Tim Hanley (born March 27, 1960) is an American

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 ...

coach and former player who currently serves as an assistant coach for

Houston Dynamo FC Houston Dynamo Football Club is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in Houston. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Established on Decembe ...

. During his playing career, he played in 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 ...

and Europe.

Player

Youth

Hanley grew up in

Los Altos, California Los Altos (; Spanish language, Spanish for "The Heights") is a city in Santa Clara County, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 31,625 according to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Most of the city's growth ...

, and began playing soccer in 1974. He was fourteen at the time. In his words, "I played one half in the field, hated it and moved into nets until I retired from the professional ranks ten years later." Hanley graduated from Los Altos High School in 1978 and entered

Foothill College Foothill College is a public community college in Los Altos Hills, California. It is part of the Foothill–De Anza Community College District. It was founded on January 15, 1957, and offers 84 Associate degree programs, 2 Bachelor's degree p ...

, a two-year community college in Los Altos Hills. Although a junior college, Foothill, at the time boasted one of the best college teams in California. In 1980, he trained briefly with

Blackburn F.C. Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

, playing one reserve game, and with

Blackpool F.C. Blackpool Football Club is a professional association football club based in the seaside resort of Blackpool, Lancashire, England. The team competes in EFL League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1887, the ...

After the fall 1980 collegiate season, Hanley decided against transferring to an

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. ...

college in favor of turning professional.

Professional

When Hanley turned professional, he had several options. The

San Francisco Fog Fog is a common weather phenomenon in the San Francisco Bay Area and the entire coastline of California extending south to the northwest coast of the Baja California Peninsula. The frequency of fog and low-lying stratus clouds is due to a co ...

of Major Indoor Soccer League and the Golden Gate Gales of the American Soccer League both drafted him. However, he signed 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 ...

for the

1980–81 NASL Indoor season __NOTOC__ Year 198 (CXCVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Sergius and Gallus (or, less frequently, year 951 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 198 fo ...

. In 1981,

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional association football, soccer club based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Origin ...

starting goalkeeper Mike Hewitt broke his thumb. The team quickly moved to sign Hanley as a backup, but he ended up playing several games during the 1981 season. In 1982, he moved to

Hibernian F.C. Hibernian Football Club (), commonly known as Hibs, is a professional football club in Edinburgh, Scotland. The team competes in the , the top division of Scottish football. The club was founded in 1875 by members of Edinburgh's Irish commu ...

of the

Scottish Football League The Scottish Football League (SFL) is a defunct league featuring professional and semi-professional football clubs mostly from Scotland.One club, Berwick Rangers, is based in the town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is located approximately 4&nbs ...

. At the time, American players found it nearly impossible to gain contracts with European teams. As a result, Hanley played for Hibernian "on trial". The team paid for his lodging, meals and provided him with a small cash salary. In 1983, he returned to the Earthquakes where he played the last two seasons of the NASL. Following the collapse of the league in 1984, he moved to Servette F.C. in the Swiss First Division. Once again, he found himself paid on a cash basis without a contract. With a wife to support, he elected to retire from playing professionally and turn to coaching. Former NFL-great

John Brodie John Riley Brodie (born August 14, 1935) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons. He had a second career as a ...

was his father-in-law.

Coach

In 1985, Hanley began his career as a goalkeeper coach. He served in that capacity 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 ...

and

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 ...

for teams including the,

California Jaguars California Jaguars were an American soccer team that played in Salinas, California, at the Salinas Sports Complex. They joined the USISL in 1995 as the Monterey Bay Jaguars, but changed the name a year later. They played in the A-League in 19 ...

and Silicon Valley Ambassadors. In 1997, Hanley was hired as the goalkeeper coach for the San Jose Clash of

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 ...

. He remained with the team every year, except 2000, through its name change in 1999 to the

and its move in 2006 to Houston where it became the

Houston Dynamo Houston Dynamo Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Established on December 15, 2005, the club was founded after their fo ...

. In July 2006, he left the Houston Dynamo to move 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 ...

. He was released from the team in August 2007. In 2002,

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

hired Hanley as the goalkeeper coach for its men's soccer team. He has also held positions with several northern Californian youth clubs such as: The Stanford Quake and Palo Alto Blue 93. Hanley was re-hired by the Dynamo as the goalkeeper coach at the beginning of the 2009 season. He rejoined San Jose for the 2014 season and stayed until he was let go by the club on 20 November 2017. He was the goalkeeper coach in 2018 for

Philadelphia Union The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the Union began ...

References

External links

Tim Hanley's columns for centerlinesoccer.comTim Hanley-Houston Dynamo Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hanley, Tim American men's soccer players American expatriate men's soccer players Men's association football goalkeepers Foothill Owls men's soccer players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players Tampa Bay Rowdies (1975–1993) players Hibernian F.C. players San Jose Earthquakes (1974–1988) players Servette FC players American soccer coaches LA Galaxy non-playing staff Houston Dynamo FC non-playing staff 1960 births Living people Sportspeople from Palo Alto, California Sportspeople from Los Altos, California Soccer players from Santa Clara County, California 20th-century American sportsmen