The NSCAA Convention is known for its high level coaching education sessions, exhibit hall and awards functions. There are numerous unique events that take place each year during the Convention that help make it the can’t-miss event for coaches and fans.

Past, present and future soccer stars will be on display at the 2012 NSCAA Convention. Former midfielder and captain of the U. S. Women’s National Team Julie Foudy (@juliefoudy) and Leslie Osborne (@leslieosborne12) of the WPS Boston Breakers will be signing autographs in the exhibit hall. Foudy will be in the PUMA booth #723 on Friday and Osborne will be in the T4 booth #410 on Saturday.

Foudy was a member of the USWNT from 1987 through 2004, serving as the team’s captain from 2000 through her retirement.  She was part of the U.S. Women’s teams that won two FIFA Women’s World Cup titles in 1991 and 1999 and captured two Olympic gold medals in 1996 and 2004 and the silver medal in 2000. Her athletic accomplishments led to her induction into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in August 2007. She served as an in-studio analyst and on-air commentator for ABC, ESPN ESPN2 coverage of the 2006, 2007 and 2011 FIFA World Cup’s. Alongside her husband, Foudy founded The Julie Foudy Sports Leadership Academy to teach girls sports and leadership. She also served as president of the Women’s Sports Foundation and is an advocate for women’s and children’s rights.

Osborne has made her name known through all levels of the soccer community. She was a two-time Wisconsin state player of the year before beginning her collegiate career at Santa Clara University. As a senior, Osborne received the NCAA’s Honda Award as the nation’s best athlete in her sport. She became the first player in the West Coast Conference to be named both Defender of the Year and Player of the Year in 2003. Her professional career began with FC Gold Pride in 2009. Osborne joined the Boston Breakers in 2010 and is the team’s current captain. She was a member of the 2002 U-19 World Cup Championship team and part of the FIFA 2007 Women’s World Cup team that won the bronze medal.  She currently is a member of the U.S. Women’s National Team pool and serves as a spokesperson for Puma’s Project Pink, which fights breast cancer, and has also founded soccer camps to help young girls set goals.

Taylor Twellman (@taylortwellman), television anaylst for ESPN soccer and the Philadelphia Union, will be discussing “The Concussion Problem” at the 2012 NSCAA Convention.  A St. Louis high school standout, Twellman played collegiately at Maryland, where he earned NSCAA All-America honors in 1998 and 1999. He finished as a runner-up for both the Hermann Trophy and the Missouri Atheltic Club Player of the Year awards in his sophomore season. He signed with the German Bundesliga club 1860 Munich in 2000, but returned to the U.S. two years later. Drafted in the 2002 MLS SuperDraft as a second overall pick by the New England Revolution, he won both the Major League Soccer MVP Award and the MLS Golden Boot in 2005, finishing the regular season with 17 goals. Twellman earned his first cap with the U.S. Men’s National Teamon Nov. 17, 2002, against El Salvador. His international career was highlighted by a hat trick against Norway in a friendly on Jan. 29, 2006, only the ninth hat trick in U.S. National Team history. . He helped lead the Revolution win the 2007 U.S. Open Cup title, but  missed the 2008 and 2009 seasons after suffering a neck injury and a serious concussion. and announced his retirement from the game at the end of the 2010 season. Taylor launched the THINKTAYLOR foundation as a resource for education, support and fundraising to promote positive outcomes from sports-related brain injuries.

Many know Eric Wynalda (@wynalda11) as one of FOX Soccer’s commentators, but others may remember him for two goals. His goal for the U.S. in the 1994 World Cup was the first by an American in World Cup play in more than 50 years. Two years later he scored the first goal in the inaugural season of Major League Soccer. He attended San Diego State University from 1987 to 1989. He then signed a contract with the U.S. Soccer Federation before the 1990 FIFA World Cup and signed as a loan player to the San Francisco Bay Blackhawks in the American Professional Soccer League.  Wynalda became the first American-born player to play for a top level German club in 1992 when he played for Saarbrücken.  In 1996, Major League Soccer was created and the league allocated Wynalda to the San Jose Clash, where his performance earned U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year honors.  He would later wear the jerseys of the Miami Fusion, New England Revolution before finishing his MLS career with the Chicago Fire in 2001.  He participated in three World Cups and retired from the U.S. National Team as its all-time leading scorer, a record he held until Landon Donovan surpassed it in 2008.  Sponsored by FOX Soccer, Wynalda will present “Why Not US?” at the NSCAA Convention.

The 2012 NSCAA Convention will also feature an exclusive signing session with professional player Brandi Chastain (@brandichastain). Chastain was a member of the USWNT from 1988 through 2004. She was also part of the U.S. Women’s teams that won two FIFA Women’s World Cup titles in 1991 and 1999 and captured two Olympic gold medals in 1996 and 2004. She is most famous for her game-winning penalty kick against China in the 1999 World Cup final. Chastain also spent 17 years playing professionally in the U.S. for the WUSA and WPS leagues. She has served as a color commentator with ABC/ESPN on their coverage of Major League Soccer. Today, Chastain is a volunteer assistant coach at Santa Clara University and remains highly involved in the development of youth soccer.
Chastain will be at NSCAA booth #202 in the exhibit hall from 7:30-8:30 P.M. for the autograph session.
 

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