Darren Sawatzky (born February 22, 1973 in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...

) is an American soccer coach and former player who is currently the head coach of the Richmond Kickers in

USL League One USL League One (USL1) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that had its inaugural season in 2019. The Division III league is operated by United Soccer League, the same group that operates the Division II USL Championshi ...

. He spent four seasons in Major League Soccer, one season in the Major Indoor Soccer League, one in

USISL United Soccer League (USL), formerly known as United Soccer Leagues, is a soccer league in the United States and Canada. It organizes several men's and women's leagues, both professional and amateur. Men's leagues currently organized are the ...

and five in the

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 ...

. He currently holds several coaching positions at the high school, collegiate and professional levels and was the Director of Youth Development for Seattle Sounders FC of Major League Soccer. In January 2015, he was named head coach of the Tacoma Stars of the

Major Arena Soccer League The Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) is a North American professional indoor soccer league. The MASL features teams playing coast-to-coast in the United States and Mexico. MASL is the highest level of arena soccer in North America. MASL players ...

Player

High school and college

Sawatzky grew up in the

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

area, playing for the Highline club as a youth. He attended Thomas Jefferson High School in

Federal Way, Washington Federal Way is a city in King County, Washington, United States. One of the most recently incorporated cities in the county, its population was 101,030 at the 2020 census. Federal Way is the tenth-largest city in Washington and the fifth-large ...

. After graduating from high school, Sawatzky entered the

University of Portland , mottoeng = The truth will set you free , established = 1901 , type = Private university , religious_affiliation = Catholic (Congregation of Holy Cross) , endowment = $218 million , president = Robert D. Kelly , students = 3,731 (fall 20 ...

. He played for the University of Portland Pilots soccer team from 1991 to 1994, finishing his career tenth on the career scoring list. He graduated from Portland with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in organizational communication.

Professional

In 1995, Sawatzky signed with the expansion Oregon Surge in

. He also had trials with Mexican clubs

UNAM Pumas Club Universidad Nacional, A.C., commonly referred to as UNAM, is a professional football club based in Ciudad Universitaria of Mexico City, Mexico. The club competes in the Liga MX, the top division in the Mexican football league system. Found ...

and

Leon Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again f ...

in 1995, but did not earn a contract with either team. In 1996, he went on trial with

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

, but was not signed. In February 1996, the

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 compe ...

of Major League Soccer (MLS) selected Sawatzky in the eighth round (75th overall) in the Inaugural MLS Draft. He played nineteen games, scoring four goals that season. In 1997, his playing time dropped to five games as the Revolution loaned him to both the

Connecticut Wolves The Connecticut Wolves were an American soccer club that was founded by the Clifton Onolfo, the Onolfo Family, and several investors including Tony DiCicco. The Club's inaugural match was attended by 5,200 plus fans and competed in the United Soc ...

and

Worcester Wildfire Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Englan ...

of the

A-League. The Revolution released Sawatzky on November 10, 1997. In 1998, the

Dallas Burn Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County wi ...

of MLS selected Sawatzky in the third round (thirty-fourth overall) of the 1998 Supplemental Draft. However, he played only a total of three minutes for the Burn as they loaned him out first to the New Orleans Storm then the

Hershey Wildcats Hershey Wildcats were a professional soccer team, based in Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States, that played in the USL A-League between 1997 and 2001. The team was owned by Hershey Entertainment and Resorts Company. The team played in Hersheypa ...

before releasing him. Sawatzky then signed with the

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 ...

, playing nineteen games in the 1998 season. In 1999, the

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 1995, as part of the Anschutz Corporation, lat ...

of MLS took Sawatzky in the first round (eighth overall) of the 1999 Supplemental Draft. He played fourteen games for the Rapids in 1999, then was waived on November 24, 1999. In April 2000, the

Seattle Sounders 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 ...

of the

(USL). He tied for third in the league with sixteen goals, earning first team All Star recognition. In 2001, he played a single season with the expansion Portland Timbers. On December 20, 2001, the Timbers released Sawatzky. He then moved to the Kansas City Comets of Major Indoor Soccer League. In February 2002, he rejoined the Sounders as a free agent. He saw declining minutes with the Sounders over the next two seasons and on July 23, 2004, he announced his intentions to retire at the end of the season to devote himself full-time to coaching.

Coach

Sawatzky began coaching in 1991 with the Tualatin Hills Soccer Club. Over the years, he continued to coach with various youth clubs as his playing career allowed. In 2001, he became an assistant coach with Central Catholic High School in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...

while playing with the Timbers. When he moved to Seattle in 2002, he became the head coach at his alma mater, Jefferson High School. In 2005, he took Jefferson to the 4A Washington State Championship. In 2004, he became an assistant coach with the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...

. On February 21, 2007, Sawatzky joined the

as an assistant coach. He also serves as the Director of Coaching for HPFC, a youth club in Washington State. He coached and helped almost every team for the HPFC boys and girls club teams, including HPFC Boys 94 blue and HPFC Girls 95 Blue. Since 2015, Sawatzky has coached the indoor Tacoma Stars. On August 31, 2016, Sawatzky was hired as the interim head coach of the

Guam national football team The Guam national football team represents Guam, overseas territory of the United States in international football and is controlled by the Guam Football Association. They are affiliated with the Asian Football Confederation's East Asian Footbal ...

. On December 12, 2018, Sawatzky was named the head coach of FC Tucson in

. On November 6, 2019, he was named as head coach and sporting director of the Richmond Kickers.

References

External links

Charleston Battery profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sawatzky, Darren 1973 births Living people American soccer players American soccer coaches Soccer players from Portland, Oregon Cascade Surge players Charleston Battery players Colorado Rapids players Connecticut Wolves players FC Dallas players Hershey Wildcats players Kansas City Comets (2001–2005 MISL) players Major Indoor Soccer League (2001–2008) players Major League Soccer players MLS Pro-40 players New England Revolution players New Orleans Riverboat Gamblers players Sportspeople from Portland, Oregon Portland Pilots men's soccer players Portland Timbers (2001–2010) players Seattle Sounders (1994–2008) players University of Portland alumni A-League (1995–2004) players USL First Division coaches Worcester Wildfire players People from Federal Way, Washington USISL players FC Dallas draft picks Colorado Rapids draft picks Guam national football team managers Association football forwards USL League One coaches Association football midfielders