Perry Van der Beck (born November 5, 1959, in

Florissant, Missouri Florissant () is a city in St. Louis County, Missouri, St. Louis County, Missouri, within Greater St. Louis. It is a middle-class, second-ring northern suburb of St. Louis. Based on the 2020 United States census, the city had a total population ...

) 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 ...

player, former

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

and technical director, and the former Vice President of Competition and Operations for the

United Soccer League The United Soccer League (USL) is an organizer of various professional and amateur soccer leagues in the United States league system. It currently organizes its Championship, League One, and League Two for men, its Super League and W Leag ...

. Van der Beck began his playing career with the

Tampa Bay Rowdies The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Championship in the second tie ...

of the original North American Soccer League and ended it with the St. Louis Ambush of the indoor National Professional Soccer League. He also earned twenty-three

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

, scoring two goals, with the U.S. national team between 1979 and 1985. He played for various indoor and outdoor teams until 1998, when he retired from the pitch and became an assistant coach with the

Tampa Bay Mutiny The Tampa Bay Mutiny were an American professional soccer team based in Tampa, Florida. The club competed in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The Mutiny were a charter member of MLS, playing from 1996 to 2001. Th ...

. After coaching for several other clubs and youth soccer organizations, Van der Beck was hired as the technical director and youth director for the new

in 2008. He was later promoted to be the club's executive vice president and director of player development. In January 2014 he was again promoted to the position of general manager. Following the hiring of former teammate

Farrukh Quraishi Farrukh Quraishi (, born November 13, 1951) is an Iranian retired footballer. He spent six seasons in the North American Soccer League playing for the Tampa Bay Rowdies and Calgary Boomers. Since retiring from playing, he has held numerous execu ...

as president and general manager, Van der Beck returned to his role as the team's technical director.

NASL

In 1978, the

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) drafted Perry Van der Beck out of St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Florissant, Missouri. At the time he was the youngest native born American playing professional soccer. He was also the first American ever drafted out of high school. Despite his youth and relative inexperience when he joined the Rowdies, he gradually worked himself into becoming a significant contributor to the team. At the time, the Rowdies were a top-tier team in the NASL. In both

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

and

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

, they made it to the

Soccer Bowl The Soccer Bowl was the annual championship game of the North American Soccer League (NASL), which ran from 1968 to 1984. The two top teams from the playoffs faced off in the final to determine the winner of the NASL Trophy. From the league's ...

championship game. In 1983, Van der Beck played with Team America during its dismal single season.

USSF USSF may refer to: * United States Servicemen's Fund, a support organization for soldier and sailor resistance to the Vietnam War and the U.S. military * United States Soccer Federation, governing body of soccer in the United States * United States ...

wanted to combine all the dominant U.S. players in NASL onto one team to give them an opportunity to develop, as well as to create publicity for the national team. While the concept attracted the support of Van der Beck and some other U.S. players, it was viewed with suspicion by many others, such as

Rick Davis Richard Dean Davis (born November 24, 1958) is an American former soccer midfielder, and former captain of the U.S. national team for much of the 1980s. He is considered by fans the best U.S.-born player of the North American Soccer League er ...

. Team America went 10–20 and folded after the 1983 season. Van der Beck then returned to the Rowdies for a single season. During his time with the Rowdies, the NASL had played both an

indoor Indoor(s) may refer to: *the interior of a building *Indoor environment, in building science, traditionally includes the study of indoor thermal environment, indoor acoustic environment, indoor light environment, and indoor air quality *Built envi ...

as well as its more well known outdoor seasons. He was member of the Rowdies' 1979–80 NASL indoor championship team as well as their 1981–82 indoor runner-up squad. However, the NASL was at heart an outdoor league and when the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) began operation, it quickly took over the indoor soccer market. By the time Van der Beck had returned to the Rowdies in 1984, the NASL was on its last legs and in 1985, Van Der Beck left the team to follow former Rowdies coach

Gordon Jago Gordon Harold Jago (born 22 October 1932) is an English former football player and manager, and the former director of the Dr. Pepper Dallas Cup international youth tournament. Playing career Born in Poplar, London, Jago began his professiona ...

to the Dallas Sidekicks of the MISL.

MISL

Van der Beck remained with the Sidekicks for three seasons, capping his time with the team by winning the MISL championship in

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

. On July 4, 1987, the Sidekicks announced they would not renew Van der Beck's contract and he became a free agent. On August 11, 1987, he signed with the St. Louis Steamers. He then moved, sometime later, to the

Wichita Wings The Wichita Wings were a professional indoor soccer franchise based in Wichita, Kansas. The Wings were admitted to the Major Indoor Soccer League as an expansion team on August 21, 1979.

National Team

In 1979, Van der Beck played his first game with the U.S. national team. He would go on to earn 23

, scoring two goals with the team. He was an integral part in the U.S. failed attempts to qualify for the 1982 and 1986 FIFA World Cups. In 1979, he was a member of the U.S. soccer team at the

1979 Pan American Games The 1979 Pan American Games, officially the VIII Pan American Games () and commonly known as San Juan 1979, were a multi-sport event governed by the Panam Sports Organization (PASO), and were held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, from July 1 to Jul ...

. In 1980, he would have been the captain of the U.S. soccer team at the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad () and officially branded as Moscow 1980 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 19 July to 3 August 1980 in Moscow, Soviet Union, in present-day Russ ...

. Despite qualifying for the tournament, the U.S. did not send a team to Moscow when President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

organized a boycott of the games in response to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. In 1985, Van der Beck was selected the

U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year The U.S. Soccer Player of the Year is given by the United States Soccer Federation to the American soccer players judged best in the calendar year. It is considered the highest accolade for American soccer players. The U.S. Soccer Male Player o ...

. Van der Beck served on the US Soccer Board of Directors from 1986 to 1993. In 2011, Van der Beck was inducted into the St. Louis Soccer Hall of Fame. Van der Beck has owned and operated the original Camp Kikinthagrass since 2003.

NPSL

He served as the player/coach with the Tampa Bay Terror of the National Professional Soccer League during the 1996–97 season.

Coaching and front office

At the end of the 1997 season, he retired from playing and joined the

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 ...

(MLS) as an assistant coach for the 1998 season. In 2001, he became the head coach of the Mutiny for its last 11 games of the team's existence when then head coach, Alfonso Mondelo was fired. While assistant coach of the Mutiny, he also coached the Northdale Rangers of the Florida Youth Soccer Association to three State Cups and the 1998 Region III Cup. After MLS shut down the Mutiny at the end of the 2001 season, Van Der Beck replaced Peter Vermes as the Super Y-League Olympic Development Program National Camp Technical Director. He also spent one season as a staff coach with the Adidas Elite Soccer Program, which identifies the nation's best high school players and coaches them in weeklong training programs.

Tampa Bay Rowdies

In June 2008, Van der Beck was hired as the technical director of the expansion

FC Tampa Bay The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Championship in the second tier ...

of 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 ...

. By the time the team took the pitch in 2010, the team switched to the

USSF Division 2 Professional League The USSF Division 2 Professional League (D2 Pro League) was a temporary professional soccer league created by the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) for the 2010 season. The twelve-team league was formed as a compromise between the feuding U ...

and Van der Beck had been promoted to executive vice president and director of player development. Head coach

Paul Dalglish Paul Kenneth Dalglish (born 18 February 1977) is a Scottish former professional footballer. Playing career Dalglish, son of former Scotland international Kenny Dalglish, was born in Glasgow though spent his childhood in Liverpool where his fa ...

left the team with 2 games remaining in the regular season, and Van der Beck served as the interim coach until January 2011, when Ricky Hill was hired as the club's new head coach and Van der Beck returned to his executive position. In January 2014 he was promoted from the position of technical director to the club's general manager. With the November 18, 2014, hiring of Quraishi as team president and general manager, Van der Beck re-assumed the role of technical director. In May 2016 Van der Beck resigned as the Tampa Bay Rowdies’ assistant general manager and vice president of community relations.

USL vice president

On June 23, 2016, the

announced that Van der Beck would be the new Vice President of Competition and Operations, replacing David Wagner. In his new role he is responsible for the day-to-day league operations, competition, schedule, discipline and refereeing.

References

External links

*
NASL/MISL stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Der Beck, Perry 1959 births Living people American men's soccer players American Professional Soccer League players American soccer coaches American people of Dutch descent Dallas Sidekicks (original MISL) players Men's association football midfielders Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players Major League Soccer head coaches North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players National Professional Soccer League (1984–2001) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Soccer players from St. Louis St. Louis Steamers (original MISL) players Tampa Bay Rowdies draft picks Tampa Bay Rowdies (1975–1993) players Tampa Bay Mutiny head coaches Tampa Bay Rowdies coaches Tampa Bay Rowdies executives Tampa Bay Terror players Team America (NASL) players United States men's international soccer players Wichita Wings (MISL) players North American Soccer League (2011–2017) coaches Footballers at the 1979 Pan American Games Pan American Games footballers for the United States Player-coaches 20th-century American sportsmen