Leon Aurelius Taira, a padel player who connects sports and companies

LEON AURELIUS TAIRA

A padel player from Japan’s national team who I often see on Instagram. His Instagram shows an indescribable refreshing energy and intelligence, even more so than as a padel player. And then, on the day of the interview, it was 8:30 in the morning.

Although it was still early days for Spain, which has a siesta culture, the player who made a refreshing appearance was LEON AURELIUS TAIRA (hereinafter abbreviated as LEON).

A 22-year-old college student who just celebrated his birthday a few days before the interview. This time, we will take a closer look at Leon’s charms, including his way of thinking about life through padel and his unique “partnership theory.” If you are not limited to padel, but want to test your potential overseas, or if you want to start something new, please read this book.

The Introduction to Padel

Padel has become more well-known in Japan over the past few years, but Leon first encountered padel in 2014, nine years ago. The first padel court in Japan opened in October 2013 (Tokorozawa), so when Leon first encountered padel in Spain, there was still only one padel court in Japan. (42 courts nationwide as of May 2023)

When Leon went to Madrid, Spain on a tennis trip when he was in fifth grade, he was shocked to find that the padel court at the club was more crowded than the tennis court. At that time, Leon’s mother, who was next to Leon and saw the same scene, joked at the time, “We came to Spain to play tennis, but it would be funny if Leon became a padel player in the future instead of playing tennis.” She was said to be laughing, but perhaps it was because she was the mother who already had a sixth sense for her son’s future. And now, Leon’s mother’s joke is no longer a joke.

After returning to Japan, Leon became busy with his studies and stopped playing sports for a while, but when he decided to go to college and his life was starting to settle down, he was invited by his former tennis coach to take up padel. It is said that it became Leon himself never imagined that this opportunity would later lead him to become a padel player for Japan’s national team.

Padel feels like table tennis at a hot spring

Now, when I ask people why they started playing padel, many say that they originally played tennis. It’s always interesting to ask people why they switched from tennis to padel.

According to Leon, he was also better at doubles in tennis. He was good at playing while thinking about strategy and tactics, but he was attracted to the depth of strategy and tactics in padel, his main focus, and before he knew it, he was already training day in and day out. That’s what it means.

It’s technically appealing, but at the same time, it’s sensually appealing, like table tennis at a hot spring. I received Leon’s easy-to-understand analogy.

“In padel, you’re close to people, and the feeling of having fun together is something you don’t really get in tennis. Although it is a doubles sport, padel’s unique excitement and team feeling can be enjoyed both individually and as a pair sport. ” Exactly. That feeling may be what captivates people who enjoy padel today. It feels like many Spaniards have adopted padel as a part of their daily lives, making it easy and fun for everyone to play, just like playing table tennis in a hot spring.

How I started thinking about it as a player

When I first started playing padel, I didn’t particularly think about doing it professionally. Leon’s personality is good at moving toward big goals, but Leon is the type of person who logically takes things in front of him step by step.When he first started, he just had fun practicing.

Then, about two years after I first played padel, I joined the Japan national team’s B team (second team), and in the third match of the Asian Cup, at a time when there were not many pairs that could beat Australia, they won a stunning victory (Pair Daisuke Shoyama). ) After that, he began to become conscious of being a professional. The step-by-step victories propel Leon to further goals.

What changed after becoming a representative of Japan

After that, Leon achieved good results in the tournament, and in 2021, he became the youngest person to win the All Japan Championship. The thing that has changed since he started playing padel is his physical fitness.

When I was a junior playing tennis, I didn’t have a lot of knowledge or awareness about how to eat, but now that I’ve started playing padel, weight training, and eating, my tennis coach was surprised to find that my movements are much better. Both my body and mind have changed. He says he is now learning the simple but important thing of wearing a trainer and making small progress. And Leon spoke with his eyes shining with unwavering confidence.

“When your body changes, your mind and way of thinking will also change. The body is a vessel for the soul and oneself, so once you have mastered this process, you will begin to apply the same thing to other things. When that changes, the way we think and perceive things will also change. ”

When I was 22 years old, I was embarrassed to ask myself if I was able to think like Leon because of his solid and on-point thinking.

“Ever since I started training padel, results are important, but I’ve been trying not to get depressed all at once. When it comes to results, he focuses on the process rather than worrying about it, and I think his own mental health has improved since he focused on accumulating the process.”Leon said that he has also been able to strengthen his mental training through sports. Give it to him.

A time when the coronavirus pandemic made me think

In the second half of my first year at university, both university and padel came to a halt due to the coronavirus. Everyone has experienced the struggle of being unable to move due to the coronavirus pandemic. Leon was one of them. While the university was closed, Leon studied engineering on his own and was even commissioned by a company.

And during the coronavirus quarantine, Leon, as an athlete, was thinking about the value of athletes every day. When he seriously thought about contributing to the world as an athlete during his journey as an athlete, 22-year-old Leon realized that there was more to him than just sports. . This may be due to the environment in which he was forced to think during the coronavirus pandemic.

Leon’s “things to do” and his thoughts are also related to his current connection with sponsors. While Leon believes that there are more ways in which sports can contribute to society and the meaning that sports have, he says that there are still relatively few examples of such ways being demonstrated in the world.

Leon enthusiastically told me that he wants to take on more challenges in contributing to society through sports.

Moved in April 2022.

Leon, who had lived in Japan all his life, had a Canadian father and a mother with extensive experience overseas, so he was already considering whether to go abroad or Japan when he entered university. But he says that at the time he still didn’t know what he wanted to do.

Leon thought that it was not yet possible to study abroad without finding a clear goal, so he decided to first enroll in university, search for his goal, and then gain overseas experience. After the coronavirus pandemic started to calm down and padel started to resume, Leon started seriously considering padel training in Spain.

In the free and creative atmosphere of Shonan Keio SFC (Shonan Fujisawa Campus), Leon found a further goal within himself that he had not yet found before entering university.

“Going to Spain to train padel”

It wouldn’t be fun to just go there, so Leon made an effort to find a partnership. A super player who connects padel and companies Leon decides to go to Spain and takes action from scratch to find a sponsor.

Leon chose a partnership agreement rather than crowdfunding, which involves raising small amounts of money from an unspecified number of people over the Internet.

Leon’s unique idea, which he realized during the coronavirus pandemic, is that in a still small community like Padel, it is better to approach companies that have no connection to Padel at all than to use crowdfunding to spread awareness of Padel and spread awareness of Padel. However, it was Leon’s own desire to discover the value of sports. He realized that this was the way to spread the word about padel, which he loves. He also had a firm belief that he could do it. And Leon concludes a partnership contract in his own way. Although Leon is not yet old enough to be a student looking for a job, we are living in an era where experience matters more than age.

In order to obtain a partnership, the company conducted a steady search through telephone sales and inquiries via the contact form. From the journey of a thousand miles an inch. I made an appointment on my own from a company that I was completely unfamiliar with, except for one company that my intern had helped with, prepared pitch materials in front of the president of the company, presented my unique proposal to him, and worked with him in Spain. We succeeded in securing a partnership that will provide us with the capital to support our lives.

Leon then told me to add it. Leon, who grew up in an international family environment, has a strong interest in companies that make traditional Japanese products his business. We want to spread Japanese culture around the world, such as matcha, knives, and long-established Japanese companies. I empathize with Leon’s sentiments, as I myself have lived overseas for 20 years. The reason he does this is because for Japanese people living overseas, they often find Japanese traditional things even more endearing, beautiful and heart-touching when they live away from home.

We can only hope that Leon will shine on the world stage through padel, a new harmony between sports and traditional Japanese products.

Leon’s partnership theory.

There are various ways to use the traditional sponsorship system, in which players are sponsored as a form of support, the player becomes famous by winning games, and products are sold using the player’s image as a strength, but Leon deliberately used the word sponsor. Instead, we create a situation in which we can directly benefit from each other through “partnerships,” and work independently with each company to propose freelance-like work. We provide proposals for long-term relationships, such as writing research materials for companies considering expansion into Europe and creating opportunities for companies overseas.

“I feel that I am giving back to the companies in a sport that has both good and bad times, and I feel that I can not only be an advertising figure but also directly contribute to the partner companies in a different way.” ‘ says Leon.

He told me, not only because of his youth, but also with a hidden look of intellect, that this kind of relationship with companies is the ideal way to contribute to the companies that partner with him, even outside of sports.

When asked about the results of his efforts, he says that he is feeling a sense of accomplishment as he was able to renew his one-year contract.

training in spain

As a padel lover writer, I asked a question that I was very interested in. “I have a skill for cropped shots, so I’m currently honing my ability to select techniques. Which techniques to use in which situations, such as shot selection. What nuances and how do you hit it? He is training now. ‘ Leon told me.

He also wants to acquire the passion of the competitive Spaniards.

When training in Spain, he often encounters world-class top padel players during practice, and even those who are active in the world remember their faces and greet them friendly. And even Japanese people still seem to be wondering if he plays padel. It is a great honor for Leon and other Japanese players to be able to learn about the development of Japanese padel to the world by training overseas.

What happens when you lose?

Now, Leon seems to have a calmness and strength that belies his 22-year-old self, but what happens when he loses in a game of padel? “When we lose, we switch quickly, but don’t get discouraged. I don’t know what the right answer is, but when I’m depressed, I’m depressed,” she answered with a relaxed smile.

In sports, whether it’s padel or not, there are often two ways to express emotions when winning or losing. A wave type and a type that follows emotions. Leon says he thinks it’s healthier to follow the latter emotion. Recovery will depend on time. It seems like Leon’s style is to not cover up his emotions and not push them too hard.

It works out because you choose what you want to do. It’s no one’s fault.

Leon is such a good young man that I would like him to be my daughter’s son. As I interviewed him, I became interested in the fundamentals of his character development and the way he raised his family.

Then he said, “A lot of people ask me that. But I don’t know how to answer, but my parents have never said no to something that he wants to do.” He may not realize it, but he is the most important thing to me.” He gave me the essential answer.

Leon said that when he stopped playing sports, he was playing music. He made his own music, and on his resume when he entered university, it seems that he only wrote about his music activities, not sports. Even at that time, Leon’s parents said it was okay and supported him.

Don’t force your children to do what their parents want; instead, encourage them to do what they want to do. Because children have chosen their own path, they can act on their own responsibility, and they can concentrate on what excites them without having to carry unnecessary stress or burdens such as opposition.

Leon’s parents must be watching over his growth with great love.

What is tough things in Spain?

My year and a half of living in Spain is coming to an end in about a month, and I asked him about any hardships he had, but he clearly understood that he was living in a different culture. I don’t think it’s particularly difficult for Leon. was the easy answer.

Tell the town to obey the town. That’s exactly right. The most important thing when living abroad is the common sense in Japan and Japanese culture.If you look at things based on Japanese common sense and Japanese culture, you will be more likely to complain. If you behave in a cheerful manner and think that common sense in Japan is common sense overseas, and common sense overseas is common sense in Japan, you will be able to stay positive even in a foreign country like Leon.

Leon says that he doesn’t have many difficulties, but from the perspective of others, there must be some difficult ones, but his straightforward attitude of trying to learn with a clear purpose allows him to overcome any adversity. They will probably become strong enough to not even consider hardship as painful.

However, aside from padel, Leon enjoys cooking. Leon has been attending ABC Cooking since he was in kindergarten, and he loves cooking so much that he even went to ABC Cooking with adults when he was in junior high school. He has been cooking his own food since he was in elementary and middle school and wants to become a chef when he grows up. he said. Now that I am an active athlete, managing my diet is interesting. Cooking your own meals here seems to be a lot of fun.

What it feels like to be at the cutting edge of Japanese padel as a representative of Japan

Leon, who is still active in the new sport of padel in Japan, said with a twinkle in his eye that he saw only the possibilities of playing at the cutting edge. I also have the most important feeling that I am having the most fun playing padel. Leon says that since it is still a new sport in Japan, “I can grow together with this sport.”

“I don’t think about it too deeply, whether it’s good or bad. I will create any opportunities for myself. Rather than comparing myself to the level of the Spaniards who have been playing padel for 40 years, I want to build on what I can do now while feeling that my growth is heading in the right direction.” A word that will take your hat off.

He is also responsible for the future of padel in Japan, so I hope that the younger Japanese juniors will do their best. he says with a smile.

However, he left a comment that made me think that it is not just about winning and passing exams, but also about maintaining the “fun” that is inherent in padel.

Leon’s upcoming plans

Leon returned to Japan at the end of June, about a month after the interview, and began preparing to graduate from university. I would like to go to graduate school in Spain.

He says he wants to be in the best shape possible as a padel player with the goal of competing in the Asian Olympics in 2026. 2026 is a big goal for him now. I’ll think about it again after that. Seeing Leon’s smile, he once again sensed Leon’s flexibility in life. A word from Leon to all Japanese people.

Padel is a sport that you can do for the rest of your life, so I want you to play without pushing yourself too hard and remembering to have fun.

Leon became synonymous with representing Japan at the age of 22. We can’t wait to see what he does in the future, as he is a young man who is starting to spread his wings across the world both as an athlete and as a businessman.

It was a breakfast interview in Madrid, which was hard to believe for an early morning interview at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Leon and his wonderful mother and brother, whom I was able to meet at the perfect time.

MEMO:

“On Instagram, I would be happy if people who sympathize with my messages and actions follow me. Nowadays, there are many people who meet people through social media, and in a good sense, it can act as a business card for your portfolio,” says Leon. Please take this opportunity to check out Leon’s Instagram introduction.