SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums United Soccer Coaches & National Awards Roll Call for 2016 NSCAA Convention in Baltimore, MD

Should be another great soccer experience January 13-17 in Baltimore, Maryland!

Reply in this thread if you will be attending the NSCAA's 75th event.

New Features in 2016

#Participate #Learn #Belong #BmoreNSCAA

Scott Simmons- Gaffney High

David Easley, SCSoccer.com
Emily Heise, Brookland-Cayce
Kevin Heise, Brookland-Cayce
Kyle Heise, Brookland-Cayce
Andrew Richardson, Heathwood Hall
Robby Setzler, Brookland-Cayce

Will Chassereau--Berkeley High School
Mike and David Jackson--West Ashley High School

Present!

Tomas Kluszczynski, SCUFC
Mike Mauldin, Dutch Fork
Phil Savitz, River Bluff
Cesar Robles, Rock Hill
Sheila Wyer, Southside Christian

Dick Hiller, SCUFC
Hans Pauling, SCYS
Peter Wittig, Blythewood

Below are some notes I jotted down at the 75th NSCAA Convention held in Baltimore, MD January 13-17, 2016 ... The Convention is a lot of fun but also a lot of work for everyone in attendance whether it be attending on-field demonstrations, meetings, classroom sessions, etc. ... If you have never had the privilege to attend, I encourage you to do so - next year it will be held in Los Angeles, CA for the NSCAA Convention's first visit to the West Coast since Santa Clara, CA in 1994, but will return East in 2018:

Future NSCAA Convention Sites
2017 - Jan. 11-15, Los Angeles, CA
2018 - Jan. 10-14, Philadelphia, PA
2019 - Jan. 16-20, Kansas City, MO
2020 - Jan. 15-19, Baltimore, MD
2021 - Jan. 13-17 Philadelphia, PA
2022 - Jan. 12-16 Los Angeles, CA
2023 - Jan. 11-15 TBD
2024 - Jan. 10-14 Indianapolis, IN
2025 - Jan. 15-19 Philadelphia, PA
2026 - Jan. 14-18 Baltimore, MD

NSCAA High School Rankings Committee
Pat Madden of the NSCAA headquarters in Kansas City hosted the round table meeting ... Josh Barnett of USA Today was on hand to introduce a new partnership between the NSCAA and USA Today's web presence, HSSports.com ... Barnett previously served as the Sports Editor at the Philadelphia Daily News for eight years before joining USA Today in September of 2014 ... His mission is to increase the coverage of prep athletics nationwide and their "Super 25" soccer rankings will debut this Spring with the assistance of the NSCAA Rankings Committee ... USA Today will also sponsor an "All-USA" All-American Team for boys and girls prep soccer ... Owned by Gannett Company of McLean, VA, the media giant is the largest newspaper publisher based on daily circulation in more than 115 markets ... Beginning in 2016, USA Today will recognize polls and All-American teams in 11 sports (6 boys / 5 girls) based on an academic, not calendar, year ... According to Barnett, their "preseason polls" are the most important and anticipated of any sports season because everyone is undefeated and "hope springs eternal" for all players, coaches, and fans ... This past Fall co-champions were crowned by USA Today for the boys soccer programs at St. Benedict's Prep (Newark, NJ) and St. Ignatius (Cleveland, OH) ... The USA Today prep sports group can be reached at hsscontent@usatoday.com ... The main goal for the NSCAA Rankings Committee is to "promote interscholastic athletics" ... In addition, there were comments about Sheldon Shealer and his TopDrawerSoccer.com rankings that SCSoccer.com has supported through the years and I voiced our relationship with Kenneth Massey of the Massey Ratings as well since SCSoccer.com has enjoyed a solid relationship with that power ratings index since 2001 ... This generated some more discussion as to how the states of North Carolina and South Carolina seem to "get it" and that both should be used as models for other state associations.

NSCAA Boys/Girls High School Coach of the Year Committee
As the Atlantic Region Chair for the Girls Coach of the Year I was pleased to see our Alabama representative Ken Hudson and North Carolina state chair and national chair Doug Kidd in attendance ... In fact, Kidd was voted the NSCAA National Girls Coach of the Year for his 2015 efforts at Swansboro HS (25-3-0, 3A State Finalist) in Onslow County, which is about 150 miles northeast of Myrtle Beach ... Congratulations to S.C. State Winners: Jason Hamil (Academic Magnet boys - Division II); Frank Kucinic (St. Joseph's boys - Private/Parochial); and Anna Merriman (Academic Magnet girls - Division II) ... In fact, all three were selected as their respective Region Coach of the Year: Hamil and Kucinic earning South Region honors and Merriman with Atlantic Region recognition! ... Other State Chairs in attendance: Scott B. (PA); Tony C. (PA); Toby Cook (OH); Frank Dixon (IN); Kevin Heise (SC); Donald K. (ID); John Mayer (FL); Dave Miller (NC); Brian Papa (IL); Kevin Sims (NC/NSCAA); Scott Sipe (IL); and Kevin Denson (VA/NSCAA National Boys Chair) ... As usual, a "spirited discussion" about timelines and end dates was bantered about and, in general, the new guidelines and regions seemed to a better fit than the previous method ... Also, the NSCAA Summer Symposium has dissolved in its current August format of being held in Orlando, FL and an alternative - more state-based and regionally-based - practice will be introduced this summer.

North Carolina State Meeting
Around 25 coaches attended the only state-sanctioned North Carolina meeting at the NSCAA Convention ... Kevin Sims of the NSCAA applauded the Tar Heel contingent on their solid participation with the national event and their attendance at the High School Breakfast on Friday ... In comparison, South Carolina will host its annual SCHSSCA Winter Clinic January 29-30 in Columbia, but since the boys (Fall) and girls (Spring) seasons are split by our northern neighbors this gives them a chance for a mid-year meeting ... There was a vibrant discussion regarding their state rankings and the mandate that the North Carolina Athletic Coaches Association requires all Tar Heel high schools to support MaxPreps by utilizing its scoreboard and rankings for all sports ... NC is still using the Eurosport Scoreboard and would like to continue since the company is located in Hillsborough, N.C., and has been a good friend to youth and prep soccer in the Tar Heel State ... N.C. will have its boys Clash of the Carolinas selection meeting January 30 in conjunction with the Hall of Fame ceremonies ... The girls Clash selections will be held in March ... Discussions of the Clash have been on-going between myself, S.C. Associate State Soccer Chairman Kevin Heise, N.C. Director Matt Edwards of Millbrook HS, NCSCA President Doug Kidd, and NCSCA Vice-President Dave Miller and I was able to give a report from the South Carolina perspective - more information will be shared at the SCHSSCA Winter Clinic.

Eric Wynalda: “Let’s Fix This, It’s Broken.”
Another popular and always fun session that took place on Saturday was Eric Wynalda’s “Let’s Fix This, It’s Broken.” ... Whether you like him or not his delivery and style is thought provoking and, in my opinion, necessary for soccer development in this country ... In his unique and blunt discussion, he talked about the U.S. soccer system and his thoughts on how to right the ship ... Some comments, quips, barbs, and thoughts from the former USMNT player and current FOXSoccer analyst ... He wants the U.S. to be "not scared to play" ... Said he's had jibs and jabs with Jürgen Klinsmann and asked him how many times he's listened to the United States' National Anthem ... JK responded "plenty" but Wynalda encouraged him to embrace the final line, "and the Home of the Brave" ... EW says that when he sees a back pass from the midfield or back line that it doesn't represent the American spirit - you have to go forward and attack! ... EW noted that JK is perceived as "anti-MLS" but countered by saying that he has been firm in his two beliefs of the League that players are not conditioned properly and that the USMNT gets too little time with their players (85-100 days a year) ... EW says that it is an impossible job right now but is glad people are questioning the direction of the program and says that "America has grown up and is demanding accountability" ... The culture of American soccer has been trying to fix the bottom of the pyramid but it's really the top tier that needs correcting ... EW calls the US method "dysfunctional" and said that with the likes of Sunil Gulati and Don Garber running the ship - that it is a rudderless boat in the ocean ... Called out Major League Soccer founders (Robert Kraft of New England and Lamar Hunt of Kansas City) and its current "leaders" as running a Ponzi scheme ... Said that MLS has had 227 transfers from MLS to European clubs vetoed by the League thus prohibiting that player's development ... Was given a fact that $9.7 billion was exchanged in the "transfer window" the past several years yet MLS is hardly a part of the equation ... The problem is not the talent or coaching in America but it's the climate of not being challenged ... He scoffed at the notion that MLS was a "professional league" - said that there is nothing professional about it ... In Europe players are paid to play and teams are paid to win but in MLS the concept of "I'll get them next week" is universal because it's a salaried league ... Encourages all to read Sir Alex Ferguson's latest book, "Leading" by Michael Moritz ... Commented that there are three types of Leaders: Those we follow because: (1) we like him; (2) you will survive; and (3) he'll kill you ... Said that "leading" equals "communication" and "those that are good at it, win" ... Stated that not much has changed regarding soccer in America dating back to the early 1900s ... Referenced that Higher Education recognized a long time ago the difference between two sports featuring 11 players: college "football" and association "football" ... College football remains the bread-and-butter of athletics at universities across the USA because it represents "America" and they were granted access to the stadium ... Association football (or soccer) was relegated to the nearby park or adjacent field and not much has changed ... Said you never hear NFL owners that are joint MLS owners complaining about building 20-30,000 seat stadium specific for soccer - keep developing that model and interest because when the big teams from Europe and South America arrive in the U.S. for their summer tours they will be coming to my "big stadium" and bypassing the soccer-specific arenas ... There is a reason that MLS runs from March-December and that it makes no sense: why go against NFL and college football during that time frame ... Said after the 2018 World Cup that MLS should shut down operations until that summer and begin with its preseason in July/August and host the "big boys" from around the globe in preparation for September-May calendar ... The current work week in MLS means nothing ... Said you could "holiday" in December with a break and resume in new year and that this would be beneficial to USMNT to get on the same calendar as the rest of the world ... Stated that MLS has lost $100 million each of the last four years - ironically, that is the price to join the League and it plans to add four teams (Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Minnesota) in the next three years and possibly Miami by 2020 to increase MLS to 24 teams ... Noted that a lot of accountants have quit MLS because of the madness ... Regarding the USMNT he stated that he could take a team made up of players from San Diego to Santa Monica and beat the USMNT - for 20 minutes ... Questioned why American scouting has been so poor but that it is getting better - noted that two U18 Directors of Soccer had contacted him to evaluate players and identify misses ... Regarding "Home Grown" MLS players he referenced the Jordan Morris (Stanford University) scenario for his development and the compensation that the Seattle Sounders (30%) and MLS (70%) would receive if he goes abroad: "do you want him to remain in Seattle and be told he is great and live in a bubble or do you want him to develop by having to scratch, claw, scream, and grow by being challenged in Europe" ... Morris' father is the team physio/doctor in Seattle and he represents a "Home Grown" player that EW questioned because "the kid paid to play at that club" not vice-versa ... Stated that Landon Donovan should have been on the last World Cup USMNT based on talent alone and that JK is the only one that didn't agree but he understood the dilemma after witnessing LD walk out of training 15-20 times during his career "because he just wasn't feeling it that day" - really rocks a club house ... Said that soccer is a game of personality and stressed to "let them be" ... Said he realized the importance of accountability in Germany when he missed a goal with about five minutes remaining ... He was in the locker room and noticed he had a hole in his sock and he joked that may have been the reason he missed a go-ahead score ... Moments later a shoe hit him in the head and he started bleeding that needed to be stitched up and one of the players stated, it's not funny when we lose. You cost us wages!" ... He was told to apologize to the shoe thrower before he got on the bus and he did so but realized then that respect and trust go hand-in-hand and that personal accountability is job #1 ... Stated that of the five MLS teams (San Jose Clash, Miami Fusion, New England Revolution and Chicago Fire) he played for that only one was a truly professional organization ... Definite supporter of promotion/relegation in MLS and professional U.S. soccer ... Asked for a show of hands that watched the MLS playoffs and commented, "so you're the guilty party" ... Thinks it's ludicrous for MLS to go head-to-head vs. NFL and college football during its prime season ... Asked for a show of hands of "how many high school coaches are in this room?" (two halls opened for this Q&A) and the response was probably a 1/3 of the room ... Stated, "keep it up and everyone give them a hand (applause)" ... Said that "high school soccer (sports) is instrumental in America and a fabric of our communities where life-long friendships and a feeling of pride is shared with a common goal and unity" ... Noted that "the Academies and such have their place but it's this group of soccer players and fans that will drive this country's soccer ambition in the future" ... You can listen to his show along with David Moss on Sirius XM radio.

NFHS Session
For the first time that I can remember, the National Federation of State High School Associations was not represented by Mark Koski, who has moved to another position within the organization ... In his place is Theresa Wynns of Indianapolis, IN, but originally from Easley, SC and she graduated from S.C. State University in Orangeburg ... Her title is Director of Sports and Officials Education ... Wynns' daughter was a high school and collegiate soccer player and she, herself, is a former Principal and School Administrator ... After a show-and-tell by TacticalBoards.com and BrandItNext, long time soccer coach and official Bill Johnson of Massachusetts spoke about rules changes ... Ironically, this would be Johnson's last act for the NFHS in his current role as Soccer Rules Chairman, as his four-year term expired at the end of the meeting ... The NFHS Rules Questionnaire is distributed every Fall and SCSoccer.com has made it a tradition to provide a link to the Survey via this Message Board ... Nothing really glaring this year but the coaches in attendance did promote the following rules we would favor to be tabled for 2016-17: (1) Recommending three officials for a varsity game; (2) Requiring school administrators, other than the coach, to attend games; and (3) Treating goalkeepers on the field and not making them sub out.

MLS SuperDraft
It was great to see Palmetto State prep soccer represented in the First Round of the MLS SuperDraft as two former Upstate standouts were selected: #14 Kyle Fisher (Wren/Clemson) and #16 Cole Seiler (Christ Church/Georgetown) ... Both defenders and products of the Carolina Elite Soccer Academy (CESA), will play in Canada as Fisher was drafted by the Montreal Impact while Seiler was chosen by Vancouver Whitecaps FC ... In addition, South Carolina collegiate products, Andrew Tarbell, a goalkeeper from Clemson, was taken eighth by the San Jose Earthquakes and his teammate Paul Clowes, a midfielder, was selected #32 by D.C. United.

Best On-Field Demos I Attended
Defending: Pressing - Schellas Hyndman, Head Coach, Grand Canyon University
A Layered Approach to Defending in the Final Third - Willie McNab, Soccer Academy Manager, Celtic Football Club
The 4v1, the 5v2, the 3v3+1 - Anson Dorrance, Head Women's Coach, University of North Carolina

I also got to see the Anson Dorrance field session; the activities were excellent and would be great for pure training purposes, not just for grading players within the "competitive cauldron." That session was one of my favorites, along with two excellent goalkeeper training sessions by Tony DiCicco and Dan Gaspar.

One of the more interesting (and wall-to-wall packed) classroom sessions was "Small-Sided Games and Age Group Changes: A Discussion of Youth Soccer in the US," featuring a panel of representatives discussing and commenting on US Soccer's new player development initiatives. On a topic billed by US Youth Soccer as "for the first time, a collaborative effort among all of the major youth soccer entities in the US," it was very interesting to listen to the actual comments and opinions from the panelists.

NSCAA HS News - State President's Meeting & All-American Meeting

Per information gathered at the State President's Meeting & All-American Meeting:

*There will be no Summer Symposium this year as has been the case the last several summers. The NSCAA is exploring ways to recognize Winter/Spring recipients for All-America, All-Region, and Coach of the Year awards via another format. One discussed was to bring honorees to Kansas City for banquet and recognition at a Sporting KC match.

*We are in the midst of the third year of the current region realignment schedule: S.C. Boys (Region I); S.C. Girls (Region II).

*Overriding process for each state in honoring all-state (not just for NSCAA nationa/regional level awards) is that recipients must be from association (NSCAA and/or state) schools. No non-member players or coaches may be selected if not an active member.

*NSCAA awards 75 All-Americans for boys and girls. This can grow to up to 100 per membership. It's vital that each high school coach register as a 'high school coach' and not a youth coach or other.

*NSCAA has worked hard to provide opportunities for ALL members to recognize players via NSCAA recognition, including: Team Academic Award, Senior Excellence Award, Team Ethics & Sportsmanship Award, and the new Player of the Week Award in addition to traditional All-Region, All-American and Coach of the Year (State/Regional/National) honors.

*There is discussion about offering high school coaches a discounted rate for NSCAA Convention registration due to cutbacks at schools nationwide.

*A committee was formed last year known as the High School Advocacy group that will champion prep concerns to the Executive Board and in turn hopefully pass on to the National Federation of High Schools (NFHS) on behalf of the NSCAA. In addition, the 17 states represented at the meeting agreed to work together as a unit to promote our concerns as one body.