Perry Van der Beck (born November 5, 1959 in

Florissant, Missouri Florissant () is a city in St. Louis County, Missouri, within Greater St. Louis. It is a middle class, second-ring northern suburb of St. Louis. Based on the 2020 United States census, the city had a total population of 52,533, making it the 12 ...

) is an American former

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 ...

, former

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

and technical director, and the former Vice President of Competition and Operations for the

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

. Van der Beck began his playing career with the

Tampa Bay Rowdies The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional Association football, soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Champions ...

of the original North American Soccer League and ended it with the St. Louis Ambush of the indoor National Professional Soccer League. He also earned twenty-three

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

, scoring two goals, with the U.S. national team between 1979 and 1985. He played for various indoor and outdoor teams until 1998, when he retired from the pitch and became an assistant coach with 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 ...

. After coaching for several other clubs and youth soccer organizations, Van der Beck was hired as the technical director and youth director for the new

in 2008. He was later promoted to be the club's executive vice president and director of player development. In January 2014 he was again promoted to the position of general manager. Following the hiring of former teammate

Farrukh Quraishi Farrukh Quraishi ( fa, فرخ قریشی, born November 13, 1951, in Masjid-I-Sulaiman, Iran) is a retired Iranian-born English footballer. He spent six seasons in the North American Soccer League playing for the Tampa Bay Rowdies and Calgary B ...

as president and general manager, Van der Beck returned to his role as the team's technical director.

NASL

In 1978, the

of 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 ...

(NASL) drafted Perry Van der Beck out of St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Florissant, Missouri. At the time he was the youngest native born American playing professional soccer. He was also the first American ever drafted out of high school. Despite his youth and relative inexperience when he joined the Rowdies, he gradually worked himself into becoming a significant contributor to the team. At the time, the Rowdies were a top-tier team in the NASL. In both

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

and

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

, they made it to the

Soccer Bowl The Soccer Bowl was the annual championship game of the North American Soccer League, which ran from 1968 to 1984. The two top teams from the playoffs faced off in the final to determine the winner of the NASL Trophy. From the league's founding ...

championship game. In 1983, Van der Beck played with Team America during its dismal single season. USSF wanted to combine all the dominant U.S. players in NASL onto one team to give them an opportunity to develop, as well as to create publicity for the national team. While the concept attracted the support of Van der Beck and some other U.S. players, it was viewed with suspicion by many others, such as

Rick Davis Richard Dean Davis (born November 24, 1958) is an American former soccer midfielder, and former captain of the U.S. National Team for much of the 1980s. He is considered by fans the best U.S.-born player of the North American Soccer League er ...

. Team America went 10-20 and folded after the 1983 season. Van der Beck then returned to the Rowdies for a single season. During his time with the Rowdies, the NASL had played both an

indoor Indoor(s) may refer to: *the interior of a building *Indoor environment, in building science, traditionally includes the study of indoor thermal environment, indoor acoustic environment, indoor light environment, and indoor air quality *Built envi ...

as well as its more well known outdoor seasons. He was member of the Rowdies' 1979–80 NASL indoor championship team as well as their 1981–82 indoor runner-up squad. However, the NASL was at heart an outdoor league and when the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) began operation, it quickly took over the indoor soccer market. By the time Van der Beck had returned to the Rowdies in 1984, the NASL was on its last legs and in 1985, Van Der Beck left the team to follow former Rowdies coach

Gordon Jago Gordon Harold Jago (born 22 October 1932) is an English former football player and manager, and the former director of the Dr. Pepper Dallas Cup international youth tournament. Playing career Born in Poplar, London, Jago began his profession ...

to the Dallas Sidekicks of the MISL.

MISL

Van der Beck remained with the Sidekicks for three seasons, capping his time with the team by winning the MISL championship in

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

. On July 4, 1987, the Sidekicks announced they would not renew Van der Beck's contract and he became a free agent. On August 11, 1987, he signed with the St. Louis Steamers. He then moved, sometime later, to the

Wichita Wings The Wichita Wings were a professional indoor soccer franchise based in Wichita, Kansas. The Wings were admitted to the Major Indoor Soccer League as an expansion team on August 21, 1979.

National Team

In 1979, Van der Beck played his first game with the U.S. national team. He would go on to earn 23

, scoring two goals with the team. He was an integral part in the U.S. failed attempts to qualify for the 1982 and 1986 FIFA World Cups. In 1979, he was a member of the U.S. soccer team at the

1979 Pan American Games The 1979 Pan American Games (Spanish: ''Juegos Panamericanos de 1979''), officially the VIII Pan American Games were a multi-sport event governed by the Panam Sports Organization, and were held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, from July 1 to July 15 ...

. In 1980, he would have been the captain of the U.S. soccer team at 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 ...

. Despite qualifying for the tournament, the U.S. did not send a team to Moscow when President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

organized a boycott of the games in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. In 1985, Van der Beck was selected the

U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year The U.S. Soccer Player of the Year is given by the United States Soccer Federation to the American soccer players judged best in the calendar year. It is considered the highest accolade for American soccer players. The U.S. Soccer Male Player ...

. Van der Beck served on the US Soccer Board of Directors from 1986 to 1993. In 2011, Van der Beck was inducted into the St. Louis Soccer Hall of Fame. Van der Beck has owned and operated the original Camp Kikinthagrass since 2003.

NPSL

He served as the player/coach with 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. ...

of the National Professional Soccer League during the 1996–97 season.

Coaching and front office

At the end of the 1997 season, he retired from playing and joined the

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 ...

(MLS) as an assistant coach for the 1998 season. In 2001, he became the head coach of the Mutiny for its last 11 games of the team's existence when then head coach, Alfonso Mondelo was fired. While assistant coach of the Mutiny, he also coached the Northdale Rangers of the Florida Youth Soccer Association to three State Cups and the 1998 Region III Cup. After MLS shut down the Mutiny at the end of the 2001 season, Van Der Beck replaced

Peter Vermes Peter Joseph Vermes (; born November 21, 1966) is an American professional soccer coach and former player. He is currently the head coach of Sporting Kansas City in Major League Soccer. As of 2022, Vermes is currently the longest-tenured head c ...

as the Super Y-League Olympic Development Program National Camp Technical Director. He also spent one season as a staff coach with the Adidas Elite Soccer Program, which identifies the nation's best high school players and coaches them in weeklong training programs.

Tampa Bay Rowdies

In June 2008, Van der Beck was hired as the technical director of the expansion

FC Tampa Bay The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Championship in the second ti ...

of the

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 b ...

. By the time the team took the pitch in 2010, the team switched to the

USSF Division 2 Professional League The USSF Division 2 Professional League (D2 Pro League) was a temporary professional soccer league created by the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) for the 2010 season. The twelve-team league was formed as a compromise between the feuding Un ...

and Van der Beck had been promoted to executive vice president and director of player development. Head coach

Paul Dalglish Paul Kenneth Dalglish (born 18 February 1977) is a Scottish former professional footballer. Playing career Dalglish, son of former Scotland international Kenny Dalglish, was born in Glasgow though spent his childhood in the city where his fa ...

left the team with 2 games remaining in the regular season, and Van der Beck served as the interim coach until January 2011, when

Ricky Hill Ricky Hill (born 5 March 1959) is an English former footballer, spending most of his playing career at Luton Town FC for 14 years, while representing England at Senior, U21 and U18 International levels. Hill was the fourth Black player to play ...

was hired as the club's new head coach and Van der Beck returned to his executive position. In January 2014 he was promoted from the position of technical director to the club's general manager. With the November 18, 2014 hiring of Quraishi as team president and general manager, Van der Beck re-assumed the role of technical director. In May 2016 Van der Beck resigned as the Tampa Bay Rowdies’ assistant general manager and vice president of community relations.

USL vice president

On June 23, 2016, the

announced that Van der Beck would be the new Vice President of Competition and Operations, replacing David Wagner. In his new role he is responsible for the day-to-day league operations, competition, schedule, discipline and refereeing.

References

External links

*
NASL/MISL stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Der Beck, Perry 1959 births Living people American soccer players American Professional Soccer League players American soccer coaches American people of Dutch descent Dallas Sidekicks (original MISL) players Men's association football midfielders Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players Major League Soccer coaches North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Soccer players from St. Louis St. Louis Steamers (original MISL) players Tampa Bay Rowdies draft picks Tampa Bay Rowdies (1975–1993) players Tampa Bay Mutiny coaches Tampa Bay Rowdies coaches Tampa Bay Rowdies executives Tampa Bay Terror players Team America (NASL) players United States men's international soccer players Wichita Wings (MISL) players North American Soccer League (2011–2017) coaches Pan American Games competitors for the United States Footballers at the 1979 Pan American Games Player-coaches