Richard Jata

Last updated
Richard Jata
Richard Jata.jpg
Personal information
Date of birth (1985-09-21) September 21, 1985 (age 37)
Place of birth Dunedin, Florida, United States
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
2001 IMG Academy
College career
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2004 Furman Paladins
2005–2008 Campbell Fighting Camels
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2007–2008 Carolina Dynamo 13 (4)
2010 Carolina Dynamo 14 (2)
2011 Wilmington Hammerheads 16 (1)
Total43(6)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of November 20, 2012

Richard Jata (born September 21, 1985 in Dunedin, Florida) is an American soccer player.

Contents

Career

College and amateur

Jata began his college career at Furman University, where he led the team in points. After one season with Furman he transferred to Campbell University. During his time at Campbell, he was a three-time All-South region midfielder, had 12 game-winning goals, was a three-time All-Atlantic Sun Conference First Team selection (2006, 2007, 2008), and amassed 71 points (28 goals, 15 assists) in 3 seasons. [1] In Jata's senior year at Campbell he led the team to a 14-6 record, including an undefeated record in A-Sun conference play. He also achieved numerous individual awards, including being named the 2008 Athlete of the Year, the 2008 Atlantic Sun Conference Player of the Year, a 2008 NSCAA All-American Second Team selection, and a 3-time NCCSIA All-State team selection from 2006-2008. He finished his college career with 32 goals and 18 assists.

During his college career, Jata played with USL Premier Development League club Carolina Dynamo during their 2007 [2] and 2008 [3] seasons.

Professional

Jata was drafted in the fourth round (58th overall) of the 2009 MLS SuperDraft by Chicago Fire, [4] but failed to make their final roster and was released by the club during their pre-season. He then proceeded to trial with numerous clubs in the US and Europe, but failed to sign with any of them. Jata eventually returned to USL PDL club Carolina Dynamo to play for them during their 2010 season. [5]

Due to his perceived funny and touching speech at the 2009 MLS SuperDraft, [6] Jata's journey in trying to secure a pro contract were followed and blogged about heavily on the internet, including one run by his brother for Campbell University. [7]

Jata signed his first professional contract in February 2011, joining USL Pro club Wilmington Hammerheads. [8] He made his professional debut on April 17, 2011 in Wilmington's first game of the 2011 season, a 1-0 win over the Rochester Rhinos. [9] Jata left Wilmington at the end of the 2011 season for personal reasons.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Ngwenya</span> Zimbabwean footballer

Joseph Ngwenya is a Zimbabwean footballer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jamie Watson (soccer)</span> American soccer player and match analyst

Jamie Watson is a former American soccer player and current match analyst with MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Justin Moose</span> American soccer player

Justin Moose is an American former professional soccer player.

Kenny Bundy is an American former soccer player who is currently the head coach of Houston Dynamo 2 in MLS Next Pro.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shea Salinas</span>

Robert O'Shea "Shea" Salinas is an American former professional soccer player who played as a winger.

The 2009 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup was the 96th edition of the USSF's annual national soccer championship, running from June through early September.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jamie Franks (soccer)</span> American soccer player

Jamie Franks is an American soccer player who last played for Rochester Rhinos in the USSF Division 2 Professional League. He is currently the head coach for the University of Denver. Franks is one of four brothers; Ryan, Brad, and Kyle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nick Zimmerman</span> American soccer player (born 1987)

Nick Zimmerman is an American soccer player.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corben Bone</span> American soccer player

Corben Bone is an American former professional soccer player.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cody Arnoux</span> American soccer player

Cody Charles Arnoux is an American soccer player.

The 2011 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup was the 98th edition of the USSF's annual national soccer championship, running from June through early October. Seattle Sounders FC, who entered the competition as the two-time defending champions, successfully defended their title again. They became the third team in U.S. Open Cup history to win three straight U.S. Open Cups. As winner of the Open Cup, the Sounders earned a place in the 2012–13 CONCACAF Champions League Group stage. The farthest advancing USL Pro team was the Richmond Kickers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Casey Townsend</span>

Casey James Townsend is an American former professional soccer player.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Josue Soto</span> American soccer player

Josue Soto is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chandler Hoffman</span> American professional soccer player (born 1990)

Jon Chandler Hoffman is an American professional soccer player who currently plays as a forward for Los Angeles Force in the National Independent Soccer Association.

Daniel Stephen Roberts is a British-American football coach and former soccer player, who is currently the assistant coach of MLS Next Pro club Houston Dynamo 2.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2013 in American soccer</span> Association football-related events in the USA during the season of 2013

The 2013 season is the 101st season of competitive soccer in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Steres</span> American professional soccer player (born 1990)

Daniel Steres is an American professional soccer player who plays as a defender for Major League Soccer club Houston Dynamo. He was USL-Pro All-League Second Team in 2013 and 2014, USL All-League First Team in 2015, and LA Galaxy II Defender of the Year in 2014 and 2015.

Jon Burklo is an American soccer coach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sunny Jane</span>

Tsotleho "Sunny" Jane is a Mosotho footballer who currently plays as a forward for Bantu FC in the Lesotho Premier League, and the Lesotho national team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brad Stuver</span> American soccer player

Bradley Stuver is an American professional soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for Major League Soccer club Austin FC.

References

  1. ↑ "Richard Jata Biography - GoCamels.com—Official Web site of Campbell University Athletics". Archived from the original on 2011-07-11. Retrieved 2011-05-22.
  2. ↑ "United Soccer Leagues (USL)". Archived from the original on 2011-06-10. Retrieved 2011-01-15.
  3. ↑ "United Soccer Leagues (USL)". Archived from the original on 2011-06-10. Retrieved 2011-01-15.
  4. ↑ Archived 2011-07-11 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ↑ "United Soccer Leagues (USL)". Archived from the original on 2012-10-10. Retrieved 2012-04-22.
  6. ↑ "The Best MLS Draft Speech Ever". 21 January 2009.
  7. ↑ "Soccer Insider". gocamels.blogspot.com.
  8. ↑ "Hammerheads Announce 1st Signings - Wilmington Hammerheads". Archived from the original on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2011-02-28.
  9. ↑ "United Soccer Leagues (USL)". uslpro.uslsoccer.com. Archived from the original on 2012-07-19.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.