Nicholas Regina, a Staten Island sports journalist

Nicholas Regina The brillant Staten Island Sports Journalist

For Nicholas Regina, a Staten Island sports journalist, the love of the game has been the driving force behind a decade-long career. 

After realizing his dream of playing professional sports wasn't ideal, he chose the next best thing: covering games. This decision led him to pursuing a fulfilling career as a sports reporter for the Staten Island Advance. He started interning at the paper during college while attending St. John's University in Queens and worked ., New York. All the way to working his way up to a full-time position covering everything from high school sports to local college games and reporting on the Staten Island Pro Baseball team.

With about 12 years under his belt, Regina has embraced a unique blend of regular reporting and social media by tracking down media from X and Instagram while writing stories. His journey into sports journalism highlights the passion and persistence needed to be a great sports reporter in the field.

For Regina the marathon has been worth every step. 

“My job site is often a football field, a basketball court, or a baseball diamond,” Regina said, “and those are some of my favorite places.”

Regina's most memorable moment in the field was when he covered the Teddy Atlas Dinner, which was a charity event on Staten Island hosted by boxing Hall of Famer Teddy Atlas, who trained legends like Mike Tyson. At the event he interviewed stars like John Starks, Stephen A. Smith, and Chris “Mad Dog” Russo. 

“It was sort of an ‘I made it moment,” Regina explained, noting it was a chance, for him to write articles and interview people he grew up watching and listening to. 

Regina finds that preparation and adaptability are important tools to have for being a reporter.

 “I cover just about every sport,” he said, “so it's hard to focus on any one in particular,” noting that it's important for reporters to do thorough research before going out to write a story. He emphasized asking “intriguing questions” can get a reader engaged in your piece, not just yes or no simple responses that evoke no emotion. Regina also advised journalists to “dig beyond the surface” and focus on unique aspects of a subject, focusing on the “how” and "why” rather than just reporting on scores and stats.

Regina's passion for sports has led him to a rather successful career in the field. Sometimes the journalism industry can be a tough one to break into. Regina's career took almost a decade to really get up off the ground before he was really able to get his foot in the door with being a sports reporter. 

Advice he received from the professionals around him kept him going. 

“Make sure you love it, and if you do, stick with it,” Regina said. “A reporter from the NY Post, Mark Cannizzaro, told my college class that being a reporter is a marathon, not a sprint. You have to put in years before even small publications take you seriously.”