Aaron King (born July 26, 1984, in

Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

) is an American former professional

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.

Career

Youth and amateur

King attended South High School and

Smoky Hill High School Smoky Hill High School, commonly Smoky or SHHS, is located in Aurora, Colorado, United States. It has an attendance of 2,133. Smoky Hill is part of the Cherry Creek School District and was the second high school built by the district in 1974. T ...

where he won the 2000 Colorado State Soccer Championship. He then attended the

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and p ...

, playing on the men's soccer team from 2002 to 2005. During his four years at NC State, he scored forty-four and added fifteen assists. He was a 2005 second team All American. In 2004, King played with the

Boulder Rapids Reserve Colorado Rapids U–23 were an American soccer team based in the Denver suburb of Commerce City, Colorado. Originally founded in 2000 as part of the development system for the Colorado Rapids, the team played in the Premier Development League, ...

in the fourth division

Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States, forming part of the United States soccer league system. The league will featu ...

during the collegiate off season. In 2005, he played with the Raleigh CASL Elite.

Professional

In 2006, the Virginia Beach Mariners selected King with the 15th pick in the

USL First Division 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 ...

College Draft. On January 20, 2006, the

Los Angeles Galaxy The Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Gal ...

picked King in the fourth round (forty-eighth overall) in the

2006 MLS SuperDraft The 2006 MLS SuperDraft, held in Philadelphia on January 20, 2006, was the seventh incarnation of the annual Major League Soccer MLS SuperDraft, SuperDraft. The first selection originally belonged to Chivas USA, but they traded it to the MetroSt ...

. King chose to sign with the Galaxy. On February 8, 2006, the Galaxy sent King to the

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Founded in ...

in exchange for a first round pick in the 2007 MLS Supplemental Draft. He never saw a first team game, but played ten games, scoring two goals, with the Colorado Rapids reserve team. On November 21, 2006, the Rapids waived King. In the spring of 2007, 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 ...

signed King after he impressed the team at trials. He spent two seasons in Charleston, scoring twenty-one goals in fifty-one games. On January 30, 2009, King signed with the

Carolina RailHawks North Carolina FC is an American professional soccer team in Cary, North Carolina, a suburb of Raleigh, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 2006, the team previously was named the Carolina Railhawks. On December 6, 2016, the RailH ...

. He suffered several injuries during the season which kept him out of most first team games. On April 24, 2009, he was sent on loan to the

Wilmington Hammerheads Wilmington Hammerheads FC was a semi-professional American soccer team based in Wilmington, North Carolina. Founded in 1996, the team last competed in the Premier Development League, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid in 2017. Histor ...

of the

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 ...

where he injured his ankle. On August 31, 2009, the RailHawks sent him on a free transfer to

Miami FC Miami FC is an American professional association football, soccer team based in Miami, Florida that competes in the USL Championship, the second tier of the American soccer pyramid. The club began play in the North American Soccer League (201 ...

FC Tampa Bay

King signed with the FC Tampa Bay of the new

USSF Division 2 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 U ...

, and scored the first goal in the team's history on April 16, 2010, in a 1–0 win over Crystal Palace Baltimore. King signed a new contract with the club, which moved to the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

, on February 8, 2011. He spent the 2011 season with Tampa Bay. On October 5, 2011, the club declined its 2012 contract option for King, making him a free agent.

Phoenix FC

King signed with Phoenix FC of the

USL Pro The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) as its premier league for men above USL League One. Operating under a f ...

for the 2013 season on November 19, 2012. King then asked for his release from Phoenix FC in June 2013. In July, King then went on trial with FC Haka for three weeks before signing a contract with club. King then went on to score on his debut with Haka FC against AC Oulu only four minutes after he was substituted into the match to make the score 2–0, and to help Haka confirm a 4–0 victory over AC Oulu.

Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC

King signed with

team Colorado Springs Switchbacks for the 2015 season. King ended his first season with the Colorado Springs Switchbacks with 7 goals and 2 assist. On January 13, 2016, that King had resigned with Colorado Springs Switchbacks for the 2016

season. On March 15, 2016, King scored in a 4-0 preseason victory against

Ventura County Fusion Ventura County Fusion is an American soccer team based in Ventura, California, United States. Founded in 2006, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American soccer pyramid. The team plays its home games in the stadium on th ...

Coaching career

King continues to coach in the greater Denver area with the private coaching service,

CoachUp CoachUp is a venture-funded startup company that connects athletes with private coaches. History CoachUp was founded in 2011 by former professional basketball player Jordan Fliegel with engineers Arian Radmand and Gabe Durazo. Its site, Coac ...

References

External links

Miami FC bioCharleston Battery bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Aaron 1984 births Living people American men's soccer players Colorado Rapids U-23 players Colorado Rapids players Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC players North Carolina FC players Charleston Battery players Tampa Bay Rowdies players Fort Lauderdale Strikers (2006–2016) players NC State Wolfpack men's soccer players North American Soccer League (2011–2017) players Phoenix FC players North Carolina FC U23 players Wilmington Hammerheads FC players USL League Two players USL First Division players USL Second Division players USSF Division 2 Professional League players USL Championship players LA Galaxy draft picks Soccer players from Colorado Men's association football forwards