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 area as well as the New York metropolitan area. Newtown was founded in 1705, and later incorporated in 1711. As of the 2020 census, its p ...
) is an
American soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
player who most recently played for the
PASL team
Cleveland Freeze. 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 professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...
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 futsal competitions. It is governed by the United States Soccer Federation and the U.S. Soccer, affiliated with CONCACAF. The U.S. Futsal Federation was foun ...
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, called college football in some countries, is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. While it is most widespread in the United States, it is also prominent in Japan, South Kore ...
for
Southern Connecticut State. 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 is an American professional indoor soccer club located in Cleveland, Ohio.
Formed in 1989 as an expansion team in the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL), the Crunch played a total of 16 seasons in three separate leagues unde ...
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 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 of the
USISL
The United States Interregional Soccer League (USISL) was a semi-professional men's outdoor soccer league that played six seasons from 1989 to 1994. It was the first outdoor league to be operated by the organization known today as the United ...
. In 1997, he moved to the
Carolina Dynamo
Salem City FC is an American amateur soccer club based in Bermuda Run, North Carolina that fields a men's team in USL League Two, and a women's team as the North Carolina Fusion in the USL W League. The teams plays their home games at the Truis ...
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 a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
, 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 Rhinos, formerly known as the Rochester Raging Rhinos, was an American soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States. The club won the 1999 U.S. Open Cup, marking the only time a non-MLS team has won the U.S. Open Cup sinc ...
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 the oldest continuously operating professional socc ...
in 2001. He continued his nomadic ways, playing for the
Carolina Dynamo
Salem City FC is an American amateur soccer club based in Bermuda Run, North Carolina that fields a men's team in USL League Two, and a women's team as the North Carolina Fusion in the USL W League. The teams plays their home games at the Truis ...
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 Rhinos, formerly known as the Rochester Raging Rhinos, was an American association football, soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States. The club won the 1999 U.S. Open Cup, marking the only time a non-Major League Soccer ...
of the
USL-1
The USL First Division (USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It was organized by the United Soccer League as its premier league for men from 1996 to 2010, above the USL Second D ...
. 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 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
The Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) is a professional indoor soccer league in North America. The MASL features teams playing coast-to-coast in the United States and Mexico. The league is the highest level of arena soccer in North America. The le ...
. Ball played the amateur team
CASL Elite in the
Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup in
2010
The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
; his team won their regional qualification group (which also featured
NPSL teams
FC Tulsa 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
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 the oldest continuously operating professional socc ...
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 footballers for the United States
People from Newtown, Connecticut
Soccer players from Fairfield County, Connecticut
Major Arena Soccer League players
Rochester New York FC players
Southern Connecticut 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
20th-century American sportsmen