Christine Sinclair signed a partnership with SportsShare to become a brand ambassador and content creator in exchange for what the British Columbia-based technology startup calls a “significant” ownership stake.Kristina Barker/The Globe and Mail
Christine Sinclair knows where her strengths lie – and where they definitely don’t. After more than 25 years in soccer, she holds the world record for most goals in international matches (190), she has played 331 times for Canada, her 62 goals in the National Women’s Soccer League are the third-most in the league and she is a national sports icon. And yet she recognizes that her famously reserved demeanor is a limitation off the field. “Anyone who followed me on social media was probably a pretty boring follow,” she said recently with a self-deprecating laugh.
But this week, Ms Sinclair will start posting videos for an audience that will almost certainly be more sophisticated than the average Instagram fan. Her content on SportsShare, a new subscription-based sports education platform, is aimed at aspiring soccer players and coaches eager to hear advice from someone who has seen it all: from skill drills to teamwork to how to get the most out of the coach-player relationship.
Earlier this year, as her retirement from professional soccer loomed — in January she signed a one-year deal to stay one more season with the Portland Thorns, her hometown team since 2013 — Sinclair, 41, partnered with SportsShare to become a brand ambassador and content creator in exchange for what the British Columbia-based technology startup calls a “significant” stake in the company. It’s her first equity venture, part of a wave of newly empowered athletes betting on themselves by buying shares in the companies they partner with, rather than receiving the traditional cash sponsorship payment.
SportsShare is part of a growing online sports coaching market where athletes and weekend athletes are increasingly willing to pay for expertise. It signed Triathlon Canada as a partner last year to create a channel for the sport’s enthusiasts, with Canadian Olympic gold and silver triathlete Simon Whitfield serving as a consultant. Earlier this month, the company struck a deal with FC Regina that will give all members of the local soccer association access to SportsShare’s soccer content, including hundreds of videos and customized drills and training plans.
Ms Sinclair says she would have loved to have taken that kind of expert advice to heart when she was developing her skills as a young player. “I grew up with a lot of opportunities. But I would have killed for that kind of access – whether it was lesson plans or little practice sessions you could do on a wall, in the garden or in the basement.”
“I’ve learned a lot from all the coaches I’ve had in my career, good and bad. And I think that passing on that knowledge not only helps the coaches, but ultimately the players they deal with on a daily basis.”
And, she adds, the price (the monthly subscription costs $3.99 per sport) underscores the principle of “access for all.”
SportsShare says it carefully vets its content creators and hopes Christine Sinclair will help it establish itself as a reputable source for professional advice.Kristina Barker/The Globe and Mail
“My parents couldn’t afford much when I was growing up, but this was something they could have done,” she said. “I’m a firm believer that it shouldn’t matter where you are, where you live, where you come from, how rich your parents are – everyone should have the same access, and SportsShare gives athletes and coaches that same access.”
Yet there is a wealth of freely available content on physical education on sites such as YouTube. SportsShare, which says it carefully screens its content, hopes Ms Sinclair will help it establish itself as a reputable source of professional advice.
“The other platforms are social in nature and designed for consumers first,” Alan Schuler, the company’s co-founder, president and CEO, said in an interview. “So there are no requirements for contributors to have any special skills or competencies. There’s no filtering. When we think about what we want SportsShare to be for the community, it’s a trusted destination.”
Random trainers on YouTube may be good, but they “are part of a broad spectrum of people who claim to be credible,” Schuler said. “So that’s a very determining factor for us and a really clear and good indication of why someone like Christine chose to be here.”
He adds that the company is “leveraging advances in artificial intelligence” to provide users with the content they find most relevant.
The equity offer helped Ms Sinclair buy in. “It’s definitely different than a sponsorship,” she said. “With other sponsorships, you appear because it’s in your contract.”
“I’m a Nike athlete, and when you perform, you wear their shoes.” But “the more this develops, the more I’ll put my own heart and soul into it. You get out what you put in, and that excites me.”
Despite her ownership, Ms Sinclair insists her contributions are limited to content: she leaves business strategy to others. “I’m just trying to test myself out,” she explains. “Starting a business doesn’t exactly get my heart racing – like maybe coaching does. So in a way it’s a combination of the two. I can continue to pass on my football expertise while immersing myself in the business world.”
“When I train, I can only influence 24 people, whereas with a company like SportsShare, someone in Yellowknife can be trained by me.”
She doesn’t yet know exactly what her retirement will look like. “I’m going to stay in sport. I want to try coaching. At the moment I have no desire to be head coach of a professional team or a national team. That’s not my goal. Just because of my personality, the idea of being an assistant coach or offensive or forward coach for a club team appeals to me at the moment. You can focus on the different nuances of the game and don’t have the stress and pressure that a head coach has.”
She’s keeping her options open, she says. “Maybe broadcasting – I want to try lots of different things in the first few years after my playing days and see what really inspires me. I’ve been playing football since I was four. It’s time to spread my wings and see what’s possible.”
Ms. Sinclair has seen other professional athletes become owners after their careers – friends like Brandi Chastain, who is now part of the executive team of the Bay FC National Women’s Soccer League; Naomi Osaka, who co-founded a media company while still on the WTA tour; and LeBron James, whose business interests are valued at over a billion dollars in media, hospitality, technology and sports.
“You have to look at someone like Serena Williams and how she sort of transcended the sport,” Ms Sinclair said. “At the same time, I’m going to forge my own path. You know, I never really played soccer to be like anyone else and I don’t see my career post-soccer being any different.”
