Jeff Betts (born March 8, 1970, in

Charles City, Iowa Charles City is a city in and the county seat of Floyd County, Iowa, United States. Charles City is a significant commercial and transportation center for the area. U.S. Route 18 in Iowa, U.S. Routes 18 and U.S. Route 218, 218, Iowa Highway 14, ...

) 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 ...

forward and coach who spent most of his career playing indoor soccer. He was a three time All Star and the 2000

World Indoor Soccer League The World Indoor Soccer League (WISL) was a United States–based indoor soccer sports league, league that operated from 1998 to 2001 and consisted of nine teams. History After the demise of the Continental Indoor Soccer League, four of its te ...

Coach of the Year.

College

Betts began his collegiate soccer career at

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a Public university, public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CS ...

in 1988. In 1989, he led the team in scoring with 32 points on 10 goals and 12 assists. The 12 assists remains a San Diego single season record. He appears to have taken a year off from school before finishing his collegiate career with two seasons at the

University of Portland The University of Portland (UP) is a private Catholic university in Portland, Oregon, United States. It was founded in 1901 and is affiliated with the Congregation of Holy Cross, which also founded UP's sister school, the University of Notre Da ...

in 1991 and 1992. He graduated in 1993.

Professional

In 1993, he signed 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 ...

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. ...

. He played three games before the Strikers waived him on June 18, 1993. He then signed with the Portland Pride of the

Continental Indoor Soccer League The Continental Indoor Soccer League (CISL) was a professional indoor soccer league that played from 1993 to 1997. History In the summer of 1989 Dr Jerry Buss, the owner of the Los Angeles Lakers and California Sports, told his executive Vice ...

(CISL). The CISL was a summer indoor league. That fall, he signed with 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 (NPSL) which played a winter indoor schedule. In 1994, he returned to the Pride and continued to play each summer with the team until the CISL collapsed following the 1997 season. His 139 goals put him sixth on the CISL's all time goals list and his 127 assists are fifth all time. In 1995, he scored 35 goals in 27 games, gaining him a place on the CISL All Star team. He was the All Star Game Offensive MVP. On February 7, 1996, the San Jose Clash selected Betts in the 7th round (68th overall) in the

1996 MLS Inaugural Player Draft The MLS Inaugural Player Draft, held before Major League Soccer's initial 1996 season, distributed players to the league's ten inaugural teams. The Inaugural Player Draft occurred on February 6 and 7, 1996 after each team was allocated four marqu ...

. He did not sign with the Clash. Following the collapse of the CISL in 1997, several teams formed the

Premier Soccer Alliance The World Indoor Soccer League (WISL) was a United States–based indoor soccer league that operated from 1998 to 2001 and consisted of nine teams. History After the demise of the Continental Indoor Soccer League, four of its teams decided to ...

. With the new league, the Pride ownership chose to rename the team the Portland Pythons. This season, Betts scored 19 goals in 12 games and a spot on the All Star team. In 1998, Betts returned to the NPSL, this time with the Florida ThunderCats. In 1999, the PSA was renamed the

. At some point, Betts may have also played for the

Arizona Thunder The Arizona Thunder was a professional indoor soccer team based in Phoenix, Arizona, United States. In 1997, the team was a member of the Premier Soccer Alliance. In 1998, the alliance, with some additional teams, reconstituted itself as the Wo ...

. In 2000, he served as coach for the Utah Freezz as well as playing for the team. He was the 2000 WISL Coach of the Year. By the time the WISL ceased operations in 2001, Betts ranked third all time in WISL goals with 53 and sixth all time in assists with 39. The Freezz folded in 2001. On November 14, 2002, the Dallas Sidekicks of the Major Indoor Soccer League signed Betts. He played fourteen games, then left the team on February 6, 2003.

References

External links

Indoor Records

{{DEFAULTSORT:Betts, Jeff 1970 births Living people American Professional Soccer League players American soccer coaches American men's soccer players Arizona Thunder players Continental Indoor Soccer League players Dallas Sidekicks (2001–2008 MISL) players Florida ThunderCats players Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988–1994) players Milwaukee Wave players Portland Pilots men's soccer players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players Portland Pythons players Portland Pride players San Diego State Aztecs men's soccer players Soccer players from Iowa World Indoor Soccer League coaches World Indoor Soccer League players Utah Freezz players People from Charles City, Iowa Men's association football forwards Player-coaches 20th-century American sportsmen