John Ball (born November 5, 1972 in

Newtown, Connecticut Newtown is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It is part of the Greater Danbury metropolitan area as well as the New York metropolitan area. Newtown was founded in 1705, and later incorporated in 1711. As of the 2020 censu ...

) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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 most recently played for the PASL team

Cleveland Freeze Cleveland Freeze was a professional indoor soccer team based in the Cleveland, suburb of North Olmsted, Ohio. They began play in the Professional Arena Soccer League for the 2013-14 PASL season. The Freeze hired Hector Marinaro, the all-time lead ...

. He has an extensive career, playing both indoor and outdoor soccer. He spent one season in

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

with the Chicago Fire and was a part of the

United States national futsal team The United States national futsal team represents the United States at international competitions. It is governed by the United States Soccer Federation and affiliated with CONCACAF. The U.S. Futsal Federation was founded in 1981 and the first ...

which went to the second round of the

2004 FIFA Futsal World Championship The 2004 FIFA Futsal World Championship was the fifth FIFA Futsal World Championship, the quadrennial international futsal championship contested by the men's national teams of the member associations of FIFA. It was held between 21 November and ...

Player

College

Ball played

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 ...

for

Southern Connecticut State Southern Connecticut State University (Southern Connecticut, Southern Connecticut State, SCSU, or simply Southern) is a public university in New Haven, Connecticut. Part of the Connecticut State University System, it was founded in 1893 and is g ...

. While at Southern Connecticut State, his team won the NCAA Division II Championship in his freshman and senior year while reaching the Final Four in all four years.

Professional

On January 1, 1996, the

Cleveland Crunch The Cleveland Crunch are an American professional indoor soccer club located in Cleveland, Ohio competing in as a charter member of the Major League Indoor Soccer (MLIS). The rebranded Crunch returned to indoor play as a member of the MASL 2 i ...

selected Ball in the second round of the 1995 National Professional Soccer League Amateur Draft. He played game at the end of the regular season. However, he played several during the playoffs as the Crunch won the league championship. He remained with the Crunch for the 1996-1997 season. He was named to the All Rookie team that year, despite playing one game during the previous season, as the Crunch fell to the

Kansas City Attack The Kansas City Attack, previously the Atlanta Attack and later known as the Kansas City Comets, were an indoor soccer team based for most of its existence in Kansas City, Missouri. In its various incarnations the franchise played in the National ...

in the championship series. In addition to his indoor career, Ball had an extensive outdoor career as well. In the summer of 1996, he signed with 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 Socc ...

of the

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 ...

. In 1997, he moved to the

Carolina Dynamo North Carolina Fusion U-23, formerly known as Carolina Dynamo, is an American soccer team based in Greensboro, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1993, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The ...

and then the Staten Island Vipers in 1998. He was All League that season. In 1998, Ball returned to the Crunch and played for them every winter until the team folded in 2005. On July 15, 1999, the Chicago Fire signed Ball as a discovery player. He made his debut against the

Dallas Burn Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

, playing 90 minutes, on August 22, 1999. He scored his first and only MLS goal in the Western Conference Semifinals against the Dallas Burn on October 16, 1999. The Fire released him at the end of the season. In 2000, Ball moved to the

Rochester Rhinos Rochester New York FC, formerly known as the Rochester Rhinos, are an American professional soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States. Founded in 1996, as the Rochester Raging Rhinos, they changed their name to Rochester Rhinos to ...

for one season before signing with the

Charleston Battery The Charleston Battery are an American professional association football, 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 professiona ...

in 2001. He continued his nomadic ways, playing for the

in 2002, the Milwaukee Wave United in 2003 and the

Atlanta Silverbacks The Atlanta Silverbacks FC were an American professional soccer club based in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1998 as Atlanta Ruckus, the club played in many leagues over the years before folding after the 2015 season. The team played its home game ...

in 2004. In 2005, Ball rejoined the

Rochester Raging Rhinos Rochester New York FC, formerly known as the Rochester Rhinos, are an American professional soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States. Founded in 1996, as the Rochester Raging Rhinos, they changed their name to Rochester Rhinos to ...

of the

USL-1 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 b ...

. While he had spent most of his outdoor career in the midfield, he moved to right back in 2008. In 2010, the Rhinos did not re-sign Ball and he moved to the amateur CASL Elite. During these years, Ball continued to play indoor soccer. In 2005, the Chicago Storm selected Ball in the MISL Dispersal Draft after Cleveland folded. However, in a December 3, 2005 game against the Baltimore Blast, Ball had an altercation with a fan which led to a two game suspension by the league. This led the Storm to trade Ball to the

California Cougars The California Cougars were an indoor soccer team, founded in 2004. The team was a charter member of the Professional Arena Soccer League (PASL-Pro), the first division of arena (indoor) soccer in North America. They played their home matches a ...

for Anthony Maher and the rights to

Andy Rosenband Andy Rosenband (born April 27, 1981) is an American retired soccer midfielder. Biography A native of Hammond, Indiana, Rosenband played high school soccer for the University of Chicago Laboratory School where he scored 115 career goals and was ...

on December 27, 2005. In January 2007, the Cougars traded Ball back to the Storm in exchange for Semir Mesanovic, Elvir Kafedzic and a first round draft pick in the 2007 MISL Amateur Draft. On January 27, 2010, Ball joined the Ohio Vortex of the

Professional Arena Soccer League A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

. Ball played the amateur team CASL Elite in the

Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in men's Soccer in the United States, soccer in the United States of America. It is the oldest ongoing nati ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

; his team won their regional qualification group (which also featured NPSL teams

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 ...

and Atlanta FC) before falling 4-2 to

USL Second Division The USL Second Division (commonly referred to as USL-2) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States, operated by United Soccer Leagues (USL). It was at the third tier of soccer in the United States, behind Major League Soccer ( ...

pro side

in the first round of tournament proper. On January 27, 2010, Ball signed with the Ohio Vortex of the Professional Arena Soccer League, playing three games and scoring one goal through the end of the season. In February 2012, he joined the Rochester Lancers.

Coach

Ball is a coach in the Cleveland, Ohio area. He was the boys' high school coach at Elyria from 2012 to 2014 and is currently a club coach with Cleveland Futbol Club.

References

External links

Rochester Rhinos bio
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ball, John 1972 births Living people American men's soccer players American men's futsal players Men's association football midfielders Atlanta Silverbacks FC players California Cougars players North Carolina Fusion U23 players Charleston Battery players Chicago Fire FC players Chicago Storm (MISL) players Cleveland Crunch players Cleveland Force (2002–2005 MISL) players Connecticut Wolves players Futsal players at the 2007 Pan American Games Major Indoor Soccer League (2001–2008) players Major Indoor Soccer League (2008–2014) players Major League Soccer players Milwaukee Wave United players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players Pan American Games competitors for the United States People from Newtown, Connecticut Sportspeople from Fairfield County, Connecticut Major Arena Soccer League players Rochester New York FC players Soccer players from Connecticut Southern Connecticut Fighting Owls men's soccer players Staten Island Vipers players A-League (1995–2004) players USL First Division players USISL Select League players High school soccer coaches in the United States