Mission Statement

The Sport Professional Knowledge Network (SPKN) is a non-profit organization that provides sport industry professionals with the evidence-based knowledge and tools necessary to develop today’s athletes – mentally, physically, and emotionally.

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Professional Resources

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Tips and Tricks for Filing Whereabouts

This article provides an explanation of Whereabouts and why they are necessary. There are two groups that make up the overall testing pool that are subject to Whereabouts: the Registered Testing Pool (RTP) ad the Clean Athlete Program (CAP). Included are the differences between the two testing groups, as well as tips for athletes in either pool for properly filing Whereabouts.
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Aug 2022

Joan Ryan’s Little Girls in Pretty Boxes

Little Girls in Pretty Boxes: The Making and Breaking of Elite Gymnasts & Figure Skaters Sports reporter, Joan Ryan, investigates the training of girls as professional gymnasts and figure skaters, arguing that the pressure to succeed and to look beautiful results in mental and physical harm, from eating disorders to psychological trauma.
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Mar 2023

Skill Development

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ALISON FOLEY | Head Women’s Soccer Coach, Boston College

Alison Foley shares her experience of becoming a parent while being a coach at a D1 school. However, she is far from limiting herself to just those two roles. Foley found that her starting experience as a coach transferred not only to parenting, but to writing, starting a yoga program for soccer players, and a consultancy. Foley is not only a woman who broke the glass ceiling, but shattered it.
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Jan 2022

NAME, IMAGE, LIKENESS | The Basics

In an effort to preserve the “amateur” status, the NCAA struggles to stay in step with their own profit versus the rights of their athletes. The NCAA announced that their college athletes will have the opportunity to benefit from their name, image and likeness beginning Thursday. Governance bodies in all three divisions today adopted a uniform interim policy suspending NCAA name, image and likeness rules for all incoming and current student-athletes in all sports.
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KRIS WEEMS | Head Player Development, Warriors Professional Basketball Team

Santa Cruz Warriors’ head coach Kris Weems shares his journey through all levels of basketball, including the coaching keys that got him to the pros. Get a inside look at what it takes to be a professional on both the players’ side, and the coaches’. Coach Weems first dives into his own development as a player. He shares what he learned as a youth and collegiate athlete, which brought him all the way to a Final Four at Stanford and then onto the NBA. Weems’ lends insight on his coaching journey from high school ball to the Santa Cruz Warriors of the NBA G League– from player development, to the court, and organizational culture.
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Sport Science

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FRED CORRAL | Head Baseball Pitching Coach, University of Missouri

Baseball phenomenon Fred Corral shares his experience transitioning from a player to a coach and the philosophies he’s adopted along the way. He’ll dive into topics such as player and athlete development, athlete identity, and balancing winning and development. Corral shares the pressures of being a coach and balancing the job’s objective with a deeper meaning. Listen to find out how well Coach does this and simultaneously fosters meaningful relationships with the players.
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What Athletes Need to Know about Epinephrine Auto-Injectors

It is fairly common for people to have severe allergies that may require the use of an EpiPen. For athletes competing at the highest level this can get complicated as epinephrine is a banned substance according to the WADA Prohibited List. Athletes who experience an emergency and need to use an EpiPen are able to obtain a Therapeutic Use Exemption to retroactively excuse the use of a banned substance.
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Jun 2022

Four Things You Should Know About Synthetic Cannabinoids

The article discusses the differences between naturally occurring cannabinoids such as THC or CBD, and synthetic cannabinoids (cannabimimetics) which are created in a laboratory. Included is a description of cannabimimetics, usage, and legality. Cannabimimetics are dangerous and illegal for anyone, but they can also be ground for disqualification if found on a drug test for an elite athlete.
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Sep 2022