Robert Baarts (born February 19, 1969) is a Canadian retired

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

player who played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

. He is currently the head coach of the

New Mexico State University New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public, land-grant, research university in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1888, it is the state's oldest public institution of higher education, and was the original land-g ...

women's soccer team.

College

Rob Baarts grew up in

Surrey, British Columbia Surrey is a city in British Columbia, Canada. It is located south of the Fraser River on the Canada–United States border. It is a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver regional district and metropolitan area. Mainly a suburban city, Surr ...

and attended college at the

University of Portland The University of Portland (UP) is a private Catholic university in Portland, Oregon, United States. It was founded in 1901 and is affiliated with the Congregation of Holy Cross, which also founded UP's sister school, the University of Notre Da ...

. He spent four seasons on the Pilot's soccer team under coach

Clive Charles Clive Michael Charles (3 October 1951 – 26 August 2003) was an English football player, coach and television announcer. He was one of five National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) coaches to win more than 400 games. Charles was born in ...

. When he finished his career at Portland, he had 29 goals and 14 assists. Baarts’ highlight with the Pilots came in 1988 when he,

Scott Benedetti Scott "Benny" Benedetti (born November 13, 1966, in Portland, Oregon) is an American retired soccer player. He began his professional career with the semi-professional F.C. Portland in 1986 and ended it with the U.S. second division club Portland ...

and

Kasey Keller Kasey C. Keller (born November 29, 1969) is an American former professional association football, soccer player who played in Europe and the United States, and was the starting Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for the United State ...

took Portland to the NCAA Final Four where they lost to eventual champions

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

Professional

In 1989, he also spent the collegiate off season with the

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Timbers have p ...

of the

Western Soccer League The Western Soccer Alliance was a professional soccer league featuring teams from the West Coast of the United States and Western Canada. The league began in 1985 as the Western Alliance Challenge Series. In 1986, it became the Western Soccer ...

. He was tied for seventh on the league's scoring list with seven goals. Baarts has also played professionally with the

Portland Pride The Portland Pride were an American indoor soccer team based in Portland, Oregon, that played in the Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL) from 1993 to 1997. History In 1993, a new league, the Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL) began its ...

of the

Continental Indoor Soccer League The Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL) was a professional indoor soccer league that played from 1993 to 1997. History In the summer of 1989 Dr Jerry Buss, the owner of the Los Angeles Lakers and California Sports, told his executive Vice ...

(CISL), as well as the

Portland Pythons Portland Pythons are a defunct indoor soccer team that played in the Premier Soccer Alliance (PSA) in 1998 which changed its name to the World Indoor Soccer League (WISL) in 1999. The team folded at the end of the 1999 season. History In 1997, t ...

and the

Utah Freezz The Utah Freezz were a professional American indoor soccer team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Freezz were a 1999 expansion team of the now-defunct World Indoor Soccer League. The team played in the E Center in West Valley City, Utah. Tim Mou ...

, both of the

World Indoor Soccer League The World Indoor Soccer League (WISL) was a United States–based indoor soccer sports league, league that operated from 1998 to 2001 and consisted of nine teams. History After the demise of the Continental Indoor Soccer League, four of its te ...

(WISL). In 1995, he was a CISL All Star with the Pride. In 1997, the Edmonton Drillers of the National Professional Soccer League selected Baarts in the dispersal draft after the CISL collapsed. However, he did not sign with the Drillers. In 1998, he signed with the

of the

Premier Soccer Alliance The World Indoor Soccer League (WISL) was a United States–based indoor soccer league that operated from 1998 to 2001 and consisted of nine teams. History After the demise of the Continental Indoor Soccer League, four of its teams decided to ...

but he collided with

Tatu t.A.T.u. (, ) were a Russian pop duo consisting of Lena Katina and Julia Volkova. The two started out as part of the children's musical group Neposedy before being managed by producer and director Ivan Shapovalov and signing with Russian rec ...

during an early season game against the Dallas Sidekicks. The collision resulted in a season-ending injury. In the spring of 2000, the expansion

St. Louis Steamers St. Louis Steamers has been the name of two different indoor soccer franchises based in St. Louis, Missouri: *St. Louis Steamers (1979–88); American soccer team which played in the first Major Indoor Soccer League *St. Louis Steamers (1998–2006 ...

drafted Baarts, then traded him to the

in exchange for future considerations. He was the 2000 WISL Defensive Player of the Year. In 2001, Baarts joined the

of the

USL First Division The USL First Division (USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It was organized by the United Soccer League as its premier league for men from 1996 to 2010, above the USL Second ...

. However, he was injured after impressing the coaching staff during the pre-season. The Timbers released him before he played a game with them. His coaching career began at the youth level with the Portland City United. Baarts coached the boys varsity team at Sunset High School in Beaverton, Ore., from 1991 to 2003. He was the league's coach of the year back-to-back seasons in 2001–02. The active United States Soccer Federation member is an "A" license holder, and has coached multiple youth soccer age division for the FC Portland Academy since 2004.In 2009, Baarts guided both the men's and women's programs into the postseason, and the women's program advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals for the fourth consecutive year. As an assistant at University of Portland, Baarts was responsible for all recruiting activities, opponent preparation and team travel. In addition, the Portland men's and women's soccer programs have had a 96 percent graduation rate in the last seven years under Baarts' academic progress direction. More than a dozen Pilots which played under Baarts have gone on to play professional soccer. As an assistant, Baarts was responsible for all recruiting activities, opponent preparation and team travel. In addition, the Portland men's and women's soccer programs have had a 96 percent graduation rate in the last seven years under Baarts' academic progress direction. More than a dozen Pilots which played under Baarts have gone on to play professional soccer. He became an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at San Jose State in March 2016. On January 5, 2018, he became the head coach for the women's soccer team at New Mexico State University.

References

External links

FC Portland bio

University of Portland bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baarts, Rob 1969 births Living people American soccer coaches Soccer people from British Columbia Canadian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Canadian expatriate men's soccer players Canadian soccer coaches Canadian men's soccer players Canadian people of Danish descent Continental Indoor Soccer League players Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Men's association football defenders Men's association football midfielders Soccer players from Surrey, British Columbia Portland Pilots men's soccer players Portland Pride players Portland Pythons players Portland Timbers (1985–1990) players University of Portland alumni Utah Freezz players Western Soccer Alliance players World Indoor Soccer League players Portland Timbers (2001–2010) players Portland Timbers non-playing staff Portland Pilots men's soccer coaches High school soccer coaches in the United States San Jose State Spartans women's soccer coaches New Mexico State Aggies women's soccer coaches Portland Pilots women's soccer coaches 20th-century Canadian sportsmen