John Kerr Jr. (born March 6, 1965) is a

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 ...

coach and former player who is the head coach of the

Duke Blue Devils men's soccer The Duke Blue Devils men's soccer team is the men's soccer program that represents Duke University. The Blue Devils compete in NCAA Division I as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). They won their first and only NCAA tournament in 19 ...

team. He played professionally as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

in the United States, Canada, England, France and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

during a much traveled and varied playing career. Kerr was named the 1986 Hermann Award winner as the top collegiate player of the year. Born in Canada, he also earned sixteen

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

United States national team The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...

Player

Youth

Born in Canada, Kerr grew up in

Falls Church, Virginia Falls Church City is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 14,658. Falls Church is ...

. The son of Scottish footballer John Kerr Sr., Kerr Jr. won the 1983 James P. McGuire Cup with Montgomery United and in 1986, while playing the collegiate off-season with his father's Fairfax Spartans, he won the

National Amateur Cup The National Amateur Cup, also known as the USASA Amateur Cup, is an American knockout soccer competition open to all amateur teams affiliated with the United States Soccer Federation through United States Adult Soccer Association The Unite ...

. Kerr played collegiately at

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

. During his four years with the Blue Devils he was a two time first-team

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

. In 1986, he was the captain of the Duke team which won the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

. He won the Hermann Award as the NCAA Player of the Year as a senior. In 2004, Duke University inducted Kerr into its Sports Hall of Fame. Kerr is one of 22 college players to be part of the 40-40 club, having both 40 goals and 40 assists in their college career.

Professional

In the spring of 1987, Kerr spent his last semester of college as an exchange student in England. While in England, he played with

Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional Association football, football league covering Greater London, East of England, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, th ...

club Harrow Borough towards the end of 1986–1987 season reportedly attracting the attention of several

English Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

professional clubs. In June 1987, the

Tacoma Stars The Tacoma Stars are an American professional indoor soccer team based in Tacoma, Washington, that competes in the Major Arena Soccer League (MASL). The franchise also operates in USL League Two, a minor outdoor league. Founded in 2003, the indo ...

of the Major Indoor Soccer League selected Kerr in the second round of the MISL draft. He declined to sign with the Stars. In the summer of 1987, he returned to England and signed with

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

(then newly promoted to the

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

) on the recommendation of

Peter Osgood Peter Leslie Osgood (20 February 1947 – 1 March 2006) was an English footballer who was active during the 1960s and 1970s. He is best remembered for representing Chelsea and Southampton as a forward at club level, winning the FA Cup with eac ...

. Making his First Division debut for the club away at

Oxford United Oxford United Football Club () is a professional association football, football club based in Oxford, England. The club compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football league system, English football. Founded as Headingto ...

in a 4–2 defeat on August 15, 1987. During the 1987–88 season, Kerr made a first team total of four league and two cup game appearances together with a 3-month loan spell at then Fourth Division club,

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third level of the English football league system. Peterborough United formed in ...

. During one of those first team appearances for Portsmouth, Kerr was to make

history when on September 19, 1987, while on the field of play as a replacement in a First Division away fixture at

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

, he became the first substitute to be likewise, substituted. The English Football League rule change that increased the number of player substitutions during a game from one to two per side having been introduced at the start of the previous 1986–87 season. Kerr made his final First Division appearance for Portsmouth as a substitute in a 4–1 away defeat to

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club is a professional association football, football club from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. The club currently competes in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "The Hatters", L ...

on March 29, 1988. Following his release from Portsmouth, Kerr returned to the United States and signed with the Washington Stars of the American Soccer League (and coached at the time by his father, John Kerr Sr) in March 1988. He remained with the Stars for three seasons, the last in the

American Professional Soccer League The American Professional Soccer League (APSL) was a professional men's soccer league with teams from the United States and later Canada. It was formed in 1990 by the merger of the third American Soccer League with the Western Soccer League. ...

. While playing for the Stars during the summer, Kerr returned to Europe with English club

Wycombe Wanderers Wycombe Wanderers Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 188 ...

, then playing in the GM Vauxhall Conference League, for the 1988–89 season. Making a total of 48 appearances and scoring 22 times in league and cup games for the

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

club on its way to finishing in fourth position behind eventual Conference champions of that season, Maidstone United. Following his involvement with the U.S. squad as it prepared for the

1990 FIFA World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second ...

, Kerr had spells during 1990–91 with French Third Division side

Boulogne-Sur-Mer Boulogne-sur-Mer (; ; ; or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Hauts-de-France, Northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Pas-de-Calais. Boul ...

and Northern Ireland club Linfield. In 1991, he returned to Canada to play one season with the Hamilton Steelers of the

Canadian Soccer League The Canadian Soccer League (CSL; ) is a semi-professional league for Canadian soccer clubs primarily located in the province of Ontario, and claims the history of the Canadian National Soccer League (CNSL). It is a non-FIFA league previously ...

. In October 1991, Kerr signed with the San Diego Sockers of the

Major Soccer League Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

. Kerr established himself as a regular on the team which went on to win the 1992 MSL championship. Following the collapse of the MSL during the summer of 1992, Kerr briefly spent time as an assistant coach with the

Duke Blue Devils The Duke Blue Devils are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Duke University, located in Durham, North Carolina. Duke's athletics department features 27 varsity teams that all compete at the N ...

men's soccer team before returning to England, joining

club Chertsey Town in the fall of 1992. He then moved to

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

club

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Poplar, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east of ...

signing as a free agent on February 26, 1993 before temporary returning to the U.S. during the off-season summer break to continue his assistant coaching duties at Duke. Kerr went on to make a total of 40 first team appearances for Millwall in league and cup games during the 1993–94 and 1994–95 seasons, scoring 7 goals in the process. Towards the end of his time with Millwall, he also had a short on loan period with

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located ...

. In May 1995, Millwall gave Kerr a free transfer to the San Diego Sockers, however, he did not play for the Sockers. On February 8, 1996, 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 ...

selected Kerr in the ninth round (eighty-third overall) on the

1996 MLS Inaugural Player Draft The MLS Inaugural Player Draft, held before Major League Soccer's initial 1996 season, distributed players to the league's ten inaugural teams. The Inaugural Player Draft occurred on February 6 and 7, 1996 after each team was allocated four marqu ...

. On June 27, 1996, Kerr was part of the first in-season trade in MLS history when the Burn dealt him to the

New England Revolution The New England Revolution are an American professional association football, soccer club based in the Greater Boston area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. It is on ...

for Zak Ibsen. He was later loaned out to the Connecticut Wolves. In 1998, Kerr was appointed

player-coach A player–coach (also playing coach, captain–coach, or player–manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. Player–coaches may be head coaches or assistant coaches, and they may make chang ...

with the

Worcester Wildfire Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Englan ...

of the

USL A-League 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 Di ...

, the following year the club was renamed the Boston Bulldogs after a change of ownership. In April 1999, Kerr returned on loan to the Revolution when several players on the team were ruled out because of injury. However, Kerr did not play during his loan period.

U.S. National Team

While at Duke, Kerr began his international career having become a naturalized U.S. citizen. He made his international debut in a scoreless draw versus

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

on 30 November 1984 in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. He soon became a regular player on the team and saw considerable playing time until 1988. From then until 1995, however, he failed to earn any more

. As a result, he missed out on both the 1990 and 1994 World Cups. In 1995, he returned to the U.S. team and was included on the squad that surprisingly reached the semi-finals at the

1995 Copa América The 1995 Copa América football tournament was staged in Uruguay. The host country, Uruguay, won it for a record-tying 14th time by beating Brazil 5–3 in the penalty shootout after a 1–1 draw in the final. All 10 CONMEBOL members took part, w ...

. He finished his national team career with 16 appearances and 2 goals.

Coaching

Kerr began coaching while in England and continued intermittently over the years until he finally retired from playing professionally in 1997. In 1992 and 1993, he returned to

serving briefly as an

assistant coach An athletic coach is a person coaching in sport, involved in the direction, instruction, and training of a sports team or athlete. History The original sense of the word ''Coach'' is that of a Coach (carriage), horse-drawn carriage, deriving ul ...

under

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

John Rennie, who had coached Kerr during his college playing days as a Duke Blue Devil. In 1997, he was the

junior varsity A varsity team is the highest-level team in a sport or activity representing an educational institution. Varsity teams train to compete against each other during an athletic season or in periodic matches against rival institutions. At High school, ...

and assistant varsity coach with

Wellesley High School Wellesley High School is a public high school in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States, educating students on grades 9 through 12. The principal is Jamie Chisum, who took the position in 2014 after the departure of Andrew Keough. As of 202 ...

Wellesley, Massachusetts Wellesley () is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Wellesley is part of the Greater Boston metropolitan area. The population was 29,550 at the time of the 2020 census. Wellesley College, Babson College, and a campus of M ...

. The following year of 1998, he became

of the

in the

returning again in 1999 as player-coach for the renamed Boston Bulldogs. On July 14, 1999,

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

announced it had hired Kerr to coach its men's soccer team. However, Kerr did not move to that position until August 27, 1999, upon the completion of the A-League season. He coached the

Harvard Crimson The Harvard Crimson is the nickname of the college sports teams of Harvard College. The school's teams compete in NCAA Division I. As of 2013, there were 42 Division I intercollegiate Varsity team, varsity sports teams for women and men at Harva ...

through to the 2007 fall season, finishing with an Ivy League Conference record of 81–57–13. On December 19, 2007, Kerr was named head coach of his alma mater, Duke University of the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

following the retirement of John Rennie. He also coaches Triangle United Gold in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Personal

Kerr has three children, twins Cameron and

Alexandra Alexandra () is a female given name of Greek origin. It is the first attested form of its variants, including Alexander (, ). Etymology, Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb (; meaning 'to defend') and (; genitive, GEN , ; ...

and a younger son

Drew Drew may refer to: __NOTOC__ Places ;In the United States * Drew, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Drew, Mississippi, a city * Drew, Missouri, an unincorporated community * Drew, Oregon, an unincorporated community * Drew County, Arkansas ...

References

External links

Duke profile

MLS player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kerr, John 1965 births Living people All-American college men's soccer players American expatriate sportspeople in Northern Ireland American expatriate sportspeople in France American Professional Soccer League players American Soccer League (1988–89) players American soccer coaches American men's soccer players United States men's international soccer players American expatriate men's soccer players Canadian men's soccer players American people of Scottish descent Canadian people of Scottish descent Boston Bulldogs (soccer) players Canadian emigrants to the United States Canadian Soccer League (1987–1992) players Connecticut Wolves players Duke Blue Devils men's soccer coaches Duke Blue Devils men's soccer players Expatriate men's association footballers in Northern Ireland Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in France FC Dallas players Men's association football midfielders Hamilton Steelers (1981–1992) players Hermann Trophy men's winners Harvard Crimson men's soccer coaches NIFL Premiership players Linfield F.C. players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players Major League Soccer players Millwall F.C. players New England Revolution players Peterborough United F.C. players Portsmouth F.C. players San Diego Sockers (1978–1996) indoor players Soccer players from Toronto English Football League players 1995 Copa América players USISL coaches USISL players USL First Division coaches USL First Division players Walsall F.C. players Washington Stars players Worcester Wildfire players Wycombe Wanderers F.C. players Canadian expatriate men's soccer players Canadian expatriate sportspeople in England American expatriate sportspeople in England Canadian expatriate sportspeople in Northern Ireland 20th-century American sportsmen 20th-century Canadian sportsmen