About me

My name is Raivis Hščanovičs

I was born in Rīga in 1987, and spent my childhood between Ķengarags and Jūrmala. I studied at Rīga 62nd Secondary School, which I successfully completed.

My life story took a completely different turn very early on than one might expect from a "normal" childhood.

At the age of 7, I fell ill with an oncological disease.

At the age of 9, I started training in football.

At the time, of course, I couldn't know how much of my future life it would take up. Football became my passion, later my profession, and ultimately one of the greatest teachers of my life.

⚽ FOOTBALL

My football career started as a child watching my Dad play football and really wanting to become a professional footballer playing in big stadiums in front of many spectators.

It happened.

It involved victories, losses, teams, coaches, games, travel, injuries, and a great many life lessons.

I have described part of this journey in my autobiographical book "Cancer and Victories".

The book is not just about football. It is about a period of life from childhood and the fight against illness to professional sports, successes, mistakes, and experiences that have shaped me into the person I am today.

And this story does not end with the first book.

My plans include a sequel to "Cancer and Victories", and I also want to publish the book in English so that people outside Latvia can read this story.

Therefore, by purchasing my book, you not only get to know my story but also support my future writing journey and the creation of upcoming books.

🎓 MY EDUCATIONAL PATH

My educational path has not been a straight line.

At the age of 18, after high school, I enrolled in RSEBAA to study management.

At the same time, I received the opportunity to join the Skonto senior team. I had the chance I had dreamed of – professional football.

I quickly realized that at that stage of my life, I lacked the resources to fully combine higher education studies with a professional football career.

I chose football and interrupted my studies.

At the age of 24, I returned to higher education and enrolled in Alberta College to study law.

After about half a year, I understood something quite simple – this was not my path. Working with laws, documents, and paperwork was not what I wanted to associate my professional life with.

Later, I enrolled in the University of Latvia's sports coach study program. These studies also had to be interrupted after a few months due to personal life circumstances.

However, this time the direction was right.

Sports, the training process, and working with people is the environment in which I want to develop professionally.

Therefore, I purposefully continued my professional education in sports.

I have obtained a Category C fitness coach qualification from the Sports Education Agency, where I also obtained a Category C football coach qualification.

Currently, I am also completing the process of obtaining the Latvian Football Federation's UEFA C license – the theoretical part is finished, and the final practical steps remain.

And I don't plan to stop here either.

For me, coach education is not just a certificate on the wall. It is continuous learning – from formal education, from other specialists, from athletes, and from training practice itself.

🏃 WHAT AM I DOING TODAY?

Currently, I work as a football coach and fitness coach, with a special focus on working with children and young people.

I am increasingly interested not only in what an athlete can do but also in how they move and on what physical foundations their athletic performance is built.

That is why in my work I pay great attention to general physical fitness, movement quality, strength, mobility, foot and ankle function, and understanding the athlete's body.

At the same time, I have not given up football myself.

I have renewed my football career and am currently participating in the development process of Rēzekne's first division team both as a coach and as a player.

This gives me an interesting perspective – I can still look at the training process from both sides of the field.

Both as a coach. And as an athlete.

WHY AM I DOING ALL THIS?

Because today I have knowledge and experience that would have been very useful to me at the age of 9, 15, 18, or 25.

I have experienced illness.

I have played professional football.

I have suffered serious injuries.

I have made mistakes.

I have started over.

I have been an athlete and become a coach.

And now I want to use this experience to help future athletes build their path more wisely.

No coach can run a sprint, perform an exercise, or make the right decision on the field for an athlete.

But we can give them knowledge, tools, and foundations on which to build their path.

That is exactly what I am trying to do today.