Aidan Temple recently picked up the first tennis title in what he plans to be a long career of winning.

And since he is only 11 years old, he has plenty of time to collect the tennis hardware he is storing on a shelf in his room.

The Foxfire resident claimed the boys’ 12-and-under title of the Durham Futures Tournament on June 17, knocking off the No. 1 seed on his way to the championship. Temple’s goals in tennis are set high.

“I want to be in the top 80 of the state in my age group by the end of the year,” he said, “and then I want to be No. 1 in the world.”

His father, Tony, said the family moved here from Tampa, Fla., five years ago. He also indicated that when they first got here, golf was the sport that attracted Aidan. But two years ago, Aidan changed gears and moved over to the tennis court to whet his athletic appetite.

“In golf you couldn’t run around,” he said, “but in tennis you’ve got to be constantly moving and I really like that.”

Tony Temple, who has played tennis for most of his life, said the two are members of the National Tennis Club. Every week, the pair try to practice 20 hours, and hit the courts at least four days a week. All that hard work paid off in Durham for Aidan.

He didn’t drop a set in winning the championship. His wins at Durham in the USTA-sanctioned event included a 7-5, 6-0 win over No. 1 seed Zachary Tapper in the semifinals and a 6-2, 6-4 win over Justin Mofield in the championship match.

Although Aidan is compelled by the constant movement involved in tennis he was more proud of another part of his game during the championship run.

“My mental game,” he said when asked what he liked best about his play in Durham. “I never really got frustrated with myself in any of the matches.”

This was the first under-12 tournament Aidan had competed in. He had entered several under-14 events, with his best finish resulting in a trophy for a consolation title. When he got back from Durham he carried his championship trophy into his room with a plan in mind.

“I made room on my shelf,” he said, “and put it up there with the other tennis trophy I had.”

If the young boy continues with the goals he has set for himself, he will no doubt be moving a lot of things around in his room while looking for space to place the trophies he plans to collect.