Sports Content Creator Intern

SMASH RACKET — Sports Content Creator Intern — DCSummer 2026 · DC-Based · In-PersonWhat Smash Racket isWe sell a tennis gear and we’re building a brand for the people who’ve always played on public courts. No country clubs. Tennis, Unclubbed.The DC Court Report is our ground-level content series documenting the real DC tennis scene — the leagues, the players, the courts, the culture. You will build it from scratch.What you’ll ownResearch & sourcing•      Find and catalog every recreational and competitive tennis league operating in DC (USTA DC leagues, DC DPR programs, DCTC, pickup communities, etc.)•      Identify compelling players — not pros, not celebrities — real public court people with stories worth telling•      Build and maintain a sourcing database: courts, contacts, leagues, leadsField production•      Film and photograph at courts — interviews, match footage, atmosphere, B-roll•      Conduct on-camera and audio interviews with players, coaches, organizers•      Capture the content that makes the DC Court Report feel real and not stagedContent pipeline•      Write interview summaries, captions, and short-form copy aligned with Smash Racket’s voice•      Organize and label all footage and photo assets using our naming conventions•      Deliver edit-ready material for Reels, feed posts, and carouselsBrand alignment•      Understand and apply the Smash Racket brand positioning in every piece of content•      Know who our characters are and what the brand sounds like•      Flag anything that looks too polished, too club, or too corporateWhat we’re looking forSomeone who can walk up to a stranger on a tennis court, earn their trust in 90 seconds, and get them on camera saying something real.Strong fit profiles:Journalism or Communications — your interviewing instincts and storytelling instincts are the core skill hereFilm or Media Production — if you can shoot and do a full edit, you’re immediately usefulMarketing or Advertising — if your program emphasizes brand and content strategy, this is applied work, not hypotheticalYou do NOT need to be a tennis player, though it will be immensely useful if you do, can speak the language, and understand tennis culture and public court dynamics. You need to love talking to people and be comfortable on DC streets and public courts.Practical requirements:Based in DC for the summer (we are not relocating anyone)Owns or has reliable access to a smartphone capable of filming (iPhone 12 or newer is fine)Has own transportation or is comfortable navigating DC by Metro/bike to reach courts across the cityAvailable minimum 20 hours/week, with flexibility to film on weekday mornings/evenings and weekends when courts are activePreferredBackground or coursework in journalism, communications, film/media, or marketingFamiliarity with DC's public tennis scene or recreational tennis cultureExperience shooting and editing short-form video (Reels, TikTok, YouTube Shorts)Experience conducting interviews — on camera or otherwiseWhat you’ll produceThis is a pay-for-output role. You are not clocking hours — you are publishing content. Over the course of the summer, the expected output is:•      5–6 player profile Reels (45–60 seconds, shot at the player’s home court)•      10–12 standings and results graphics (weekly, Monday posting)•      5–6 match coverage Reels (raw footage, same-day or next-day)•      2–5 real-time moment posts (opportunistic — net cord winners, disputed calls, the thing that actually happened)•      1 completed sourcing database: DC public courts, league contacts, player leads, organizer relationships•      1 end-of-season recap ReelTotal: roughly 25–35 pieces of published content with your byline attached to a brand with a real aesthetic. Not spec work. Not a hypothetical brief. Actually published.CompensationWe pay for output, not presence. Structure:•      $500 base stipend for the summer•      $25 per published player profile Reel•      $15 per published match coverage Reel•      $10 per published standings graphic•      $20 per real-time moment post published•      $100 one-time for delivering a complete, usable sourcing databaseAt full cadence, a productive summer totals approximately $1,000–1,200. The ceiling is real. So is the floor — if content doesn’t get published, it doesn’t get paid for. This is how we keep the incentives aligned.What you’ll walk away withA real content portfolio — bylined interviews, published Instagram content, video work — attached to a brand with a real aesthetic and a real story. Not hypothetical campaign briefs. Not spec work. Actual published output you can show.How to applySend a 2–3 minute self-shot video telling us: who you are, why DC public tennis, and show us you can hold a camera and talk to people. Written applications alone will not be considered.Upload your video to YouTube, set Visibility to Unlisted, and send the link to contact@thesmashracket.com, along with your resume.If you are a current student, we get that you’re likely preparing for finals and wrapping up the school year. Apply as soon as you can. Will accept applications until May 23.SMASH RACKET | TENNIS, UNCLUBBED.thesmashracket.com | @smash_racket