The official Padel season has started at all levels, the youth level in Tuscany is in strong evolution, a ferment followed carefully by the Federation. Even in the Lucca area this discipline, which has recorded the strongest increase in practitioners in the last three years at a national level (it has reached around one million in 2023), has found widespread consensus and activity in the many clubs that dot the province it is frenetic and also has good prospects in terms of athletes.
In this context, 15-year-old Mattia Bugelli, who lives in Porcari, is making his way in the “short shovel” discipline which he discovered by chance in the summer of two years ago and which he then literally fell in love with, so much so that he left football and undertake a journey first under the guidance of the National coach Nicola Bini who taught him the fundamentals, then moving on to be coached by the Argentine Joel Ventura in the Lucca Padel Indoor Club of Guamo and at the same time he was followed in Massa by Silvia Storari (fresh ” bronze” world championship in Spain) and Claudia Cascella, also an athlete of a high international level.
In recent days Mattia flew to Spain, to Barcelona, to the school of the famous maestro Mariano Llanos, thanks to the support of the teachers Storari and Cascella, certainly an important formative moment both from a technical-sporting point of view and as a human experience.
Bugelli, despite having been playing for a short time, in his competitive debut in April 2023 finished in second place in the Under 16 contest in Empoli paired with Tommaso Tiengo and subsequently won two tournaments (in June of the year spent in Altopascio alongside Luca Panzani and last January 6th in Lucca with Ferruccio Galli), as well as often reaching the semi-finals in other regional tournaments, constantly playing with adults.
Last September, then, he had the opportunity to play a match in Marina di Massa paired with one of the most celebrated Padel Champions and his idol, the Argentine Lionel “Tolito” Aguirre against another top player on the international circuit, Matias Del Moral supported by a padel master.
This year he has already participated in two federal rallies and with fourth place in the regional qualifiers he would have qualified for the national finals of the Italian Padel Tour in Modena, but he was unable to be there due to federal commitments, organized specifically for the sector youth.
Followed with passion and attention and also with many sacrifices by his father and the whole family, Mattia also started systematic athletic and strengthening training at FisioTau in Altopascio (which follows high-level athletes) and upon his return from Spain, the first team match of the Italian Cup, with the team set up by Lucca Padel indoor.
Bugelli’s competitive activity is supported by the precious collaboration of Artino Ponteggi, Bardahl, Qui Motori and Fisio Tau.
