Chris Hellenkamp (born June 6, 1961) is an American retired

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 ...

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 ...

who played professionally in 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 ...

and Major Indoor Soccer League.

Career

Hellenkamp attended

Seattle Pacific University Seattle Pacific University (SPU) is a private Christian university in Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded in 1891 in conjunction with the Oregon and Washington Conference of the Free Methodist Church as the Seattle Seminary. It ...

where he played on the men's soccer team in 1979 and 1980. On December 17, 1980, the

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Timbers have p ...

selected Hellenkamp in the first round (ninth overall) of the

draft. He played for the Timbers for two years, including two outdoor and one indoor season. In 1982, he moved to the San Diego Sockers for the 1982–83 Major Indoor Soccer League season. In the spring of 1983, Hellenkamp had an unsuccessful trial with the

Fort Lauderdale Strikers Fort Lauderdale Strikers may refer to: *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977–1983), member of North American Soccer League from 1977 to 1983 *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988–1994) The Fort Lauderdale Strikers were an American soccer team establishe ...

. He then signed with the

Dallas Americans Dallas Americans was an American professional soccer club based in Dallas, Texas. The team played in the American Soccer League in 1983 and the United Soccer League in 1984 and 1985. Both leagues unofficially served as the second division of pr ...

of the

United Soccer League The United Soccer League (USL) is an organizer of various professional and amateur soccer leagues in the United States league system. It currently organizes its Championship, League One, and League Two for men, its Super League and W Leag ...

. He continued with the Americans in 1984, but the league folded six games into the season. In 1985, Hellenkamp joined the

Louisville Thunder Louisville Thunder was an indoor soccer club based in Louisville, Kentucky. The team played in the American Indoor Soccer Association History Stadium From the club's inaugural season in 1984 to 1987, home games were played in Broadbent Arena. ...

in the

American Indoor Soccer Association 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, p ...

, playing two seasons with the team. In 1987, he was First Team All League. In October 1987, Hellenkamp signed with the Fort Wayne Flames of the AISA. He was a 1988 All League midfielder with the Fort Wayne Flames. In the summer of 1988, Hellenkamp played for the Boston Bolts of the American Soccer League. In October 1989, he joined the Atlanta Attack of the AISA. He played the 1989–90 season with the Attack, was released just before the 1990–91 season in a payroll reduction effort before being signed again in December 1990 on a five-day contract. He continued with the Attack through the end of the season. Hellenkamp retire at the end of the season, but returned in the fall of 1992 when he joined the

Atlanta Magic The Atlanta Magic were a soccer club that competed in the USISL from 1991 to 1996. The club originally started in 1991/92 in the indoor USISL The United States Interregional Soccer League (USISL) was a semi-professional men's outdoor soccer ...

1992–96

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 ...

. He also played for the Magic during the 1994 outdoor season. During his three years with the Magic, Hellenkamp won the 1993, 1994 and 1995 USISL indoor championships. In March 1995, the

Milwaukee Wave The Milwaukee Wave are an American professional indoor soccer team based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that competes in the Major Arena Soccer League (MASL). Founded in 1984, they have been the oldest continuously operating professional indoor footbal ...

of the National Professional Soccer League signed Hellenkamp for the playoffs. That spring, he joined the expansion

Atlanta Ruckus Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County and extends into neighboring DeKalb County. With a population of 520,070 (2024 estimate) living within the city limits, Atlan ...

of the

A-League A-League Men, also known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional soccer league in Australia and New Zealand and the highest level of the Australian soccer league system. Established in 2004 as the A-League by the ...

. The team did not bring him back for the 1996 or 1997 seasons, but in August 1997, the Ruckus signed Hellenkamp at the end of the season after several injuries decimated the team."SOCCER – Ruckus tries to overcome injuries for playoff berth" ''The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution'' Friday, August 22, 1997 He remained with the Ruckus through the 1997 and into the 1998 season. In 1998, he also served as an assistant coach. He briefly served as interim head coach after David Eristavi was fired in August 1998. In 1986 and 1987, Hellenkamp played for 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 ...

References

External links

NASL/MISL stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hellenkamp, Chris 1961 births Living people American soccer coaches American Professional Soccer League players American men's soccer players American Soccer League (1988–89) players Atlanta Attack players Atlanta Magic players Atlanta Silverbacks FC players Atlanta Silverbacks FC coaches Boston Bolts (1988–1990) players Dallas Americans players Fort Wayne Flames players Louisville Thunder players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players Milwaukee Wave players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Portland Timbers (1975–1982) players San Diego Sockers (1978–1996) indoor players Seattle Pacific Falcons men's soccer players Tacoma Stars players United Soccer League (1984–85) players USISL coaches USISL players Soccer players from Tacoma, Washington Soccer players from Washington (state) Men's association football midfielders American men's futsal players 20th-century American sportsmen