NSR attends national soccer coaches convention


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National Scouting Report was well represented at the 75th annual National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Convention last week in Baltimore.

More than a half-dozen NSR area directors and scouts, led by National Soccer Director Gil Barkey, interacted with college coaches and manned the NSR booth at the Baltimore Convention Center.

Gil Barkey (middle), NSR's National Soccer Director, poses with Southeastern PA/South Jersey Area Director Gary Silvers (left) and Central Jersey Area Director Alan Zenobi in front of the NSR booth at the NSCAA Convention.
Gil Barkey (middle), NSR’s National Soccer Director, poses with Southeastern PA/South Jersey Area Director Gary Silvers (left) and Central Jersey Area Director Alan Zenobi in front of the NSR booth at the NSCAA Convention in Baltimore.

More than 10,000 people, including 5,000 college, high school and club coaches, attended the four-day convention, which began last Thursday. The annual event, billed as “The World’s Largest Annual Gathering of Soccer Coaches,” included live field demonstration and lecture sessions, networking socials, coaching diplomas and hundreds of exhibits. It also featured the annual Major League Soccer and National Women’s Soccer League professional drafts.

Dozens of coaches stopped by the NSR booth to meet with scouts and learn more about “Evolution,” NSR’s new state-of-the-art, interactive portal system.

“It’s rare to have so many coaches in one location,” Barkey said during a break at the convention. “We’re educating the college coaches on what we do, enrolling them in our [portal] new system and taking coaching requests [for prospects]. We’re also showing the high school and club coaches how we can promote their players.”

NSR has made major strides in boys’ and girls’ soccer since Barkey became national director about a year ago. He has served as Area Director in Colorado for two years.

“We have increased [soccer] enrollments by 40 percent,” said Barkey, 44, a 20-year veteran of high school and club coaching in Colorado. “Not only that, but we’re enrolling more and more players who can play at high levels.”

NSR also has added local scouts who can evaluate soccer talent.

“We’re adding more scouts all the time,” Barkey said. “Hopefully, we can add more soccer-specific scouts across the country.”

Those scouts have been building relationships with college coaches, helping 95 percent of NSR’s prospects receive offers.

“That’s why we’re here,” Barkey said. “The more college coaches who know about us, the better off we’ll be.”


National Scouting Report is dedicated to finding scholarship opportunities for athletes who possess the talent, desire, and motivation to compete at the collegiate level. We’ve helped connect thousands of athletes with their perfect college.

If you are ready to take your recruiting to the next level, click the Get Scouted button below to be evaluated by an NSR College Scout.

Get Scouted  Scouting Careers

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