Rob Baarts

Rob Baarts
Personal information
Full nameRobert Baarts
Date of birthFebruary 19, 1969
Place of birthSurrey, British Columbia, Canada
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Playing positionForward / Defender
Youth career
1987–1990University of Portland
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1989Portland Timbers(7)
1993–1997Portland Pride (indoor)126(119)
1998–1999Portland Pythons (indoor)
2000Utah Freezz (indoor)
2001Portland Timbers0(0)
Teams managed
1989–1990Portland City United
1991–2003Portland Metro
1995–2002Sunset High School
2001–F.C. Portland
2004–University of Portland (assistant)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Robert "Rob" Baarts (born February 19, 1969 in Surrey, British Columbia) is a retired Canadian soccer forward who currently coaches youth soccer in the Portland, Oregon area of the United States.

College

Rob Baarts grew up in Surrey, British Columbia and attended college at the University of Portland. He spent four seasons on the Pilot’s soccer team under coach Clive Charles. 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 and Kasey Keller took Portland to the NCAA Final Four where they lost to eventual champions Indiana University.

Professional

In 1989, he also spent the collegiate off season with the Portland Timbers of the Western Soccer League. He was tied for seventh on the league’s scoring list with seven goals.[1]

Baarts has also played professionally with the Portland Pride of the Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL), as well as the Portland Pythons and the Utah Freezz, both of the World Indoor Soccer League (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 Portland Pythons of the Premier Soccer Alliance but he collided with Tatu during an early season game against the Dallas Sidekicks.[2] The collision resulted in a season-ending injury.[3] In the spring of 2000, the expansion St. Louis Steamers drafted Baarts, then traded him to the Utah Freezz in exchange for future considerations.[4] He was the 2000 WISL Defensive Player of the Year. In 2001, Baarts joined the Portland Timbers of the USL First Division. However, he was injured after impressing the coaching staff during the pre-season. The Timbers released him before he played a game with them.[5]

Coaching

Baarts has held numerous coaching positions at the youth level. In 1989, he became a coach with Portland City United. In 1992, he moved to Portland Metro where he coached for twelve years. While coaching Metro, he also served as the Sunset High School boys soccer coach beginning in 1995. He left that position in 2002. In 2001, he joined the F.C. Portland staff. Finally, in June 2004, the University of Portland hired Baarts as an assistant to both the men’s and women’s soccer teams.

References

  1. http://a-leaguearchive.tripod.com/1989/1989wsl.htm
  2. PYTHONS TO GET A HELPING HAND ... Columbian, The (Vancouver, WA) - Thursday, July 30, 1998
  3. BAARTS IS MAKING RIPPLES SINCE RETURN TO PYTHONS Oregonian, The (Portland, OR) - Monday, July 26, 1999
  4. Sports briefs Deseret News, The (Salt Lake City, UT) - Thursday, May 18, 2000
  5. http://www.soccercityusa.com/timbers/news052501.htm

External links