Bradley University men’s soccer assistant coach Brian Barnett won a state championship in 2004 as a high school soccer player at Peoria Notre Dame High School, just down the road from Bradley U.  Now, he’s home, trying his best to master the coaching profession as a key part of Bradley head coach Jim DeRose’s staff.   

And, as part of the NSCAA’s unique 30-Under-30 program, focused on identifying the next great soccer coach, Barnett is excited about expanding his coaching acumen.  He wants to help young players develop on and off the field.

“Essentially, it is my belief that a soccer coach must recognize that his/her impact is greater than the lessons of the training ground and that each coach accepts his/her responsibility to positively affect the overall character development of young people,” Barnett said.

When you dissect his biography, it’s clear that Barnett already has plenty of experiences to share.

Since joining the Bradley program in 2009 the Braves have made two NCAA appearances and captured the MVC Championship.  Barnett assists DeRose in every facet of the soccer program, including but not limited to recruiting coordinator, performance analysis, on-field coaching, and team travel coordination. 

Barnett oversees the scouting program for Bradley and he has also developed and implemented a new performance analysis workflow that has contributed to the overall success of the program as well as individual player development.

“Performance analysis aids in the learning process by meeting the visual component,” Barnett said.  “It’s exciting to play a key role in analyzing each and every one of our players with the entire coaching staff and our support team.”

In addition to his work at Bradley, Barnett is also the technical director and camp coordinator for the Central Illinois Soccer Academy.

It’s not surprising Barnett can balance it all.  While earning all league recognition as a player at Aurora University, Barnett was able to keep a 3.5 GPA in business administration while winning the NAC Scholar-Athlete in 2007-08, the University Scholar-Athlete in 2007-08 and serving as the President of the Student-Athlete Advisory Council on 2007-09.

For all of these reasons and more, Barnett was an easy choice for the NSCAA 30-Under-30 program.  And, he was kind enough to share some insight on what the program means to him.

NSCAA: What does being part of the NSCAA 30-Under-30 mean to you?

Barnett:  Being part of the NSCAA 30-Under-30 program means that I will be positioned to master my craft at an accelerated pace. I enjoy being a student of the game and I look forward to broadening my depth of knowledge through my inclusion in this program.

NSCAA: What message would you have for other young coaches about how the NSCAA could help them develop?

Barnett: The NSCAA is a massive organization with nearly limitless resources to assist in developing young coaches. These resources include the Soccer Journal, courses, events like as the Convention and Summer Symposium, and its online database of articles, practice plans, and more. For young coaches like me it is important to soak up as much information as possible and the NSCAA does a great job of syndicating a lot of great information across multiple mediums.  

NSCAA:  How important is it for young coaches to glean information from veteran coaches?

Barnett: It is important for young coaches such as me to glean information from veteran coaches because there are coaches at all levels of this profession that have a tremendous amount of knowledge and experience to share. I believe that exposure to that knowledge and those experiences will help me grow as a young coach; in particular, at a time and place in my career where this aspect may be overlooked.

NSCAA: With the surging boom of soccer in this country, how important is it for the many new faces and coaches in this country to "blaze their own trail" as leaders for the NSCAA?

Barnett: The relevance of soccer within the American sports’ landscape grows exponentially with every roll of ball. This is evidenced by ESPN’s inclusion of soccer within its spectrum of programming, the rabid fans of MLS coast-to-coast, the 60,000 fans that watched the USMNT win the Gold Cup on Sunday at Soldier Field, and the overall financial commitment to soccer as a first tier sport at NCAA Division I institutions across the country to list but a few. It is an exciting time to be a steward of the game. I want to thank the NSCAA for giving me the opportunity to be involved with the overall growth and development of soccer at such a flashpoint moment. Additionally, I am thankful for the leadership and direction I receive from President Joanne Glasser (president, Bradley University) Dr. Michael Cross (director ofathletics, Bradley University) and his administration, and on a daily basis from Jim DeRose (head soccer coach, Bradley University). Without their collective guidance, I would not have been poised to be a part of the 30-Under-30 program.  

NSCAA: College soccer remains instrumental in the continued growth of the men’s game.  Why is it so important to you and the game?

Barnett: College soccer is integral to the overall growth and development of soccer in this country as it remains core to the “American dream” to obtain a college education. And, that will remain the case until soccer’s professional ranks are able to pay comparable sums of money to that of baseball, basketball, and football. As a result, the role college soccer plays in the development of high caliber players must be taken seriously.

I have chosen college soccer as a lifelong career path because of the role college soccer coaches play in the lives of young men and women. The best coaches in college soccer never miss an opportunity to educate their players on the life lessons the game teaches on the field every day. It is exciting to take part in the overall character development of young people; every coach I can remember from youth all the way through college played a huge role in my life – I want to pay that forward. 

NSCAA: Can you break down the other components of coaching the NSCAA has been able to teach you outside of the X’s and O’s of the game?

Barnett: For me, coaching has always been about more than X’s and O’s and I believe the NSCAA fosters that view through their coaching education courses. This goes above and beyond the written curriculum; the NSCAA and its staff have established a culture that facilitates learning and fosters a sense of belonging. When you are at a course there is a group of coaches there to teach and a group there to learn and from the onset you feel that the approach is how can we all help each other learn something new about the game and perpetuate its development.

NSCAA: Knowing what you know about this unique NSCAA 30-Under-30 program, what are you most looking forward to taking advantage of?

Barnett: Being part of the NSCAA 30-Under-30 program will be a special experience. I am most looking forward to expanding my coaching network. As a young coach my network is small and therefore, my exposure to new and different ideas is limited. As a result of taking part in this program, I will be forced outside my comfort zone to both think about and look at the game from a different perspective. 

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