The NSCAA Convention is an incredible event. It is a happening where thousands of coaches get together at this time every year. As usual, WORLD CLASS COACHING will be there and have a booth in the exhibition hall. It's something we never miss.
We look forward to seeing lots of our customers. Every year, we see lots of the same faces and catch up on things with just a quick chat. We might not have seen them since the previous year's Convention or we could have seen them at our coaching seminar. Regardless, we just seem to continue where we left off and catch up with what's going on. It gives us a chance to get out of the office and ask for feedback on what our customers want.
So if you will be in Baltimore this coming weekend, please stop by our booth and we would love to hear your thoughts or ideas regarding anything that might help us improve what we do.
Back to the Convention. If you've been before you will know what I am talking about, if you haven't, you really should try and make it one year. It is something that can only happen in the USA. Other countries will be lucky if they can get a few hundred coaches together annually. At the NSCAA Convention, there are about 6,000 coaches.
There are coaches of all levels from recreational U6 teams, to coaches of professional teams. Coaches come from countries all over the world. I don't know the breakdown of how many countries, but I suspect about 20 countries are represented. It really is a special event.
On the schedule are lectures, meetings, award banquets, field sessions...and all going on at the same time. Actually, that can be one of the challenges. Often, there is more than one field session or lecture that I have circled, but they are being conducted at the same time so it's matter of making a choice. A coach can easily fill their day from 8 am to 6 pm with lectures and field sessions and be lucky to find a break to eat something.
Other coaches and many of the soccer companies attending schedule meetings. Every where you look there are people sat down discussing and taking notes or in groups just socializing. My guess is that more business is conducted during the Convention than at any other time during the year.
I first went to the Convention almost 20 years ago and was wide eyed with disbelief. But having attended for the last 12 years, I know what to expect now. But the size and scope of the Convention still never ceases to amaze me.
Like I said, if you haven't been to an NSCAA Convention, it really is one of those things you should put on your list of things to do. And if you are attending, don't forget to stop by our booth.
