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Here, Lorenzo Lecci López, a Sports Journalist at Padel Magazine, shares his insight and experience behind how he started his career in sports media and offers advice for those looking to build their career as a journalist in sport.
I've dreamt of being a journalist since I was about 8 years old, and it always was in the back of my mind, but I wouldn't have believed that my career would have started in the way it did. The beginning of my career particularly stands out. I was studying Sport Business at AMOS Business School in Paris when the pandemic arrived. My internship was cancelled and the only thing I had to do during the quarantine was to write my thesis about the development of Padel in France. I "overworked" on this thesis and interviewed more than 40 different people. When I finished the thesis I decided to send my work to Padel Magazine. They loved it and asked me if they could publish some parts of it. After more than 10 articles published from my thesis, they offered me me a job.
"When I finished the thesis I decided to send my work to Padel Magazine. They loved it and asked me if they could publish some parts of it."
A few weeks after I covered my first tournament in Paris. During this tournament the organisers were upset because they were receiving Belasteguin (the greatest player of all time), and they didn’t have a journalist that could do the interview in Spanish. I was therefore in the right place at the right time, and my first interview with Padel was the most important. Sometimes you need a bit of luck.
Currently, I'm an independent journalist and the international responsible for Padel Magazine. This means I'm in charge of covering all the international events, and also the biggest national events. I'm also starting to build my own media, but I can’t say much about that at the moment!
I think the most important thing for people starting out in this industry is to follow your passion. Sport is about love, and you must be driven by what you do. I always follow my heart, and that’s why I wake up every day fully motivated.
As I said before, sport is about love and passion, so if you start a project you shouldn’t count your hours. I work a lot but when I'm working I don’t feel I am actually working. If you manage to love the activity that brings you the money to live, I think you have won the game!
Obviously, we are all aware of the impact technology is having on the world. Of course digital is now a big part of our lives, but I'm not sure it will go much further. At the end of the day, we are human beings and we need to be on earth and not so much on our electronic devices. Print press is not going to die, and journalists will always be journalists.
In sports media, it's now fundamental to be able to speak at least 2 languages. The more languages you are able to speak, the more options you will have.
"...have many different skills and to be able to bring something unique to the table."
I also think you need to be really adaptable and able to learn fast. You have to able to become a multi-use journalist. You can write articles and make interviews, but you also need to be a photographer, do the editing, and have some community management skills.
The most important thing however, is to have many different skills and to be able to bring something unique to the table.
I am currently working on two big projects. The first one is about creating my own version of Padel media in Spanish, with the support of Padel Magazine. It's going to be my own company and I'm really excited about building it from the very beginning. The other project is a secret, but it could become one of the major moments in the Padel season, and if I manage to make this project a reality, it would be really nice!
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