Eccker Sports Launches Comprehensive Educational Services Platform to Help High School Coaches, Student-Athletes And Families Navigate NIL Process

Eccker Sports (www.ecckersports.com), an NIL information company for high school athletics, has launched a comprehensive educational services platform today to help high school students, coaches, parents, and administrators navigate the turbulence that Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) issues and opportunities are bringing to high school sports.

NIL has been called the most disruptive concept in the sports market in 40 years and has quickly thrown high school coaches, administrators, student-athletes, and their families into highly unfamiliar and challenging territory. According to experts, lack of education could lead to exploitation, which is what Eccker Sports is trying to eliminate.

“Our goal is to guide, protect and inform the high school market stakeholders including coaches, administrators, student-athletes and their families to help them thrive on their NIL journey,” CEO and Founder Randy Eccker said. “By taking a proactive, impartial and non-exploitive approach, we believe coaches, student-athletes and their families will be in a much better position to avoid the NIL pitfalls and succeed in this rapidly changing arena.”

With more than 60 years of experience in the sports industry, Eccker Sports has developed a four-pronged approach to helping the stakeholders in the high school market. First, a video curriculum with six module courses that users can access online will educate users on the history of NIL, key terms and concepts, and best practices. The first course for coaches will launch May 1 while the other courses will roll out shortly thereafter. Secondly, a Resource hub is available for users that contains vetted and up to date state-by-state information. Thirdly, coaches will find great value in Coach Assist, which offers high school coaches NIL presentation templates, one pagers and other tools to help them educate their communities. Finally, the company is building a network of legal, financial and tax experts to help families build and execute an effective NIL strategy.

“In this ever-changing environment, the need for NIL education for coaches, administrators and the kids is of paramount importance,” said Chuck Schmidt, Vice President and Executive Director of High School for Playfly Sports and former COO of the Arizona Interscholastic Association. “Everything is so fragmented with individual state laws to high school bylaws and eligibility rules. It’s just confusing and there are folks out there trying to take advantage and do things that may not be appropriate for the student. Having a program like this from Eccker Sports is vital to ensuring that kids and parents have a true understanding of what NIL is and to help them make the best decisions.”

In addition to Eccker, the team is led by Chief Commercial Officer Tim Prukop and Chief Marketing Officer Michelle Houp. Eccker, a former college basketball student-athlete and coach, is a leader of sports technology and digital media companies. He has founded, managed, chaired, consulted, and advised more than 25 companies, including XOS Digital, Avid Sports, SportsTech Int., Intel Sports, Outfront Media Sports and VOKE. Prukop, also a former student-athlete and football coach, has helped build several successful businesses as a CRO, including XOS Digital, LiveU Sports, VenueNext, Circuit of the Americas and IdeaQuest. Houp is a brand strategist and marketing leader that has helped build businesses and ignite global, national, and emerging brands, including Nike, Target, PepsiCo, and SC Johnson.

– www.ecckersports.com –