Mike Mekelburg (born February 20, 1975) 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 ...

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

who played professionally in 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 ...

and National Professional Soccer League.

Youth

Mekelburg grew up in Tampa, Florida, playing for Tampa's Black Watch S.C. In 1993, he graduated from George D. Chamberlain High School where he played on the boys' soccer team. In 1992, the Chamberlain soccer team finished runner-up to Killian in the Florida 4A high school soccer championship. Mekelburg attended the

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, and other campuses in St. Petersburg and Sarasota. It is one of 12 members of the State University System of Florida. USF is ...

, playing for the men's soccer team from 1993 to 1996. He was a 1996 First Team All American.

Professional

In December 1996, the

Tampa Bay Terror The Tampa Bay Terror is the name of an indoor soccer team based in the Tampa Bay, Florida area that competed in the defunct National Professional Soccer League (NPSL). The team existed for two seasons before folding: 1995–1996 and 1996–1997. ...

selected Mekelburg in the National Professional Soccer League draft. In February 1997, the

Tampa Bay Mutiny Tampa Bay Mutiny was a professional soccer team based in Tampa, Florida. They were a charter member of Major League Soccer (MLS) and played from 1996 to 2001. They played their home games at Tampa Stadium and then at Raymond James Stadium. The ...

picked him in the first round (eighth overall) of the

1997 MLS College Draft The 1997 Major League Soccer College Draft was held on February 1 and 2, 1997 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The draft was held in conjunction with the Umbro Select College All-Star Classic. The first round of the draft took place at halftime of the ...

. Mekelburg signed with the Mutiny, but injuries kept him off the field. The team waived him on June 24, 1997. In July, Dallas Sidekicks then chose Mekelburg in the

Continental Indoor Soccer League The Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL) was a professional indoor soccer league that played from 1993 to 1997. History In the summer of 1989 Dr Jerry Buss, the owner of the Los Angeles Lakers and California Sports, told his executive Vice Pre ...

Supplemental Draft after Mekelburg had trained with them for several weeks. The Sidekicks did not sign him and Mekelburg joined the

Baltimore Spirit The Baltimore Blast is an American professional indoor soccer team based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. The team is a part of the Major Arena Soccer League. The team has won 10 championships since it was founded in 1980. Beginning with ...

of the National Professional Soccer League in September 1997. In 1998, he played for the

Milwaukee Rampage The Milwaukee Rampage are a former defunct professional American soccer team, that was located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which played in the A-League. History Founded in 1993 by Milwaukee area businessmen Dan Doucette and Jim Hock, the Rampage p ...

in the

USISL A-League 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 ...

. On January 28, 1999, he signed a two-year contract 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 ...

. On July 24, 1999, the Battery traded Mekelburg to the Raleigh Capital Express in exchange for Edmundo Rodriguez.''Express gets help in goal'' The News & Observer - Saturday, July 24, 1999

References

External links

Charleston Battery: Mike Mekelburg
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mekelburg, Mike 1978 births Living people George D. Chamberlain High School alumni American soccer coaches American men's soccer players Baltimore Spirit players Milwaukee Rampage players Charleston Battery players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players Raleigh Express players South Florida Bulls men's soccer players A-League (1995–2004) players Tampa Bay Mutiny players Tampa Bay Mutiny draft picks Soccer players from Tampa, Florida All-American college men's soccer players Men's association football midfielders