines on climate because they fear losing followers for speaking out,” acknowledged Fric. “We have to fight that fear. And I think the time is now because brands are starting to realize that being on the right side of climate is good for the environment and good for business. I am excited to work as an EcoAthletes Champion to champion climate action with the right brands, other athletes and whoever wants to join the movement.”

EcoAthletes founder and CEO Lew Blaustein believes Fric adds important qualities to the Champions roster.

“Inja, as our first golfer, plays a sport that is making serious strides to reduce its environmental footprint while also being a poster child for über-high carbon lifestyles,” Blaustein said. “Her passion, curiosity and willingness to challenge the status quo makes Inja an ideal messenger for climate action in golf and beyond.”

You can follow Inja Fric on Instagram