Jason Farrell (born December 31, 1970) is an American former

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 ...

and current coach who spent four seasons in

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

, two in 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. ...

, one in 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 ...

, three in the National Professional Soccer League and four 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 ...

. As a player he won two outdoor and one indoor championships. As a manager he led

Ballard FC Ballard FC is an American soccer club based in Seattle, Washington, competing in the Northwest Division of USL League Two. They began play in the 2022 season and won their first league championship in 2023. The team plays their home matches a ...

to the

USL League Two 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 ...

championship in 2023. He currently coaches collegiate soccer as an assistant with

Seattle University Seattle University (Seattle U or SU) is a private Jesuit university in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the largest independent university in the Northwestern United States, with over 7,500 students enrolled in undergraduate and grad ...

High school and college

Farrell was born and grew up in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

, attending

Shorecrest High School Shorecrest High School is a public high school (grades 9 through 12) in Shoreline, Washington, United States, one of two high schools in the Shoreline School District. Shorecrest was founded in 1961. Its mascot is Otis the Fighting Scot and stud ...

and playing in the Seattle Youth Soccer Association. After graduating from Shorecrest in 1989, he attended

Skagit Valley College Skagit Valley College (SVC) is a public community college in Mount Vernon, Washington. It serves students in Skagit County, Washington, Skagit, Island County, Washington, Island, and San Juan County, Washington, San Juan counties in northwest W ...

for one year before transferring to the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

for another year. While he played soccer at both Skagit and UW, he did not gain significant recognition until transferring to

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 ...

. Farrell played two seasons with SPU, graduating in 1992.

Professional

Following his graduation from SPU in 1992, there is a two-year gap in his career before Farrell signed with the expansion Seattle Sounders of the

in 1994. He played three seasons in Seattle, winning the 1995 and 1996 championships. Farrell scored the final goal of the 1995 A-League Championship, which would also prove to be the final goal scored in the first tier of American Soccer prior to

's formation and takeover of that slot the following year. In the 1996 championship, he assisted on

Joey Leonetti Joe Leonetti (born May 25, 1970, in Portland, Oregon) is a former U.S. soccer player. He played for numerous soccer teams over a career which began in 1988 with F.C. Portland and ended in 1999 with the Willamette Valley Firebirds. He also earned ...

’s first goal in a 2–0 victory over the

Rochester Raging Rhinos Rochester Rhinos, formerly known as the Rochester Raging Rhinos, was an American association football, soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States. The club won the 1999 U.S. Open Cup, marking the only time a non-Major League Soccer ...

. In 1995, Farrell signed with the indoor

Kansas City Attack The Kansas City Attack, previously the Atlanta Attack and later known as the Kansas City Comets, were an indoor soccer team based for most of its existence in Kansas City, Missouri. In its various incarnations the franchise played in the National ...

of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL). He would play two seasons in Kansas City, alternating between them and the outdoor Sounders. In 1996, the Attack lost in the finals, but took the championship in 1997, giving Farrell his third title. While he Farrell is listed in some sources as playing the 1997–1998 season with the Attack, he is not listed in their end of year statistics. In March 1997, the

Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew are an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team began play in 1996 as one of the 10 cha ...

selected Farrell in the second round (13th overall) of the 1997 MLS Supplemental Draft. He played eighteen games, starting ten that season. Just more than three months after being the fourth player picked by the Chicago Fire in the 1997 MLS Expansion Draft on November 6, 1997, he was sent back to the Crew in exchange for

Frank Klopas Fotios "Frank" Klopas (; born September 1, 1966) is an American former soccer player who played as a forward. Following his retirement, he served as a color commentator for the Chicago Fire before later working as a front office executive and ...

on February 19, 1998. Despite playing twenty-four games in the 2000 season, the Crew released Farrell after his relationship with head coach Tom Fitzgerald became acrimonious. In January 2001, Farrell was signed by the Wichita Wings of the NPSL after his good friend Jason Dunn was lost for the season due to a neck injury. Farrell helped solidify the midfield for the Wings, and he helped lead them to the playoffs. Unfortunately after the season, the Wings' franchise folded after 22 years, and Farrell moved back to the Pacific Northwest to rejoin the Sounders. On January 30, 2001, he signed with the sounders, playing the 2001 season with them. However, on August 31, 2001, he was loaned to 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 ...

of MLS when

Brian Ching Brian Ching (born May 24, 1978) is an American former professional soccer player who played for twelve years in Major League Soccer and represented the U.S. national team for eight years. Ching's professional career began when he was the 16th ...

was injured. Farrell remained an unused substitute during his short stint in Los Angeles. On September 14, 2004, announced Farrell intention to retire at the end of the season.

Coaching

On February 20, 2006, Farrell joined the Sounders as an assistant coach. He spent only one season in that position before leaving to become an assistant at

in April 2007, but was not on the coaching roster during the 1997 collegiate season. He has also served as an assistant coach with

and youth clubs in the Seattle area. In 2007 Farrell joined Pacific Premier F

in Northern Snohomish County as their Coaching Director. In January 2010, he was named Technical Director of the Seattle United youth soccer club, as part of a coaching leadership team that also includes ex-Seattle Sounder Jim McAlister (American soccer), Jimmy McAlister. Farrell was named first-ever head coach of

side

on January 6, 2022. The next year, the team won the USL League Two national championship. On July 23, 2023, Farrell stepped down as Ballard FC head coach.

References

External links

*
2004 Seattle Sounders Media Guide
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farrell, Jason 1970 births Living people American soccer coaches American men's soccer players American Professional Soccer League players Columbus Crew players Kansas City Attack players LA Galaxy players Major League Soccer players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players Seattle Pacific Falcons men's soccer players Seattle Sounders (1994–2008) players Washington Huskies men's soccer players Wichita Wings (NPSL) players Seattle Redhawks men's soccer coaches Soccer players from Seattle Columbus Crew draft picks Men's association football midfielders Seattle Sounders (1994–2008) coaches USL League Two coaches 20th-century American sportsmen