Waad Hirmez is a retired Iraqi-American

football (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 spent most of his professional career 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.

Early life

In 1979, Hirmez, an

Assyrian Assyrian may refer to: * Assyrian people, the indigenous ethnic group of Mesopotamia. * Assyria, a major Mesopotamian kingdom and empire. ** Early Assyrian Period ** Old Assyrian Period ** Middle Assyrian Empire ** Neo-Assyrian Empire * Assyrian ...

Catholic native of Iraq, moved to

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

to live with an uncle while he attended high school. When he arrived in the United States, he changed his name from Waad Ajou to Waad Hirmez. In 1981, he graduated from

Point Loma High School Point Loma High School is a public high school in the San Diego Unified School District in San Diego, California, United States. It is located in the Loma Portal neighborhood of Point Loma. The school serves the neighborhoods of Point Loma and ...

Professional soccer career

Two weeks after his graduation, he signed with the

San Diego Sockers San Diego Sockers may refer to: *San Diego Sockers (1978–1996) The San Diego Sockers were a soccer and indoor soccer team based in San Diego, California. The team played in the indoor and outdoor editions of the North American Soccer League ( ...

of the

for $18,000. He played seventeen minutes of one game for the Sockers in 1981 before being released. He then attended

National University A national university is mainly a university created or managed by a government, but which may also at the same time operate autonomously without direct control by the state. Some national universities are associated with national cultural or po ...

where he played on the school's club team. In 1982, he played for the amateur San Diego Falcons. In 1983, the Sockers signed Hirmez again and he played eleven games, scoring one goal. He did not play professionally in 1984 after a series of unsuccessful trials with the Tacoma Stars, Phoenix Inferno and

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.

. In February 1985, the Sockers signed Hirmez to a ten-day contract after the team captain,

Kaz Deyna Kazimierz Deyna (; 23 October 1947 – 1 September 1989) was a Polish professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder in the playmaker role and was one of the most highly regarded players of his generation, due to his excellent vis ...

, suffered a potentially season-ending knee injury. His contract was extended to the end of the season as the Sockers won the league championship. The Sockers then retained Hirmez for the next three seasons as the Sockers won another two championships. Hirmez became a free agent in 1988 and he moved to the

Los Angeles Lazers The Los Angeles Lazers were an indoor soccer team that played in the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) from 1982 to 1989. History Jerry Buss, the owner of California Sports, the parent company of the Los Angeles Lakers, Kings and Strings of ...

. On February 21, 1989, the Lazers traded him to the Sockers in exchange for

Poli Garcia Jose “Poli” Garcia (born in San Diego, California) is an American former soccer player. He spent at least four seasons in the American Soccer League, three in the North American Soccer League and four in the Major Indoor Soccer League. H ...

. He would play two and a half indoor seasons with the Sockers. Trading cards of Waad Hirmez were produced by Pacific Trading Cards, Inc., from 1987 through 1992. In addition to his time playing indoor soccer with the Sockers, Hirmez also played for the

San Diego Nomads Nomads Soccer Club (formerly San Diego Nomads) is an American soccer club based in San Diego, California. From 1986 to 1990, the club fielded a professional senior team, but has since operated as an amateur and youth club. History The Nomads wer ...

of the outdoor

Western Soccer League Western Soccer Alliance was a professional soccer league featuring teams from the West Coast of the United States and Western Canada. The league began in 1985 as the Western Alliance Challenge Series. In 1986, it became the Western Soccer Alli ...

. Although the Nomads went to the league championship, Hirmez had returned to the Sockers before that game. In 1989, Hirmez also became an American citizen. In September 1991, the Sockers waived Hirmez. On September 20, 1991, he signed with the

Baltimore Blast 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 ...

. On November 16, 1991, the Blast placed Hirmez on waivers. On November 30, Hirmez joined the St. Louis Storm. The Storm released him at the end of the season. In 1993, Hirmez rejoined the Sockers who were now playing 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 ...

. In January 1994, he signed with 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 ...

of the National Professional Soccer League. He then moved to Mexico where he played for Puebla in the Futbol Rapido league, helping the team win the league championship. He then returned to the Sockers for the 1994 CISL season. The Sockers waived him at the end of the season and Hirmez moved to the Monterrey La Raza for the 1995 season.

Post-playing career

Semi-professional coaching career

In 2005, Hirmez served as Head Coach of the San Diego Fusion, in the PDL.

High school coaching career

After retiring from playing, Hirmez became the boys' varsity soccer coach at St Augustine Private Catholic School in San Diego in 1997–1998. Beginning in 2003, he was the varsity coach of the

Fallbrook Union High School Fallbrook Union High School (also referred to as FUHS, Fallbrook High School and FHS) is a public high school located in the rural community of Fallbrook, California. Established in 1893, FUHS is the second-oldest high school in San Diego County. ...

boys soccer team. In 2014, Hirmez was named the head varsity soccer coach at

Chaparral High School (Temecula, California) Chaparral High School, colloquially known as Chap, is a public, 4-year comprehensive high school in Temecula, California, United States. The school serves students in grades 9 through 12 and is one of five high schools in the Temecula Valley Unifi ...

Youth soccer coaching career

From 2001 through 2003, Hirmez was the Program Director and Coach of the Southwest Soccer Club, where he coached the BU14, BU15 and BU16 teams. In 2002 his Boys U16 team won the Cal South State Cup Championship defeating PQ Premier Red. His BU16 team won the 2002 League Cup Championship and 2003 Surf Cup Championship and was a semi-finalist at the National Cup. In 2014 Hirmez rejoined Southwest Soccer Club, taking over a team with a previous losing record, and coaching the Boys U12 team in the Coast League - Bronze East, finishing with a winning record of 6-5-1 and making a Cal South State Cup Championship appearance. Coach Hirmez' 2014/15 BU12 team advanced farther in the State Cup than any other Temecula Valley-based BU12 team,2015 Cal South State Cup Results
/ref> losing to a team from Irvine after double overtime on penalty kicks.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hirmez, Waad 1961 births Living people American men's soccer players Baltimore Blast (1980–1992) players Continental Indoor Soccer League players Assyrian footballers Iraqi men's footballers Iraqi expatriate men's footballers Kansas City Attack players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players Monterrey La Raza players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players St. Louis Storm players Nomads Soccer Club players San Diego Sockers (1978–1996) indoor players San Diego Sockers (1978–1996) players Western Soccer Alliance players Men's association football utility players Soccer players from San Diego Footballers from Baghdad Los Angeles Lazers players Expatriate men's footballers in Mexico Iraqi expatriate sportspeople in Mexico Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Iraqi expatriate sportspeople in the United States USL League Two coaches