Gary John Heale (born 15 July 1958) is an English former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played for teams in England, the Netherlands, and the United States. Heale began his career in 1975 with

Canvey Island Canvey Island is a town, civil parish and reclaimed island in the Thames Estuary, near Southend-on-Sea, in the Castle Point district, in the county of Essex, England. It has an area of and a population of 38,170.Office for National Statistics. ...

. In 1978, he moved 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 ...

. After only one season, he was transferred to

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

, where he played until 1982. That year, he moved to

Sparta Rotterdam Sparta Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club based in Rotterdam. Established on 1 April 1888, Sparta Rotterdam is the oldest professional football team in the Netherlands. Sparta currently competes in the Eredivisie, the top flig ...

in the Netherlands for the 1982–83 season. In 1983, he moved to the San Diego Sockers 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 ...

. In the fall of 1983, he signed with 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. In 1987, he moved to the

Los Angeles Lazers The Los Angeles Lazers were an indoor soccer team that played in the Major Soccer League, Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) from 1982 to 1989. History Jerry Buss, the owner of California Sports, the parent company of the Los Angeles Lakers, Los ...

, then to

St. Louis Storm The St. Louis Storm was a soccer team based out of St. Louis, Missouri, St. Louis that played in the Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992), Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL). They played from 1989 to 1992. Their home arena was the St. Louis ...

. In 1988, he spent one season with the

Seattle Storm The Seattle Storm are an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The Storm compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Western Conference (WNBA), Western Conference. The team was founded by Gi ...

in the

Western Soccer League The Western Soccer Alliance was a professional soccer league featuring teams from the West Coast of the United States and Western Canada. The league began in 1985 as the Western Alliance Challenge Series. In 1986, it became the Western Soccer ...

and the Seattle Sounders 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 ...

. In 1994, he signed with the Seattle Sounders in the A-League. He was the head coach of the Washington Premier FC Academy in Tacoma, Washington alongside

Jimmy McAlister Jimmy McAlister (born May 4, 1957) is a U.S. soccer defender (association football), defender during the 1970s and 1980s. He was the 1977 NASL Rookie of the Year and earned six cap (sports), caps with the USMNT, U.S. national team. Player Pr ...

. They coached the team to the USSF National Finals taking fifth place. In 2018 he was named head coach of

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 ...

side Wake FC. He is also a coach in their youth program.

References

External links

1995 Seattle Sounders Media Guide

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heale, Gary 1958 births Living people Men's association football forwards English men's footballers English expatriate men's footballers Eredivisie players Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Seattle Storm (soccer) players Los Angeles Lazers players Luton Town F.C. players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Reading F.C. players San Diego Sockers (1978–1996) players Seattle Sounders (1994–2008) players Sparta Rotterdam players St. Louis Storm players Tacoma Stars players Western Soccer Alliance players Canvey Island F.C. players Grays Athletic F.C. players English expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands English expatriate sportspeople in the United States People from Canvey Island English Football League players