Thanks for the comments.

This young man is on his way to college so his parents will still be providing most of his living expenses for the next few years. This is probably the best window of opportunity for him to do this kind of work to establish himself.

There is little chance that he’ll get pressbox credentials or access to big league players at this stage of his career. That is why I advised him to start reporting on his local college sports. Depending on the size of the school, he might be in classes with many of the players and gaining access to players and coaches at that level is possible. (It is not a big 10 school.) Plus, as I mentioned in the post, he is friends with a baseball pitcher who was just drafted into the minor leagues. This is a guy he goes to the movies with and he can start by getting an inside look at the life of an up-and-coming player. If he makes it to the majors, this journalist will be the first person to have interviewed him.

Also, I’m not suggesting that he should shun traditional journalism work. By all means, he should try to write for the school paper or one of the local papers (or an established website.) He should study the subject in school. But, if these opportunities don’t come quickly, he shouldn’t wait to begin gaining experience and building an audience for his work.

Becoming a full-time sports journalist isn’t going to be effortless, but building a track record and an audience will go a long way toward helping him become a better writer and giving him the leverage to pursue bigger and better opportunities.

The Go-To Guy!

No, you don’t need permission to become a sports journalist, but you do need to find someone to pay you for it. Otherwise, you will have to get an unrelated job that will sap your time and energy. I hope the young man doesn’t have to do that.