Darryl Gee (born June 6, 1963) is a retired 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 played professionally in the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

and Major Indoor Soccer League. He coaches youth soccer in Maryland. Gee grew up in

Columbia, Maryland Columbia is a census-designated place in Howard County, Maryland. It is one of the principal communities of the Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area. It is a planned community consisting of 10 self-contained villages. Columbia began with ...

where he was an outstanding high school soccer player for the

Oakland Mills High School Oakland Mills High School was established in 1973 as one of the first high schools to serve the planned developed new U.S. town of Columbia, Maryland area, established by James Rouse and his Rouse Company in 1967 in Howard County, midway between ...

boys team. He scored 52 goals in 31 games during his junior and senior seasons at Oakland Mills, and was named to the 1980 Baltimore Sun High School Athlete of the Year, attracting the attention of scouts from the

. After finishing high school, Gee played for the U.S. Olympic soccer team which qualified for the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...

. Gee scored a goal during the regional qualification round, which the U.S. won. However, due to the United States' boycott of the Olympics, held in the Soviet Union, Gee and his team mates were unable to compete. Gee would go on to play for the U-20 national team at the regional qualification tournament for the

1981 FIFA World Youth Championship The 1981 FIFA World Youth Championship, the third edition of the FIFA World Youth Championship, was held in Australia from 3 to 18 October 1981. The tournament took place in six venues—where a total of 32 matches were played. Adelaide, Brisban ...

, to be held in Australia. The U.S. team easily handled its opponents, losing only to Mexico 2-0 in the final game. In Australia, the team did poorly, losing to Uruguay 3-0 and Poland 4-0 and tying Qatar 1-1. They then toured China, defeating Australia 2-1, but losing to China 5-1 and Egypt 1-0. With an impressive resume at the junior level, the

Minnesota Kicks The Minnesota Kicks were a professional soccer team that played at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota, from 1976 to 1981. The team was a member of the now defunct North American Soccer League (NASL). Initiall ...

of the

drafted Gee out of high school. The Kicks then traded Gee to the

New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to * New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada) * New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Independe ...

in exchange for the Cosmos first and second round draft picks. However, he was unable to break into the starting lineup until June 1982. On September 28, 1982, the Cosmos played a farewell match against Brazilian club

Flamengo Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (; English: ''Flamengo Rowing Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Flamengo, is a Brazilian sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Gávea, best known for their professional football t ...

in honor of Cosmos and Flamengo great Carlos Alberto. In that game, Alberto played the first half for the Cosmos. At half time, he gave Gee his jersey, then played the second half for Flamengo. Gee remained with the Cosmos, playing both indoor and outdoor seasons, until the team folded in 1984. In December 1987, Gee signed with the

Maryland Bays The Maryland Bays were an inaugural franchise of the third incarnation of the American Soccer League in 1988.They were based in Catonsville, Maryland, and played their games at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County. The team joined the Ameri ...

of the American Soccer League.''SOCCER'' Washington Post - Thursday, December 24, 1987 In 1990, the Bays took the APSL title. Gee retired from playing in 1992. In 1999, he coached the

Maryland Mania Maryland Mania was a soccer club based in Baltimore Maryland that competed in the A-League for one year, in 1999. The Mania's original home was UMBC Stadium in Catonsville, but they club relocated to Anne Arundel Community College midway through ...

of the

USL A-League 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 ...

in that team's single season of existence. He runs the Darryl Gee Soccer Academy in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Gee was inducted into the Maryland Soccer Hall of Fame.

References

External links

NASL/MISL stats
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gee, Darryl 1963 births Living people American soccer coaches American men's soccer players American Soccer League (1988–89) players American Professional Soccer League players Los Angeles Lazers players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players Maryland Bays players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players New York Cosmos (1970–1985) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players USL First Division coaches Washington Diplomats (1988–1990) players Soccer players from Maryland United States men's under-20 international soccer players Men's association football defenders