Blair Gavin (born January 8, 1989) is a former American

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player who is head coach of

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, pl ...

side

FC Tulsa FC Tulsa is an American professional soccer team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma which competes in the USL Championship, the second tier of the American soccer pyramid. History The club was founded as Tulsa Roughnecks FC by Jeff and Dale Hubbard, bro ...

Career

College and Amateur

Gavin grew up in

Scottsdale, Arizona , settlement_type = City , named_for = Winfield Scott , image_skyline = , image_seal = Seal of Scottsdale (Arizona).svg , image_blank_emblem = City of Scottsdale Script Logo.svg , nick ...

, played club soccer for the Sereno soccer club which was ranked No. 1 in the nation and won the Arizona state cup four years in a row, and attended the famed

IMG Academy IMG Academy is a preparatory boarding school and sports training destination in Bradenton, Florida, United States. IMG Academy is set across over 600 acres and features programs consisting of sport camps for youth athletes, adult camps, a board ...

Bradenton, Florida Bradenton ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Manatee County, Florida, Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the city's population is 55,698. History Late 18th and early 19th centuries ...

, before playing

college soccer College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and the Philippines. The United Kingd ...

at the

University of Akron The University of Akron is a public research university in Akron, Ohio. It is part of the University System of Ohio. As a STEM-focused institution, it focuses on industries such as polymers, advanced materials, and engineering. It is classified ...

. While at Akron, Gavin was named to the Great Lakes Region (GLR) third team and was an All-Mid-American Conference (All-MAC) first team honoree as a sophomore in 2008, while in 2009 he was named to the All-MAC First Team and the All-GLR First Team, and recorded the game-winning penalty kick in a shootout against the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...

to help his team to the 2009 NCAA Division I championship game. During his college years Gavin also played three seasons for

Bradenton Academics IMG Academy Bradenton is an American soccer team based in Bradenton, Florida, United States. Founded in 1998, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The team is associated with IMG Academy and the ...

in the

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league syste ...

Professional

Gavin was drafted in the first round (10th overall) of the

2010 MLS SuperDraft 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

Chivas USA Chivas USA (pronounced ''CHEE-vahs'') was an American professional soccer team based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California. The club played from 2005 to 2014 in Major League Soccer (MLS) and was a subsidiary of Mexican club C.D. Guada ...

. He made his professional debut on April 1, 2010, in a game against

Los Angeles Galaxy LA Galaxy, also known as the Los Angeles Galaxy, are an American professional soccer club based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Galaxy competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), as a member of the Western Conference. The club began play ...

, and scored his first professional goal - a 20-yard strike from outside the penalty area - in a 4-0 victory over

New England Revolution The New England Revolution is an American professional soccer club based in the Greater Boston area that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), in the Eastern Conference of the league. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having compet ...

on May 5, 2010. On August 1, 2012, Gavin, along with a second round pick in the

2013 MLS SuperDraft The 2013 MLS SuperDraft was the fourteenth SuperDraft presented by Major League Soccer. The draft took place on January 17, 2013 in Indianapolis, Indiana at the Indiana Convention Center. The Colorado Rapids enjoyed returns from the 2013 draft, ...

and allocation money, was traded to

in exchange for

Shalrie Joseph Shalrie Jamal Joseph (born May 24, 1978) is a Grenadian former professional footballer who is currently a coach with the New England Revolution organization. Youth and College Joseph moved to Brooklyn, New York with his family as a teenager. He ...

. Gavin remained with New England through the 2012 season. After the conclusion of the 2012 season, New England declined the 2013 option on Gavin's contract and he entered the

2012 MLS Re-Entry Draft The two-stage 2012 MLS Re-Entry Draft took place on December 7, 2012 (Stage 1) and December 14, 2012 (Stage 2). All 19 Major League Soccer clubs were eligible to participate. The Stage 1 and Stage 2 Drafts were conducted in the same order as the t ...

. He became a free agent after going undrafted in both rounds of the draft. On August 21, 2013, Gavin signed with

Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began ...

after training with the team for several weeks.

International

Gavin has traveled to tournaments in Slovakia, Spain, Portugal and Mexico with the U-18 squad, and was one of 20 players called into the U-18 training camp in January 2007 as the squad prepared for the 14th Copa Chivas Tournament in Mexico.

Personal

Blair is the younger brother of former

midfielder

Michael Gavin Michael Gavin (born March 30, 1986 in Scottsdale, Arizona) is an American soccer player, currently without a team. Career Youth, College and Amateur Gavin attended Horizon High School (Scottsdale, Arizona), Horizon High School in Scottsdale, Ar ...

References

External links

*
Akron bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gavin, Blair 1989 births Living people Akron Zips men's soccer players American soccer players Association football defenders Atlanta Silverbacks players Chivas USA draft picks Chivas USA players IMG Academy Bradenton players Major League Soccer players New England Revolution players North American Soccer League players Phoenix Rising FC players Portland Timbers 2 players Seattle Sounders FC players Soccer players from Scottsdale, Arizona United States men's under-20 international soccer players United States men's youth international soccer players USL Championship players USL League Two players