Sportrack Lessons: sharing for the Future
From a very young age, I found in handball a form of expression…
…not always the most obvious at first glance, but undoubtedly one of the most intense, visual, and genuine that I can share.
Starting this venture – Sportrack Network – has brought me many challenges and joys, as well as new relationships and, above all, new opportunities to develop my vision of sports careers, particularly within a national context.
Although young people today face many of the same challenges as in the past, the motivation to develop a sport through exemplary discipline and unconditional commitment seems to have decreased sharply.
This represents a huge challenge not only for them, but for everyone.
Portugal has the highest rate of childhood obesity in Europe. The Alentejo region has the highest alcohol consumption rate per capita, with 12% of young people drinking alcohol daily. Around 73% of Portuguese people say they never exercise or play sports, making Portugal the worst-performing country in the European Union in this area. Among young people aged 11 to 17, 84.3% are classified as sedentary, with only 15% engaging in the recommended daily amount of physical activity.
By 2024, there were over 2.5 million Portuguese people aged 65 or over, and the country’s median age had risen from 38.5 to 47 in just twenty years. Currently, there are 182 elderly people for every 100 young people, and the number of centenarians exceeds 3000.
It was in this context that we decided to establish the Sportrack Network, a platform for national sports agents who believe that it is possible to develop credible and sustainable national sports careers. We must not forget that there are 738,000 registered athletes, many of whom — perhaps even the vast majority — have careers that are not funded by third parties, whether public or private initiatives. These athletes are motivated and committed to achieving high performance. We want our athletes to continue to write the stories of their lives, becoming national heroes at an increasingly young age through sport.
Unlike when I started playing handball, sport is no longer free in Portugal nowadays. That’s why the Sportrack Network seeks to address a range of current challenges free of charge and connect athletes with certified, highly experienced professionals upon request. We started out working in athlete education, health and nutrition, but have since expanded into training and legal services. It’s hard work, but with the right people, it can be highly effective.
See here who has already joined the network and shared their most personal challenges.
Read the career proposal we have for you and subscribe to our athlete-only newsletter at this link.
“Aos 12 anos tive a minha primeira grande experiência num campeonato nacional de andebol. A partir desse momento a palavra competitividade inundou-me até à alma e a vontade de melhorar, ganhar e adquirir competências mais sólidas passou a liderar a minha vida em todos os aspetos. Competir significa estar presente no mercado, compreender as regras, as normas e os requisitos. É também entender que temos de ter limites comuns para mostrarmos que temos competência para vencer apesar das dificuldades, dos concorrentes e das limitações humanas.” RA#6
Ricardo Andorinho