Latest / The Gill Athletics Track and Field Connections Podcast / #57: Gill1918 Presents Olympian Tanya Hughes “The Parent GM--From Sidelines to Strategic Advisor” Powered by Coach O

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#57: Gill1918 Presents Olympian Tanya Hughes “The Parent GM--From Sidelines to Strategic Advisor” Powered by Coach O · The Gill Athletics Track and Field Connections Podcast

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Welcome to the Gill 1918 Project, a podcast series by
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coaches for coaches, powered by Gill Athletics.
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Think of it as the Ted Talks of track and field coaching.
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Short, insightful, and packed with valuable strategies to help
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you grow as a coach. This episode is part of the
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Youth and Beginner Series, brought to you by Coach O.
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In this series, we focus on topics relating to coaching
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youth athletes, coaching beginner athletes of any age,
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and supporting brand new coaches as they find their way.
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With that in mind, let's grow. Welcome to the Guild 1918
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podcast beginner series powered by Coach O I'm Tonya Hughes,
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Olympian, four time NCAA champion NIL coach and
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consultant and mom of two Division One student athletes.
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Today's episode is for the real MVPS behind the scenes, the
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parents of student athletes. You are the ones investing,
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supporting and guiding your kid through the ups and downs of
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their athletic journey. We're in a new era of college
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sports, and it's one that's going to require you to move
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from sideline supporter to strategic advisor, from
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cheerleader to what I call a parent GM, the general manager
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of your child's athletic career. This role means you're involved
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in decisions about scholarships and teams and branding NIL
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contracts. And now with some of the
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policies and court settlements that are happening happening,
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these things are shaping the future of college athletics in a
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way that you're going to have to really get dialed and tuned
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into. In today's episode, we'll break
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down the house versus NCAA settlement, the recent executive
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order by President Trump, and the steps that you can take now
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to protect and position your child for success and this fast
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changing landscape. It starts with a change in
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mindset. A parent GM isn't just a title,
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it's a responsibility. Think of a parent GM like the
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general manager of a professional team.
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You're not just showing up to games, you're making strategic
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decisions on recruiting, financial planning, on travel,
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personal brand development. Your job now includes strategic
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decision making and helping your child access which schools or
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programs and even deals aligned with their long term goals.
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It's about protecting their eligibility and reputation,
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ensuring that they avoid contracts or situations and
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deals that can jeopardize their eligibility.
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You're also helping them build their brand, which means guiding
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them to define what they stand for that's beyond sports.
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And lastly, financial stewardship is a must as a
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parent GM, helping them set up whether it's a new business
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entity or how they're going to handle taxes if they're doing
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anything in this new NIL landscape because NIL earnings
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can't translate into lasting Well, when it comes to what's
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recently happened with the health settlement and even the
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executive order, your role is not optional here.
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As a peer in GM, it's actually even more essential.
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And whether or not your kid is engaged in NIL activity or not,
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these changes will have an impact on them as they look to
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participate in collegiate athletics.
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And even at the high school level, there's impact.
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Let's start here. These recent changes are around
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the house versus the NCAA settlement.
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So the house versus NCAA settlement is a landmark legal
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agreement that really changes how college athletics is going
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to operate. And in starting July 1st of
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2025, here's some things you need to know.
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There's now an element called revenue sharing, where schools
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that opt into this agreement and settlement can share up to 22%
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of revenues that the athletic department receives on a
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collegiate level. The key parties to this
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settlement are the power of five conferences.
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So what we're talking about here is the ACC, the SEC, the Big 10,
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the Big 12 and the PAC 12. These are the conferences that
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are Dean power conferences. So if your kid is being
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recruited or is attending one of these schools, this settlement
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can have an impact on them because there is now the ability
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for a revenue share where schools can provide direct
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payments to their student athletes.
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And it's 22%, which is about $20.5 million that'll be spread
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and allocated across a program. Many of the models for the Power
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5 conferences have 75% of those dollars going to football,
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another 15% is going to men's basketball, 5% going to women's
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basketball and the rest 5%, it's been modeled to go to all the
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other sports. So one of the things you'll want
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to understand is if your kid is at one of these Power 5 schools
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or is going to it's being recruited by one, you'll want to
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know, hey, does track and field get any allocation of that
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revenue share? So that's one thing that you'll
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want to understand, right? The other thing about this
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settlement is that there are now back payments for over $2.7
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billion that's going to be paid to current and former athletes
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over 10 years. Let's pause here.
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I've been doing webinars and I'll have parents or even some
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of the training sessions I've done at camps and the like.
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I've had parents ask the question, well, my kids in
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middle school, like, does this even matter?
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This deal in agreement is for 10 years, which means it runs
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through 2035. And so you'll want to understand
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once again, whether or not your school, if it's not one of these
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power 5 schools that's already part of the settlement, you'll
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want to ask is the the school that is recruiting your kid?
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Are they opting into the settlement?
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Because once again, that will set up a different set of rules
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and compliance areas that'll need to be considered.
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The third thing about this settlement is there are
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scholarship changes where there aren't any caps, but an athlete
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can receive financial aid. But there are roster limits now
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in effect. And so you'll want to
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understand, is my kid on the roster?
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Will they be on the roster? Because there are certain
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elements that if they are not on the official roster that they
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will lose access to team events and activities and possibly even
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access to additional support systems through the athletic
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department. And lastly, this new settlement
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has created a whole new College sports Commission and they are
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going to be monitoring NIL deals, the revenue share and
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roster management. They've also created 2 systems,
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1 is called CAPS and that's where the revenue share system
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is being monitored with that 22% or $20.5 million in the case of
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the Power 5. They've also created a system
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called NIL Go and this system, whether your student athlete is
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part of this Power 5 conferences or not, or if they've opted into
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the settlement, the NIL Go system is for student athletes
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who are going to do NIL activities.
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If they have a deal that is more than $600.00, it must be
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registered with NIL Go. And so these are things, right,
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That the parent GM, that you as parents should be asking
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questions, right? Is my child's school opting in?
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How will revenue be allocated? What systems are in place and
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how will roster limits affect my kids ability to compete and
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receive benefits? And so that went into effect on
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July 1st of 2025. Then on July 24th, couple of
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weeks later, President Trump signed an executive order aimed
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at protecting college sports, especially non revenue sports.
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Some of the key things to think about when it comes to this
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order, it is an order. It's not a law but some of the
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things that it is trying to address.
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It's trying to protect opportunities and preserve
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scholarships and competition opportunities for women's sports
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and non revenue sports. Often time non revenue is
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equated with Olympic sports so track and field with is
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considered a non revenue sport. It is an Olympic sport.
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The executive order is also attempting to curb pay for play
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so that third party deals are not improper and that they will
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have to be fair market valued NIL deals and endorsements.
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Another aspect to this order is around safeguarding resources
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where revenue share be must be implemented in a way to protect
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non revenue in women's sports from being financially drained.
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Another aspect to this order is to define athlete status.
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The Department of Labor and the National Labor Review Board.
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He's asking that they clarify that student athletes are not
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professional employees, and that is to try to preserve this
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college model that still has elements of amateurism.
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Lastly, the order adds an aspect to federal oversight by the
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Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission, with a
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focus on acting to protect athletes rights and trying to
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stabilize college athletics. And the antitrust lawsuits that
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and legal lawsuits that have been coming at them.
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So for you as a parent GM, this means, especially for us in
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track and field, that they may have stronger protections for
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scholarships and opportunities if this were to become law.
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And there are a number of bills that are before Congress right
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now, one that seems to have quite a bit of support.
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It's called the SCORE Act. And so stay tuned over the next
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couple of months to see how this will continue to unfold.
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But as a parent GM, you need to stay tuned in and understand why
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this matters. This matters because it can
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create opportunities because now potential income can come
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through the revenue share and NIL deals.
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Potentially there could be expanded scholarships and
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additional areas for direct payments of student athletes.
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That can happen as a result now with this settlement, but it can
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also heighten competition for roster spots, more complex
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compliance requirements. Once again, you'll have the NIL
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Go system to now register with and you're really going to need
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to have financial literacy and legal protection as you look at
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the implications of whether it's taxes with the deals or just
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getting legal advice related to the contractual terms that are
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now being presented to your student athletes.
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As a parent GM, your role is to maximize these opportunities
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while minimizing the risk. And so let's let me give you 8
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actions that you could take. Number one, get educated, learn
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the new rules of NIL, the house settlement and the executive
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order that's just come out. Two, ask your child's school key
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questions. Are you opted into the
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settlement? How will revenue be distributed?
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What will What kind of NIL support is available?
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Third, build a team. Find trusted legal, financial
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and brand and business advisors to help you ensure that you're
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managing the team that is surrounding your kids so that
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they can be their best during if they should engage in NIL
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activity. 4 Protect eligibility. Review every deal before your
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child signs it. 5 Plan for taxes.
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NIN income is taxable and you're going to need to set aside funds
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and file correctly. Six, Help your kid develop a
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personal brand that aligns with your values and choose
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partnerships that align and choose those wisely. 7 Monitor
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roster status. Understand deadlines and
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implications for staying rostered and questions such as
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if my kid gets hurt, what might be the impact?
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So you'll want to monitor monitor roster status and
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understand its implications. 8 Prepare for change.
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Laws, rules and deals will keep evolving, so you'll want to stay
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adaptable and in the know and up to date as the parent GM with
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your kid. To help you navigate all of
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this, I I've created the NIL Wake Up Call for Parents webinar
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and in this free 60 minute session I'll walk through how
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the house settlement and executive order.
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What are some of those implications?
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I'll also teach a parent GM framework that can help you
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develop step by You can go to www.sportspreneurs.com to
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register or follow me on Instagram at Tanya Hughes 100
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and click the link in my bio. It's free and it could be the
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most valuable hour you invest in your child's future parent.
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GMs, you are trusted to protect and guided by love.
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You're the real MVPS. This is a moment for you to step
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into this role with confidence and clarity.
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Thank you for joining me today on the Gil 1918 Podcast.
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Share this episode with another parent of a student athlete and
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let's work together to make sure our kids not only compete, but
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thrive in sports and in life. Until next time, I'm Tanya
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Hughes, signing off with strength, strategy and purpose.
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Hey gang, Mike Cunningham here. Thanks for joining us for this
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episode in the Youth and beginner series Powered by Coach
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