{"id":9092,"date":"2016-01-19T04:30:32","date_gmt":"2016-01-19T10:30:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/?p=9092"},"modified":"2016-01-18T20:35:37","modified_gmt":"2016-01-19T02:35:37","slug":"nsr-team-attends-national-soccer-coaches-convention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nsr-inc.com\/scouting-news\/nsr-team-attends-national-soccer-coaches-convention\/","title":{"rendered":"NSR attends national soccer coaches convention"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

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.<\/p>\n

\"Gil<\/a>
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.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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\u2019s Soccer League professional drafts.<\/p>\n

Dozens of coaches stopped by the NSR booth to meet with scouts and learn more about \u201cEvolution,\u201d NSR\u2019s new state-of-the-art, interactive portal system.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s rare to have so many coaches in one location,\u201d Barkey said during a break at the convention. \u201cWe\u2019re educating the college coaches on what we do, enrolling them in our [portal] new system and taking coaching requests [for prospects]. We\u2019re also showing the high school and club coaches how we can promote their players.\u201d<\/p>\n

NSR has made major strides in boys\u2019 and girls\u2019 soccer since Barkey became national director about a year ago. He has served as Area Director in Colorado for two years.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have increased [soccer] enrollments by 40 percent,\u201d said Barkey, 44, a 20-year veteran of high school and club coaching in Colorado. \u201cNot only that, but we\u2019re enrolling more and more players who can play at high levels.\u201d<\/p>\n

NSR also has added local scouts who can evaluate soccer talent.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re adding more scouts all the time,\u201d Barkey said. \u201cHopefully, we can add more soccer-specific scouts across the country.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those scouts have been building relationships with college coaches, helping 95 percent of NSR\u2019s prospects receive offers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why we\u2019re here,\u201d Barkey said. \u201cThe more college coaches who know about us, the better off we\u2019ll be.\u201d<\/p>\n