10. Keirsten Sires: Navigating NIL & Putting Athlete Mental Health First

<p>This week’s episode features Keirsten Sires, former NCAA athlete and founder of <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://2aDays.com" target="_blank">2aDays.com</a>, a recruiting platform focused on giving student athletes transparency into collegiate athletic programs. Keirsten joined me today to help unpack NIL - Name, Image, and Likeness.</p><p></p><p>For us Canadians, NIL is not an everyday term - it refers to an athlete's ability to generate revenue for the use of their name, image or likeness. Today we discuss NIL's impact on college sports in the US, and how it's trickled all the way to the youth sports level.</p><p></p><p>During our conversation, Keirsten and I discuss both the positive and negative impacts of NIL on college athletes and how the promise of income playing college sports is influencing decisions being made at the high school level, and sometimes even earlier. We speak candidly about the complexity of NIL and how it’s changing the way parents view their “investment” in youth sports, adding pressure to athletes’ experiences. </p><p></p><p>Most of all, Keirsten is a strong advocate for protecting the mental health of student athletes and you can feel her passion for creating safe spaces for kids to pursue their athletic dreams.</p><p></p><p>This was an eye-opening conversation for me and a glimpse into a world I don’t fully understand. I felt my feelings on the topics change as we spoke and I left with a strong sense of empathy for those navigating such a complex environment.</p><p>I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did.</p><p></p><p>Episode Sponsor:</p><p><b>Bare Ware</b>: Use code <b>SPORTS15 </b>at checkout to get <b>15% off</b> your order. 👉 <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://shopbareware.com" target="_blank">shopbareware.com</a></p><p></p><p>To learn more about 2aDays:</p><ul><li>Website: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.2adays.com" target="_blank">https://www.2adays.com</a></li><li>LinkedIn: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/2adays/" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/company/2adays/</a></li><li>Instagram: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.instagram.com/2adays_ratings/" target="_blank">https://www.instagram.com/2adays_ratings/</a></li><li>Facebook: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.facebook.com/2adays/" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/2adays/</a></li><li>Tiktok: <a re