The Texas High School Coaches Association (THSCA) has announced a partnership with Eccker Sports, an information company for high school athletics, to provide educational services and resources to help high school coaches, administrators, student-athletes, and their parents and guardians navigate the challenges that Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) contracts are bringing to high school sports.
NIL, perhaps the most disruptive concept in the sports market in the last 40 years, has quickly thrown high school athletics into unfamiliar and uncomfortable territory. A lack of education and resources for the high school market has made it a challenge for coaches to provide the proper guidance to student-athletes.
“Understanding NIL can be a real challenge for high school coaches and educators,” THSCA Executive Director Joe Martin said. “It is essential to have up-to-date information on this quickly evolving issue.”
With more than 24,700 members, the Texas High School Coaches Association is the largest association of coaches in the world. Their mission is to provide their members with resources, education and services to serve all high school student-athletes throughout the state.
“NIL is perhaps the biggest issue in sports today, yet it really has been the great unknown and that’s an uncomfortable feeling,” said Lee Wiginton, Head Football Coach at Allen High School and THSCA president-elect. “Our current kids, our kids in college, their families, they come to us for advice on a daily basis. We need to be educated on this subject because they’re relying on us. We need to be on the frontlines making sure all of our coaches throughout the state are educated on NIL.”
The fragmentation in high school sports across the country adds layers of complexity to an already challenging NIL environment. For example, there are currently nine states that have laws permitting athletes to profit off their name, image, and likeness, 16 states (including Washington DC) are considering adopting new laws, while 26 states, including Texas, prohibit it altogether. Add in all the different school bylaws for high school and college eligibility and you have a situation prone for mistakes.
“Even though we’re a restricted state, it’s critical that we are properly educated on the subject because there’s going to be a ton of kids signing NIL deals out of high school and they need education and resources,” Vandegrift High School Football Coach Drew Sanders said. “Coaches are resources for these kids. I have a couple of big recruits right now and they’re asking what they should do with NIL.”
