Eddie Hawkins is a former U.S.

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 ...

. In 1984, he became the first native-born black player to appear with the U.S. national team.

High school and college

Hawkins grew up in Washingtonville,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

where he attended

Washingtonville High School Washingtonville Senior High School is located on West Main Street (New York State Route 94) in the village of Washingtonville, New York, Washingtonville, New York (state), New York. It is the high school for the Washingtonville Central School Dis ...

. He was a three-sport athlete at Washingtonville, starring on the school's soccer, basketball and track teams. However, his talent lay with soccer and he was two-time All State, two-time National Coaches All-American and two time ''

Parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually some variety ...

'' high school All American. His talent attracted the attention of pro scouts and when he graduated in 1980, the

Washington Diplomats The Washington Diplomats were an American soccer club representing Washington, D.C. Throughout their playing existence, the club played their home games at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium and indoor home matches at the neighboring D.C. A ...

of 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 ...

(NASL) selected him in the second round of the draft. Hawkins chose to delay his entry into professional sports and entered

Hartwick College Hartwick College is a private liberal arts college in Oneonta, New York. The institution's origin is rooted in the founding of Hartwick Seminary in 1797 through the will of John Christopher Hartwick. In 1927, the seminary became a four-year coll ...

. During his four seasons with the Hawks, he went to the 1980 NCAA Final Four. When he graduated in 1984, he had amassed 30 career goals and 10 career assists. He was inducted into the Hartwick College Athletic Hall of Fame in 1995. Hawkins received his bachelor's degree in Economics and Management and received his master's degree in Information Technology at

Pace University Pace University is a private university with campuses in New York City and Westchester County, New York, United States. It was established in 1906 as a business school by the brothers Homer St. Clair Pace and Charles A. Pace. Pace enrolls about ...

in 1990.

Club career

By the time Hawkins graduated, the NASL had folded, but the

Pittsburgh Spirit Pittsburgh Spirit was an indoor soccer team based in Pittsburgh and one of the original six teams that played in the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL). The Spirit was founded in 1978, suspended operation for the 1980–81 season, then returned ...

of Major Indoor Soccer League selected him in the first round of the draft in the spring of 1984. Hawkins remained at school to complete his degree. During those months, the Spirit traded his rights to the

Minnesota Strikers The Minnesota Strikers were an American soccer team that competed in the North American Soccer League (NASL) for the 1984 season and in the Major Indoor Soccer League from 1984 through 1988. The team was based in Minneapolis/ St. Paul metrop ...

who then sent him to the Dallas Sidekicks. Hawkins decided not to sign with the Sidekicks and remained in

Westchester County Westchester County is a county located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of New York, bordering the Long Island Sound and the Byram River to its east and the Hudson River on its west. The county is the seventh most populous cou ...

playing for the Mt. Vernon Corsairs in the New York City Super League until he took a job as a computer programmer with

IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...

National team

Hawkins was called up to the U.S. national team in 1984. When he entered the field for a December 2, 1984 game with

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 ...

, he became the first native U.S. black soccer player to earn a cap. That game, part of the Miami Cup, ended in a 2–2 tie and Hawkins was subbed out for

Dave Cayemitte David Cayemitte is a former soccer player who is now the head of the Cayemitte Group, Inc, an insurance, surety bonding and risk management company. Born in Haiti, he represented the United States national team. Soccer Cayemitte attended Ade ...

in the second half.

Post career

Since the conclusion of his playing career, Hawkins has launched ZenFooty Soccer Academy and the Zen United Club Soccer Programs. Zen United was launched in 2005, but was disbanded after five years. He continues with to be involved in private soccer training and has rebranded ZenFooty Soccer Academy to Zen Soccer School. Ed's site is www.ZenSoccerSchool.com and his company offers private and group training sessions for all age levels. Many of the players he has coached have moved on to compete on NCAA Division I, II and III soccer teams across the nation including

Georgia State Georgia State University (Georgia State, State, or GSU) is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1913, it is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities. It is also the second large ...

, Hartwick,

Loyola University Maryland Loyola University Maryland is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit university in Baltimore, Maryland. Established as Loyola College in Maryland by John Early (educator), John Early and eight other members of the Society of Je ...

, Marquette,

UIC UIC may refer to: Computing * Uranium Information Centre, a defunct website sponsored by uranium mining companies * User identification code, the user number of the Files-11 file system in the RSX-11 operating system Education * University of Ill ...

, UW-Parkside and

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) is a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1853 by a group of civic leaders and named for George Washington, the university spans 355 acres across its Danforth ...

Personal life

Hawkins currently lives in the Chicago area with his wife of 28 years, Eyleen whom he met while in graduate school. They have three children: Eryka who played on the women's soccer team at

for five seasons, Elyssa who was a four-year member of the women's water polo team at

Carthage College Carthage College is a private college in Kenosha, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1847, it is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Carthage awards bachelor's degrees with majors in more than 40 subject areas and maste ...

, and Edison. Elyssa is currently a part of the men's and women's water polo coaching staff at Pomona-Pitzer Colleges in Claremont, California.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hawkins, Eddie Living people African-American soccer players American men's soccer players Hartwick Hawks men's soccer players IBM employees United States men's international soccer players Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) Men's association football midfielders Soccer players from New York (state) People from Washingtonville, New York Sportspeople from Orange County, New York Pace University alumni 21st-century African-American sportsmen Washingtonville High School alumni