Carl Kareem Smith (born 18 January 1985), known as Kareem Smith, is an American-born Trinidadian

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 plays as a

centre back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

for

Colorado Springs Switchbacks Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC is a professional soccer team based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Founded in 2014, the team is a member of the Western Conference in the USL Championship, the second tier of the American soccer pyramid. The fra ...

in the

USL Professional Division The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional association football, soccer league in the second tier of the United States soccer league system#Men's leagues, United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) a ...

and for the

Trinidad and Tobago national football team The Trinidad and Tobago national football team, nicknamed the "Soca music, Soca Warriors", represents the twin-island Republic of Trinidad and Tobago in international Association football, football. It is controlled by the Trinidad and Tobago F ...

. Previously, he was playing in the

TT Pro League The TT Premier Football League (formerly known as the TT Pro League) is the Trinidad and Tobago professional league for association football clubs. It is the country's primary football competition and serves as the top division in the Trinidad an ...

for San Juan Jabloteh F.C. Prior to playing in Trinidad & Tobago, he played for Formuladeildin side KÍ Klaksvík as well as in the

MLS Reserve League The MLS Reserve League was a association football, soccer league for the reserve teams of Major League Soccer with teams in both the United States and Canada. It was inaugurated on April 9, 2005, with the first official reserve game being a 2 ...

for

New England Revolution The New England Revolution are an American professional association football, soccer club based in the Greater Boston area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. It is on ...

reserves side. He is represented by Pan American Calcio. He currently coaches for the Junior Varsity Team in Norwood, Massachusetts.

Career

Youth and college

In his youth, Smith was a member of the United States U18, the Region I Olympic Development Program (ODP) team and helped lead his club team, the South Shore United Blazers, to a U-15 Region I title and three Massachusetts state championships at each of the U-16 through U-18 levels. He also played as a guest player on the Fuller Hamlets in the San Diego Surf tournament in the U-19 Super Group where they advanced to the quarterfinals. Smith played high school soccer for Beaver Country Day school and in

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

for the

South Florida Bulls The South Florida Bulls (also known as the USF Bulls) are the athletic teams that represent the University of South Florida. USF competes in NCAA Division I and is a member of the American Athletic Conference for all sports besides sailing, a n ...

where he started at centre-back with Neven Subotic and later with

Yohance Marshall Yohance Marshall (born January 22, 1986) is a Trinidadian former professional footballer who played as a defender. Club career Youth and college Born in Diego Martin, Trinidad and Tobago, Marshall attended high school at St. Anthony's College ...

. Smith completed his college eligibility in 2006 after collecting Second Team All-BIG EAST accolades. Smith, who played and started in every match during his four-year USF career, helped anchor a defense which recorded a 0.80 GAA (ranking 25th in the nation). The Hyde Park, Mass., native earned BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week honors (Sept. 4) for a strong defensive outing versus a pair of ACC foes (N.C. State and Duke). Smith holds the USF record for consecutive starts (75) and is tied for the school mark in career matches (75).

Club career

On October 21, 2014, Smith signed a 2-year contract with

side,

International career

Smith represented the United States at the U-17 and U-18 level. He later switched to the Trinidad & Tobago U-20 Men's National Team and in January 2008, made his debut for the

against

Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...

. He is attempting to re-join the national team in hopes of entering the World Cup.

Personal life

Smith is Trinidadian through his father & Bangladeshi through his mother. He has served as high school assistant coach for Beaver Country Day school, one of the top prep high school soccer teams in the country. He is also in the hall of fame at Beaver Country Day School due to his outstanding soccer career (when he attended Beaver Country Day School). He also professionally plays the

steelpan The steelpan (also known as a pan or steel drum) is a musical instrument originating in Trinidad and Tobago from Afro–Trinidadians and Tobagonians, Afro-Trinidadians. Steelpan musicians are called pannists. In 1992, the steelpan was declared ...

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Kareem 1985 births Living people Soccer players from Boston Trinidad and Tobago men's footballers 21st-century Trinidad and Tobago sportsmen Men's association football defenders Trinidad and Tobago men's international footballers South Florida Bulls men's soccer players Cape Cod Crusaders players Rochester Rhinos players Klaksvíkar Ítróttarfelag players United Petrotrin F.C. players FC Tucson players San Juan Jabloteh F.C. players Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC players TT Pro League players USL League Two players USL Championship players American men's soccer players United States men's youth international soccer players American sportspeople of Trinidad and Tobago descent