For most young athletes, playing a sport at the college level is their dream. However, getting noticed by college coaches and recruiters today takes more than simply being good at a sport.

Often, athletes — even stars — coming from small towns never get on the radar of the teams they would like to play for, and their parents aren’t sure how to help. This is where Adrian Blewitt comes in.

Former Lock Haven University soccer star, coach, and now entrepreneur, Blewitt helps connect players and their families with collegiate soccer coaches.

Dave: Tell me about your background and where you grew up.

Adrian: I grew up in Grimsby, England, an old fishing port on the east coast of England. I’m an only child and played youth soccer in the area for a club team called Discoveries Soccer Club. Eventually, I became a youth trainee player at a local professional club, Grimsby Town.

Dave: What brought you to the US, and what is your connection to this area?

Adrian: I was recruited to play for Lock Haven University and began attendance in the fall of 1990. LHU Coach Lenny Long was friends with my County Coach, Lee Stephens. I decided to come to the US to get an education and majored in Health & Physical Education at LHU while playing soccer.

Dave: Did you have any major soccer influences growing up?

Adrian: A big influence on me in my youth soccer career was local schoolteacher and school coach Geoff Batholomew, and then at Grimsby Town FC, youth coach Arthur Mann and 1st team manager Alan Buckley. As I mentioned, my Humberside County coach, Lee Stephens, shared a friendship with Lenny Long, who was the head coach at Lock Haven. A pipeline of English players was already in full swing heading to PA, and I became one of them.

Dave: Tell me about your soccer career.

Adrian: I had a good career, becoming a four-time All-Conference player, a regional all-American, a two-time Captain, a Freshman of the Year, and a Conference Defensive MVP. Academically, I received the Golden Whistle Award as the top physical education student in my class.

Dave: Your accolades as an athlete are very impressive. Not all athletes get into coaching, however. How did you make that transition?

Adrian: I knew I always wanted to become a coach, but it was seeing my coaches at LHU, Lenny Long and Phil Stephenson, and the roles and influence they had that made me want to become like them. They were great role models for all of their players and great community people. My official coaching career began when Lenny hired me to become his new assistant coach while studying for my master’s degree at LHU. Later, I became the first-ever graduate student from LHU.

After completing my two-year master’s degree at LHU, I headed south to Fayetteville, NC, to become the Head Men’s Soccer Coach at Methodist College. My coaching career spanned 30 years, with stops at Lees-McRae College (NC), Lenoir-Rhyne University (NC), University of Arkansas at Little Rock (AR), Army West Point (NY), Seton Hill University (PA), and a final year coaching at the Manchester City Academy in England. Overall, my coaching career included 270 wins, 8 Conference Championships, and NCAA Tournament appearances in the Elite 8 and Sweet 16. I coached many professional players, national team players, and a World Cup Team Captain.

Dave: Tell me about your new business. What do you do for players?

Adrian: Scouting and recruiting have always been a part of college coaching I loved. After spending a few months working for another recruiting company during COVID-19, I knew it might be something I would come back to. I get to help high school-aged soccer players find college soccer options and get recruited so they can achieve their athletic dreams in the soccer world. It’s becoming more difficult than ever before for high school soccer players to earn roster spots on college soccer teams, so the timing of my new business is perfect. I hold meetings every day with high school students and families nationwide and in several foreign countries to help them find direction and opportunities in their college recruiting. It’s always great when I can help a local soccer player find a great home, as we aren’t exactly in a ‘soccer mecca’ here in Central PA. The impact of the transfer portal and relaxing of NCAA rules has meant many collegiate coaches dive into the transfer portal to find older, more experienced players who are looking to transfer from their current school to find another place to play, limiting spots for high school students to claim a roster spot. NCAA rules are changing in 2025, as NCAA D1 programs will limit squad sizes to 28 players per team. This means that there are even fewer opportunities for high school players to find a roster spot on a D1 team.

Dave: How has your experience helped to get your new business off the ground?

Adrian: Using 30 years of coaching connections, split evenly between coaching male and female athletes, and having coached in NCAA divisions 1, 2, and 3, there’s probably not too much I haven’t navigated in college athletics. I now use my experience and connections to help find high school and college soccer players the sort of college options they are looking for to help them have a great academic experience.

Dave: How does someone contact you if they are interested in your services?

Adrian: I can be contacted at info@SoccerScoutUSA.com or through the website http://www.SoccerScoutUSA.com.