Jim Stamatis

Last updated
Jim Stamatis
Personal information
Full name D. James Stamatis
Date of birth (1958-02-28) February 28, 1958 (age 65)
Place of birth Kiriaki, Greece
Position(s) Forward / Midfielder
College career
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1975–1979 Penn State Nittany Lions
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1980 San Diego Sockers 9 (0)
1981–1982 Denver Avalanche (indoor) 22 (12)
1981–1982 Pennsylvania Stoners
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Jim Stamatis (born Kiriaki, Greece) is a retired U.S.-Greek soccer forward and the Chief Executive Officer of The Louis Berger Group. He played professionally in the North American Soccer League, Major Indoor Soccer League and American Soccer League.

Contents

Youth and college

Stamatis moved to the United States with his family as a youth. He attended Liberty High School in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania. and was selected to the All State Team in 1975. After high school, he was recruited by many top colleges but elected to play at Penn State because of Coach Bahr’s honesty that Stamatis would need to earn a place on the team. Stamatis did work hard and developed into one of the top collegiate forwards.

In 1978, Stamatis was named as a first team All American. The following year, Stamatis was selected as the 1979 winner of the Hermann Trophy, awarded annually to the most outstanding player in all of American college soccer. Penn State also made it to the NCAA championship semifinals that year before losing to eventual winners SIU-E.

National team

His outstanding play with Penn State brought him to the attention of the national team and he was called up to the U-23 national team at the 1979 Pan American Games and for preparations for the 1980 Summer Olympics.

Professional soccer

In 1980, the San Diego Sockers selected Stamatis in the first round of the North American Soccer League draft. He only played a year in the league before moving to the Denver Avalanche of Major Indoor Soccer League and the Pennsylvania Stoners of the American Soccer League before back injuries cut short his playing career.

Post-soccer career

He had failed to complete his degree while at Penn State, so he decided to enter the New Jersey Institute of Technology where he graduated with a Civil Engineering degree in 1985. His choice of school was influenced by the fact that his fiancée, now wife, was from New Jersey. While in New Jersey, Stamatis continued his association with soccer, now as a coach rather than as a player. He became an assistant coach with the school’s men's soccer team. [1] Stamatis became a civil engineer for the Louis Berger Group and rose to the position of President and Chief Executive Officer. While he did not continue to coach soccer after graduating from NJIT, he got back into coaching when his children began playing. His achievements as a coach now include three New Jersey State Cups and two Region I Championships. He has two sons; John, who played at Harvard University from 2005-2008, and William, who currently plays for Columbia University.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ira Bowman</span> American basketball player and coach

Ira Bowman is a retired American professional basketball player formerly in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is currently an assistant men's basketball coach for Auburn University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daryl Doran</span>

Daryl Doran is a U.S. indoor soccer player. His 827 games are the most of any player in American professional indoor soccer history. Doran previously coached the St. Louis Ambush in the Major Arena Soccer League from 2013–2015.

Patrick "Pat" McBride is an American retired soccer midfielder and indoor soccer coach. He earned five caps with the U.S. national team and is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame.

Glenn "Mooch" Myernick was an American soccer player and coach. He won the 1976 Hermann Trophy as that year’s outstanding collegiate player. He then spent eight seasons in the North American Soccer League and one in Major Indoor Soccer League. Myernick also earned 10 caps with the U.S. national team. After retiring from playing professionally, Myernick spent over twenty years as a professional and national team coach.

Dan Donigan is a retired United States soccer forward and former coach who played professionally in the Major Indoor Soccer League, American Professional Soccer League and National Professional Soccer League. Following his playing career he coached at the collegiate level as an assistant coach for Connecticut and Saint Louis, and subsequently as a head coach for Saint Louis and Rutgers.

Hernan "Chico" Borja was an Ecuadorian-born American soccer player and coach. He spent time in the several U.S.-based leagues including the North American Soccer League, Major Indoor Soccer League and the American Soccer League. He also earned eleven caps with the U.S. national team.

Chance Fry is a retired U.S. soccer forward who began his career straight out of high school with the Seattle Sounders of the North American Soccer League. With the collapse of the NASL, he moved to indoor soccer as well as U.S. minor leagues. Since retiring from playing, Fry has become a college soccer coach. He also earned five caps with the U.S. national team in 1984 and was the 1990 American Professional Soccer League leading goal scorer.

Steve Rammel is a retired American soccer player who played as a forward. Rammel spent five seasons in the U.S. and German lower divisions before playing two seasons in Major League Soccer. After retiring from playing in 1997, he served for many years as both an assistant and head coach for both college and professional teams. He was previously the executive director for the West Florida Flames Futbol Club in Brandon, Florida.

Larry Hulcer is a former U.S. soccer forward and midfielder. He spent three seasons in the North American Soccer League and at least three in Major Indoor Soccer League. He also earned eight caps, scoring one goal, with the U.S. national team in 1979 and 1980.

Ted Gillen is a former U.S. soccer defender who currently coaches men’s high school soccer. Gillen played one season in Major Soccer League, two in the American Professional Soccer League, one in USISL and one in Major League Soccer. He earned three caps with the U.S. national team in 1988. He has also served as an assistant soccer coach at several universities.

Randy Garber is a former U.S. soccer midfielder who played four seasons in the North American Soccer League and two seasons in the Major Indoor Soccer League. He earned one cap with the U.S. national team and currently coaches youth soccer in Abington, Pennsylvania.

Wally is a retired U.S. soccer player and coach. He played in several outdoor and indoor leagues. In 1980, he was the American Soccer League Rookie of the Year with the Cleveland Cobras.

Steve Baumann was a U.S. soccer forward who is the Chief Executive of the National Soccer Hall of Fame. He was a first team All American at the University of Pennsylvania before playing three seasons in the North American Soccer League. He later coached the Penn soccer team for six seasons.

Dick Packer was a U.S. soccer center forward who was a member of the U.S. team at the 1956 Summer Olympics. He was a two time First Team All American at Penn State and played over ten seasons in the American Soccer League.

David Grimaldi is a retired American professional soccer defender who spent three seasons in the North American Soccer League, three in the Major Indoor Soccer League and at least one in the American Soccer League. He later served as Deputy Commissioner of MISL and the Commissioner of the National Indoor Soccer League which later became the Major Indoor Soccer League.

Rich Reice is a retired American professional soccer forward who played in the North American Soccer League, Major Indoor Soccer League, American Soccer League and United Soccer League.

Christie Renee Welsh is an American former soccer player who played as a forward. She previously played for the New York Power of Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA) as well as the Los Angeles Sol, Saint Louis Athletica, and Washington Freedom of Women's Professional Soccer (WPS). She is also a former member of the United States women's national soccer team.

Duane Robinson is a retired professional soccer forward who played in the American Professional Soccer League and the United States Interregional Soccer League. He was the 1990 # 1 overall pick of the Illinois Thunder of National Professional Soccer League. He also earned 10 caps with the United States Under – 20 National Team.

David Masur is a retired American soccer midfielder who played professionally in the Major Indoor Soccer League, American Professional Soccer League and USISL. He is the head coach of the St. John's University men's soccer team. He was the 1996 NCAA Division I Coach of the Year and led the Red Storm to the 1996 NCAA national championship.

George Gelnovatch is the men's soccer coach at the University of Virginia. He played professionally in the Major Indoor Soccer League and American Professional Soccer League. As head coach, he has led Virginia men's soccer to the College Cup Final Four in 1997, 2006, 2009, 2013, 2014, and 2019. Under his leadership, Virginia won its sixth and seventh NCAA National Championships of the sport in 2009 and 2014.

References

  1. "2004 Winter Alumni Circuit" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-20. Retrieved 2007-10-02.