Steven M. Sipple: Watching youth camp at Kinetic, it’s easy to cast NIL cynicism aside | Column

I hear that sentiment from many people, including college coaches.

“I have mixed emotions on it,” says Jason Metcalf, a Scooter’s Coffee franchisee who along with his mother owns the vast majority of Scooter’s stores in Lincoln.

He naturally wonders how much NIL impacts the locker room dynamic of various teams. After all, NIL tends to emphasize “me” over “we.” 

“I just think it brings some challenges,” says Metcalf, whose wife, the former Nancy Meendering, is one of Nebraska’s all-time volleyball greats. 

“There’s already enough for coaches to navigate with all the changes going on in a 19-year-old’s mind,” he says. “You throw money in there, too. …”

Yes, of course, it’s easy to be cynical about all this NIL stuff. But if you’re a coach in any sport, it makes sense to make the best of it. 

It can be handled in a productive and classy way, even in ways that benefit a community.  

That was happening Friday at the Kinetic Sports Complex in Lincoln. It was an impressive scene as current Nebraska volleyball players served as instructors for a free-of-charge youth camp that attracted about 300 girls in the third through sixth grades.  

The Husker student-athletes received compensation for working the camp via Athlete Branding and Marketing — the Lincoln entity that generates NIL opportunities for NU student-athletes and helps them navigate the new world — and two corporate partners that stepped up to make the camp happen. 

This is where Metcalf, a 43-year-old Lincoln Christian graduate, enters the picture. Scooter’s Coffee was the title sponsor of the event, and Union Bank & Trust was a secondary sponsor. It should be noted that Union Bank & Trust was one of the first major supporters of ABM. 

Meanwhile, Scooter’s Coffee is relatively new in the NIL world. 

“We’re dipping our toes in with Husker volleyball just because of our passion for that sport,” Metcalf says as he watches the scene at Kinetic. “Nancy played there. We love the program. It’s just a good fit for us. You have to start somewhere.

“We’re just basically interested in helping the program, and we’re passionate about Husker athletics. We love the state. It’s where we started (the company), in Bellevue, Nebraska.” 

Metcalf was thrilled with this particular push into the NIL realm. As he spoke, a total of 13 Nebraska volleyball players worked with campers throughout the spacious complex on West O Street. Even someone as wary and skeptical as I am about NIL could find no fault whatsoever in the proceedings.

It was beautiful to witness, actually. Bottom line: Scooter’s, Union Bank & Trust and ABM made it possible for hundreds of families to participate in a high-level camp free of charge.

If those families wanted to contribute money toward NIL for Nebraska athletes, they were able to do so. But it wasn’t required. 

One family traveled from Wyoming to take part. 

Campers left with autographs, T-shirts and mini volleyballs. All of it, free. 

“I think it’s important for companies to give back,” Metcalf says. “This is an opportunity to give kids a chance to participate who otherwise might not have been able to do it.”  

Nebraska junior defensive specialist Kenzie Knuckles beamed as she orchestrated drills.  

“ABM set up the whole thing for us — it makes it really easy for us as athletes,” she says. “NIL’s kind of a new thing and a new experience for us. Athletes are superbusy, so to have ABM do all this for us is really helpful.” 

Although ABM works directly with Nebraska student-athletes, it isn’t affiliated with the university. 

Schools can’t be directly involved in NIL.

Knuckles noted Nebraska players helped with a lot of camps before NIL arrived on the collegiate scene last July. But they weren’t paid for it. 

Now, that’s obviously changed. And, yes, it makes sense. Actually, a lot of it makes sense. 

“Private lessons are kind of a huge thing, too,” Knuckles says. “People will reach out and say, ‘Hey, I’d like to do a two-hour lesson for $100,’ or something like that.”

“This is so much fun for us,” she adds. “We do camps whenever we can. It’s awesome because we know the kids look up to us. We just have to show up and do what we’re good at.”

Nebraska volleyball coach John Cook would’ve been proud and impressed by the scene at Kinetic. Come to think of it, former Husker coach Terry Pettit also would’ve been proud and impressed.

When Pettit took over the program during the mid-1970s, he made it a point to create enthusiasm for the sport at the youth level throughout the state. The Husker program continues to benefit from young players dreaming of playing for NU. 

Nowadays, realizing that dream can include compensation. 

Metcalf hopes student-athletes find ways to make money that match up well with their values.  

Yes, this camp certainly made sense in that regard. Watching the kids interact with Huskers, it was easy to cast cynicism aside.