Joshua Caleb Norkus (born March 14, 1979 in

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southe ...

) is a former American soccer player. He played professionally in Germany, Chile, Puerto Rico and the United States. He was a member of the

United States U-17 men's national soccer team The United States U-17 men's national soccer team is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation. The highest level of competition in which the team may compete is in the FIFA U-17 World Cup, which is held every two years. History Champ ...

at the 1995 FIFA U-17 World Championship held in Quito, Ecuador, as well as the

United States U-18 men's national soccer team The United States U-18 men's national soccer team is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation. The U.S. under-18 men's national team serves as a transition for players between the under-17 and the under-20 national teams. Though the ...

and the

United States U-20 men's national soccer team The United States U-20 men's national soccer team is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation. The highest level of competition in which the team competes is the FIFA U-20 World Cup, which is held every two years. The United States' b ...

Career

College and Amateur

Caleb, who was nicknamed '' PlayStation'' by the

Puerto Rico Islanders Puerto, a Spanish word meaning ''seaport'', may refer to: Places *El Puerto de Santa María, Andalusia, Spain *Puerto, a seaport town in Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines *Puerto Colombia, Colombia *Puerto Cumarebo, Venezuela *Puerto Galera, Orient ...

supporters for his tireless work rate, grew up playing youth soccer for the

Capital Area Soccer League North Carolina FC Youth (NCFC Youth) is an American soccer club and eponymous league based in Raleigh, North Carolina and serving greater Research Triangle. It is the largest youth-to-professional soccer club in the country. Club NCFC Youth was ...

and was North Carolina High School player of the year in 1996 when he helped lead Sanderson High School to the North Carolina State title. During this time, he was also a member of the U17 and U18

United States men's national soccer team The United States men's national soccer team (USMNT) represents the United States in men's international soccer competitions. The team is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and is a member of FIFA and CONCACAF. The U.S. team h ...

where he played alongside Tim Howard, Steve Cherundolo,

Carlos Bocanegra Carlos Manuel Bocanegra (born May 25, 1979) is an American sports executive and former professional soccer player. A two-time MLS Defender of the Year, Bocanegra also played professionally in England, Scotland, France, and Spain. He earned over ...

and Chris Albright. Norkus played for the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

from 1997-2000. In 2000, in the most exciting 13 seconds of college soccer, a play that involved a 50-yard pass, three headers and a volley, Caleb scored the golden goal to bring the Tar Heels the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament title. Later in 2000, he played for the Boulder Nova of the Premier Development League.

Professional

Norkus was drafted by

D.C. United D.C. United is a professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer, the top tier of American soccer. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Supp ...

in the fifth round of

2001 MLS SuperDraft The 2001 Major League Soccer SuperDraft was held on February 5, 2001, at the Signature Grand in Davie, Florida. Player selection Any player whose name is marked with an * was contracted under the Project-40 Generation Adidas is a joint ventur ...

. Although he trained with the team, Caleb did not catch on with the MLS side and later signed with

Charlotte Eagles The Charlotte Eagles are an American professional soccer team based in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1991, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The team plays its home games at ...

of the then

United Soccer Leagues United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two fi ...

A-League. After two seasons with the Eagles, Norkus moved to

Sportfreunde Siegen Sportfreunde Siegen is a German association football club based in Siegen, North Rhine-Westphalia. After going through insolvency in 2008, the first team was forcibly relegated to the fifth-tier NRW-Liga. Promotion to fourth division Regionallig ...

of the German Regionalliga-Süd (German 3rd Division). In 2004, Caleb returned to the United States with the Richmond Kickers of

USL First Division The USL First Division (usually referred to as USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States and Canada from 2005 to 2010. During its existence, it formed the second tier of soccer in the United States soccer league system ...

(at the time) but transferred midseason to

Charleston Battery The Charleston Battery are an American professional soccer club based in Charleston, South Carolina, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 1993, the Battery are one of the oldest continuously operating professional soccer clubs in th ...

of the same league. At the end of that season, Norkus took an opportunity to play in the

Primera División de Chile Primera may refer to * Nissan Primera, a car * Primera Air, a former airline * Primera división (disambiguation), multiple top division football leagues * Primera, Texas, a town in Cameron County, Texas * Alí Primera Alí Rafael Primera Rosel ...

with

Unión Española Club Unión Española S.A.D.P. is a professional football club based in the Independencia neighborhood, commune of Santiago, Chile. They currently participate in the Primera División de Chile. It has a branch of women's football, and competes ...

and helped the team to the 2005 Apertura title. At the conclusion of the Chilean 2005 Apertura, Norkus moved to

USL-1 The USL First Division (usually referred to as USL-1) was a professional men's Association football, soccer league in the United States and Canada from 2005 to 2010. During its existence, it formed the second tier of soccer in the United States ...

for the remainder of the USL 2005 season. In 2006, Norkus season got off to a brilliant start as he scored 4 goals in the Islanders' first 10 games before being sidelined with a

sports hernia Athletic pubalgia, also called sports hernia, core injury, hockey hernia, hockey groin, Gilmore's groin, or groin disruption is a medical condition of the Pubic symphysis, pubic joint affecting athletes. It is a syndrome characterized by chronic ...

injury. After off-season surgery in

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

, Norkus returned to the States to sign with the expansion

Carolina RailHawks North Carolina FC is an American professional soccer team in Cary, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh. Founded in 2006, the team plays in USL League One, the third tier of the American league system. The team has played its home games ...

. Throughout Norkus' career, he has continually struggled with a series of unfortunate injuries which have limited his playing time and tenure at many of the clubs he has played for professionally. However, in his 2007 season after having surgery to correct a groin injury his fitness was not an issue. He played for the RailHawks through the 2010 season, going on loan to the

for one game at the end of the season. The following season, he accepted a role as player-coach for the

. Norkus' coaching career began during his early years at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he began leading sessions at both the men's and women's summer camps. Throughout his playing career, Norkus coached youth soccer in multiple settings, including Charlotte Christian Academy's men's varsity program in 2002 and the

, beginning in 2006. In 2009, Norkus obtained his US Soccer Federation (USSF) National B coaching license. After ending the 2010 season as a full-time player, Norkus became Community Outreach Liaison and Youth Soccer Ambassador for the

and the

. He continued in this role until he relocated to Puerto Rico, joining the

as a player-coach for the remainder of their final season in 2012. He also held the title of Community Outreach & Fan Development Manager for the team during this period.

Controversy

Puerto Rico Islanders President Andy Guillemard-Noble accused the RailHawks of piracy in the signing of Norkus, who was out of contract with the Islanders after the 2006 season. While the club executive insists that the Islanders had a verbal agreement with Norkus to return to Puerto Rico for the 2007 season, the player refutes that accusation, saying the two sides never reached terms and cites the lack of an offered written contract as evidence of their lack of agreement.

International

Norkus made two appearances for the United States at the 1995 FIFA U-17 World Championship's played at Atahualpa Stadium in Quito, Ecuador. As a member of the U-15, U-17, and U-19 National Teams, Norkus played in over 40 international games in the Caribbean and Europe. During the summer of 1997, he won the MVP Trophy at the Voreppe Tournament in Paris, France, and was subsequently invited to a try-out with Anderlecht of Belgium's Premier League.

Honours

Club

; Unión Española *

(1): 2005 Apertura

References

External links

Carolina RailHawks bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Norkus, Caleb 1979 births Living people American soccer players American expatriate soccer players Colorado Rapids U-23 players North Carolina FC players Charlotte Eagles players Charleston Battery players Expatriate footballers in Chile Expatriate footballers in Puerto Rico North Carolina Tar Heels men's soccer players Soccer players from Raleigh, North Carolina Sportfreunde Siegen players Puerto Rico Islanders players Richmond Kickers players Unión Española footballers USL League Two players USL First Division players USL Second Division players North American Soccer League players United States men's youth international soccer players A-League (1995–2004) players D.C. United draft picks Jesse O. Sanderson High School alumni Association football defenders Soccer players from North Carolina