KANSAS CITY — The 2018 United Soccer Coaches Convention schedule is available via UnitedSoccerCoachesConvention.org, as well as the United Soccer Coaches PHL18 mobile app for Android and iOS devices, the association announced on Thursday.

The convention will be held from Jan. 17-21 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia for coaches of all levels to take part in five days of marquee events, including the United Soccer Coaches strategic summit, and more than 200 educational sessions ranging from on-field demonstrations to interactive panels.

Among the 250-plus presenters scheduled to attend PHL18, and subject to change, are prominent professionals from the youth, high school, college and professional ranks in both men’s and women’s soccer. Additional guests will be added to the schedule and announced by the association in the coming weeks.

U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati will participate in a Spotlight session, as will World Cup champion Vicente del Bosque, past National Women’s Soccer League  coaches of the year Laura Harvey and Paul Riley, Manchester United FC’s Tony Strudwick and past Major League Soccer coach of the year Sigi Schmid.  Rochester Rhinos assistant coach Mark Pulisic will provide a unique perspective as a professional coach and parent of an elite-level athlete.

From the college level, numerous individuals recognized as NCAA coaches of the year will be premier presenters at PHL18, including Becky Burleigh, Erica Dambach, Anson Dorrance, Schellas Hyndman, Charlie Slagle, Jerry Smith and Tim Vom Steeg. U.S. youth nationaltTeam coaches Kacey White and Mark Carr also will lead instructional lectures, as will National Soccer Hall of Fame members Eric Wynalda and Hank Steinbrecher.

Coaching education and player development experts from many of the sport’s key organizations will also be in attendance, including U.S. Soccer’s Frank Tschan and B.J. Snow, Major League Soccer’s Fred Lipka, UEFA’s Frank Ludolph, U.S. Club Soccer’s Christian Lavers and U.S. Youth Soccer’s Sam Snow.

Unique to this event are the 13 diplomas and certificates will be available to attain for more than 12,000 members of the soccer community expected to attend the sport’s largest annual gathering of coaches and administrators:

Special Topics Diplomas

Coaching Career: Development and Management
Coaching Futsal
Small-Sided Games
4v4 Diploma (Sunday only)
Systems of Play
Technical Development of the Competitive Player
The Mental Game: The Coach’s Role in Developing Players
Player Health, Fitness and Safety
The Art of the Assistant
Integrating the Goalkeeper into Team Training
Goalkeeping Level 1 (Sunday only)

Certificates

Youth Club Administrator Professional Development Certificate
NFHS Professional Development Certificate

Advance registration is available through December 15 for $365, which includes unlimited access to the Exhibit Hall as well as all United Soccer Coaches Convention and U.S. Youth Soccer Workshop sessions.

Visit UnitedSoccerCoachesConvention.org to learn more and to register in advance.

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 25 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams for Newsday and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at Amazon.com.