Shaun Higgins (born October 17, 1978 in

Redlands, California Redlands ( ) is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 73,168, up from 68,747 at the 2010 census. The city is located approximately west of Palm Springs and east of Lo ...

) is a professional soccer agent and a retired

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. He is currently President and CEO o
PRO Football Consultants
a firm he founded that represents professional soccer players in the United States, Europe, and Mexico.

Career

College and amateur

Higgins 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 ...

California State University, Fullerton California State University, Fullerton (CSUF or Cal State Fullerton) is a public university in Fullerton, California. With a total enrollment of more than 41,000, it has the largest student body of the 23-campus California State University (CSU) ...

from 1996 to 2000, and four seasons with

Orange County Blue Star Orange County Blue Star was an American soccer team based in Irvine, California. Founded in 1997, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Southwest Division of the Weste ...

in the

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league syste ...

, helping them to the PDL national semi-finals in 2004 and 2006.

Professional

Higgins signed with the

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional men's soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The Timbers have played their home games at P ...

in 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 ...

in 2005, playing 16 games (934 minutes) in his rookie season. He scored two goals during the season, both against Northwest rivals the

Seattle Sounders Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's association football, soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club w ...

, was named to the USL First Division Team of the Week for Week 18. Higgins did not re-sign with the Timbers in 2006, and instead played one more campaign in the

with

while training with

Chivas USA Chivas USA (pronounced ''CHEE-vahs'') was an American professional soccer team based in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California. The club played from 2005 to 2014 in Major League Soccer (MLS) and was a subsidiary of Mexican club C.D. Guada ...

's reserve team, appearing in six

MLS Reserve Division The MLS Reserve League was a soccer league for the reserve teams of Major League Soccer with teams in both the United States and Canada. It was inaugurated on April 9, 2005, with the first official reserve game being a 2–0 victory by Chivas ...

games without seeing any first-team action. In 2007, Higgins rejoined the Timbers and was mostly in the starting line-up. Higgins played primarily at left midfield, but was known as a utility player who can also fill in as outside defender. He retired from the Timbers on December 7, 2009,Timbers sign Quavas Kirk; Nine players not returning for 2010
having played 56 games and scored two goals during his three years with the team.

Professional career

Higgins founded PRO Football Consultants (PRO FC) in December 2009. Higgins turned his firm into one of the premier soccer agencies in the United States, with a staff of former professional soccer players. He represents the #1 goalscorer in MLS history

Chris Wondolowski Christopher Elliott "Chris" Wondolowski (born January 28, 1983) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a forward. Nicknamed Wondo, he scored 171 career goals, the most in Major League Soccer history, and he was MLS's t ...

, and has represented top five goalscorer in MLS history

Kei Kamara Kei Ansu Kamara (; born 1 September 1984) is a Sierra Leonean professional footballer who plays as a striker for CF Montréal of Major League Soccer. He is one of only eleven players to have scored 100 goals in MLS history, achieving the land ...

, #1 defender in MLS history

Chad Marshall Chad Marshall (born August 22, 1984) is an American former professional soccer player. During his 16-year career, he played for Columbus Crew and Seattle Sounders FC in Major League Soccer. He was a three-time MLS Defender of the Year Award wi ...

, #1 holding midfielder in MLS history

Osvaldo Alonso Osvaldo Alonso Moreno (born November 11, 1985) is a Cuban professional footballer who currently plays as a defensive midfielder for Atlanta United FC in Major League Soccer (MLS). He defected from Cuba in 2007 and became a U.S. citizen in 2012. ...

, 2018 MLS Defender of the Year Aaron Long, and multiple US Men's National Team and US Youth National Team players. Higgins has completed multiple transfers to and from the English Premier League, English Championship, German Bundesliga, and Danish Superliga. In 2013, Higgins represented

Robbie Rogers Robert Hampton Rogers III (born May 12, 1987) is an American former professional soccer player. He played as a winger and as a left back. Rogers has also represented the United States men's national soccer team. In February 2013, Rogers came ou ...

, in what was the first openly gay male athlete contract in North American major sports. This was later detailed in Rogers's book, ''Coming Out to Play''. PRO Football Consultants has since expanded into Mexico with Claudio Suarez ("El Emperador"), the all-time leader in appearances for the Mexico National Team. The company has also started a firm in Denmark with

John Jensen John Jensen (born 3 May 1965), nicknamed Faxe (), is a Danish football manager and former player. A former midfielder, his playing career lasted almost two entire decades, including a stint with Arsenal in England and three stints with Brøn ...

, who famously scored the game-winning goal for Denmark in the final of the 1992 European Championships versus Germany.

References

External links

Portland Timbers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Higgins, Shaun 1978 births Living people American soccer players Cal State Fullerton Titans men's soccer players Men's association football midfielders Orange County Blue Star players Chivas USA players Portland Timbers (2001–2010) players USL First Division players USL League Two players