Sports Data Editor from Texas

Especially to lovers of American Football, our guest today is Tres Valenzuela and he will talk about his career in sport and working in the US.

Tres is a specialist in collecting and distributing analyses of matches and players from the NFL and NCAA.

Are you curious about American Football, NFL, and the sports industry in the US? Check NOW this interview!

Thanks a lot to share all this with us, Tres.

Tres, to help our community get to know you better, could you share with us your background and your professional experience?

I grew in West Texas (El Paso) and played football and baseball growing up and some football for a short period of time in college, eventually I graduated with a degree in sports management from Texas A&M. I worked for the Sunbowl association while in high school and college during winter breaks and interned for the Round Rock Express (Triple A baseball) my last semester before graduation. After college, I began working as an analyst for Pro Football Focus mainly covering college football. I still work at PFF today and since it a work from home position it has allowed me to get a second job where I program sports channels on the TV Guide for some of the biggest teams in the world (Lakers, Dodgers, Yankees, PSG, Corinthians, etc.)

Since you graduated in Sport Management,what opportunities and challenges have appeared to enter the sports industry?

As previously stated my initial opportunity was working at PFF, it was a very competitive position to get which is the main challenge in the sports world. Being such a highly touted industry each position has many applicatants which should have people entering the industry aware that they need to have things that separate them from the back during the hiring process. I also started writing for a company overseas (The Touchdown.uk) where I also am on their weekly podcast The Touchdown Review, that gave me the courage to start my own podcast commongems where I interview former NFL players.

How do you evaluate and justify sport formation process in the USA with the consecutive expressive results in the Olympic Games?

I think because we start and focus one sport from such a young age it allows for some of our greatest athletes who have the mental ability to stay locked into one activity their whole life but I also feel it’s a weakness of the us because a lot of good athletes suffer from burnout and end up quitting despite being very skilled so it’s can be viewed both good and bad.

What tips would you give to those who want to work with sports media?

Never say no to a job and try to make as many connections as possible.

How do you look at the NFL’s expanding visibility in European matches?

I think just developing the access to viewers across the world along with growing the international player program will allow the NFL to have an international division within 20 years.

For those who start watching American Football matches and do not have as much knowledge about the rules, as you would explain well briefly?

Essentially you have 4 plays to get 10 yards on a 100 yard field. The teams trying to score can hand the ball to the player and have him run with the rest of the team blocking or the offense can pass the ball to players and move the ball that way. The defensive tries to stop the offense by playing man on man or a zone where players cover space and not a player. There are typically 3 different levels of size to each offense and defense the closer to the ball and further away the faster the players are, which gives the feeling that its different objectives for different positions that all have on common goal in mind.

A final message to our audience.

You need to be okay with being told no, for every 50 no’s you might get one yes and you have to pounce at that opportunity. You also should diversify your skillset in order to maximize your effencieny to potential employers.