Denis Hamlett (born January 9, 1969) is a Costa Rican-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. He is currently the sporting director

MLS Next Pro MLS Next Pro (MLSNP) is a men's professional association football, soccer league in the United States and Canada that is affiliated with Major League Soccer (MLS). It launched in 2022 with 21 teams and now comprises 27 reserve sides of MLS clu ...

club Connecticut United FC. Hamlett spent his entire professional career in the US, playing 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 ...

and 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 ...

, as well as indoor soccer with the Harrisburg Heat and

Anaheim Splash The Anaheim Splash was a U.S. indoor soccer team that played in the Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL). It was founded in 1992 as the Los Angeles United, but was sold after the season. The new ownership moved the team to Anaheim, Californi ...

. He has been a member of coaching staffs with Chicago Fire,

Vancouver Whitecaps Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Vancouver. The Whitecaps compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. The MLS iteration of the club was established on March 18, ...

, Montreal Impact and

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional association football, soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conferenc ...

, including a two-season stint as head coach in Chicago.

Playing career

College

After his parents separated, Hamlett moved to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

to live with his mother in

Silver Spring, Maryland Silver Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) in southeastern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, near Washington, D.C. Although officially Unincorporated area, unincorporated, it is an edge city with a population of 81,015 at the 2020 ...

when he was ten years old, where he attended

Albert Einstein High School Albert Einstein High School (AEHS) is a four-year public high school in Kensington, Maryland, United States. It first opened in 1962 and is named after the German-born physicist Albert Einstein. It is part of the Montgomery County Public School ...

. In 1987 Hamlett began playing

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 UNC Wilmington, before transferring to

George Mason University George Mason University (GMU) is a Public university, public research university in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. Located in Northern Virginia near Washington, D.C., the university is named in honor of George Mason, a Founding Father ...

Fairfax, Virginia Fairfax ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia and the county seat of Fairfax County, Virginia, in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 24,146. Fairfax is pa ...

after his freshman season. He earned All-Colonial Athletic Association and All-Region accolades during his three seasons of play at George Mason. He graduated in 1992 with a bachelor's degree in public administration and was inducted into the school's Hall of Fame in 2006.

Professional

Hamlett began his professional career on June 10, 1992, when he signed with 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. ...

. He spent the 1992 and 1993 summers playing outdoor soccer with the Strikers. In the fall of 1992, he joined the Harrisburg Heat of the National Professional Soccer League. He spent two seasons with the Heat. Then from 1994 to 1995, he played summer indoor soccer for the

of the CISL. In 1996, Hamlett was drafted by the

in the second round, 12th overall in Major League Soccer's inaugural draft. His stellar play continued with Colorado, where he won the BIC Tough Defender of the Year award. His playing career ended in 1997 when he suffered a stroke caused by a blood protein deficiency.

Coaching career

Following his retirement from professional play in 1997, Hamlett attained his coaching license from U.S. Soccer. In 1998, Hamlett joined the coaching staff of the Chicago Fire. He served as an assistant coach during the U.S.

Project-40 Generation Adidas is a joint venture between Major League Soccer and U.S. Soccer aimed at raising the level of young professional soccer talent in the United States. The program, sponsored by Adidas, offers professional-ready players in the U.S ...

squad's visit to

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

, and continued his coaching duties with the Fire, becoming the senior

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 ...

in 2001. Upon dismissal of former

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 ...

Dave Sarachan Dave Sarachan (born June 7, 1954) is an American former soccer player and coach. Sarachan spent two seasons as a player in the North American Soccer League and four in Major Indoor Soccer League before retiring in 1982. Since then, he has coa ...

, Hamlett received interim head coaching duties on June 20, 2007, but resumed assistant coaching duties following the arrival of

Juan Carlos Osorio Juan Carlos Osorio Arbeláez (; born 8 June 1961) is a Colombian football manager and former footballer. Osorio began his playing career with Deportivo Pereira in 1982, and went on to play for Brazilian club Internacional in 1984 before re ...

. When Osorio resigned take on the head coach job at the

, Hamlett was hired as the head coach. Following Fire's failure to qualify for the 2009 MLS Cup, Hamlett was fired as head coach on 24 November 2009. Over his two-plus year tenure with the Fire, Hamlett helped the team to back-to-back Eastern Conference Finals, as well as the 2009 SuperLiga Final, going 24-18-21 in league play and 31-23-24 across all competitions. Denis took up the post of interim coach of the men's soccer team at the Illinois Institute of Technology for the 2010 season, leading them to a conference title and playoff final appearance. On January 8, 2011, it was announced that Hamlett had joined

Vancouver Whitecaps FC Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Vancouver. The Whitecaps compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The MLS ite ...

in an assistant coaching role. On October 26, 2011, Vancouver announced that it had released Hamlett from his contract. On January 7, 2012, the Montreal Impact announced that Hamlett was hired as an assistant to manager

Jesse Marsch Jesse Alan Marsch ( ; born November 8, 1973) is an American professional association football, soccer coach and former player who is the head coach of the Canada men's national soccer team, Canada men's national team. Marsch played 14 seasons ...

. Hamlett again joined Marsch's staff with the

beginning the 2015 season. Prior to the 2017 season, Hamlett moved to New York's front office to assume the role of

sporting director A sporting director, or director of sport, is an executive management position in a sports club. The role is well known as a manager role for European football clubs, which are sometime also "sports clubs", offering many types of sports. The ...

. On November 14, 2023, the Red Bulls fired Hamlett from the sporting director position along with not renewing head coach Troy Lesesne's contract. Hamlett was appointed first-ever sporting director

club Connecticut United in January 2025.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hamlett, Denis 1969 births Living people Footballers from Limón Province Men's association football defenders Costa Rican men's footballers American Professional Soccer League players American men's soccer players Anaheim Splash players Chicago Fire FC head coaches Colorado Rapids players Continental Indoor Soccer League players Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988–1994) players George Mason Patriots men's soccer players Harrisburg Heat players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players Major League Soccer players UNC Wilmington Seahawks men's soccer players Major League Soccer head coaches Vancouver Whitecaps FC non-playing staff Chicago Fire FC non-playing staff Costa Rican football managers Expatriate soccer coaches in the United States CF Montréal non-playing staff New York Red Bulls non-playing staff 20th-century American sportsmen