- Desmond Armstrong
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Desmond Armstrong Personal information Full name Desmond Kevin Armstrong Date of birth November 2, 1964 Place of birth Washington, D.C., United States Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Playing position Defender / Midfielder Youth career 1982–1985 University of Maryland Senior career* Years Team Apps† (Gls)† 1986–1988 Cleveland Force (indoor) 93 (14) 1988–1989 Baltimore Blast (indoor) 19 (5) 1991 Santos 1991 Maryland Bays 1994–1996 Charlotte Eagles National team 1987–1994 United States 81 (0) Teams managed 1999–2006 Montreat College 2010 Rocket City United * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).Desmond Kevin Armstrong (born November 2, 1964) is a retired American soccer defender and midfielder, who was a member of the United States national team from 1987 to 1994. He played three seasons in Major Indoor Soccer League, part of one in the Brazilian First Division, two in the American Professional Soccer League and two in USISL. He currently coaches the Rocket City United in the National Premier Soccer League.
Contents
Player
Youth
Armstrong was born and raised in Washington, D.C. When he was 11, a local youth soccer coach spotted Amstrong playing soccer and recruited him into the coach's youth team. From that point on Armstrong moved into high school, college, and national team soccer. He attended Howard High School in Ellicott City, Maryland. Armstrong's college career was spent at the University of Maryland, where he was first team All ACC in 1984 and 1985 and second team All ACC in 1983. He played in a total of 78 games for the university, tallying 24 goals and 18 assists. In 1986, he was part of the Fairfax Spartans club which won the National Amateur Cup, defeating St. Louis Busch 3-0. The Spartans featured other national team players John Kerr, Bruce Murray and John Stollmeyer in addition to Armstrong.
Professional
Armstrong played two seasons for the Cleveland Force of the Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) from 1986 to 1988. At the end of the 1987-1988 season, he transferred to the Baltimore Blast. However, on January 14, 1989, he broke his leg mid way through the season. In February 1991, he signed with Santos of the Brazilian First Division. However, later that year he was back in the U.S. playing for the Maryland Bays, in the American Professional Soccer League. That year, the Bays made it to the league semifinals before falling to the Albany Capitals. He spent two years with the Charlotte Eagles of the USISL before retiring from playing professionally in 1996.
National team
His first appearance for the United States national team came in 1987 in a match against Egypt. He was also a member of the Olympic team in the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. His performance with the Olympic team made him a mainstay on the national team through the early 1990s, playing in all three of USA's games of the 1990 FIFA World Cup. He made a total of 81 appearances for the national team, though he never scored a goal at this level.
Coach
Since his retirement from international soccer, he has remained active in coaching and community initiatives. He has spent time organizing for inner-city Christian Ministries programs such as Soccer Beats (now Heroes FA). In 2000 he was named as the national coaching director for the program Soccer in the Streets. In the mid 1990s he coached the USA Hurricanes club level soccer team in Charlotte, NC. In 1999, he became the head coach of the Montreat College Cavaliers in Montreat, North Carolina which play in the NAIA. He remained in this position until his retirement in 2006. Armstrong also coached the youth team '85 HFC Vipers of Asheville, North Carolina from 2000-2004. After leaving Montreat, Armstrong joined the youth club, Bethesda Roadrunners, as its head coach. He also created another section of Heroes FA, in Maryland and is currently their head coach and technical director. He is also the Director of Recruiting in Ohio for Brad Friedel's Premier Soccer Academies. He was named technical director of Rocket City United on December 11, 2009.[1]
Broadcaster
Armstrong has worked for ABC Sports. During the 1994 FIFA World Cup, Armstrong was an ESPN studio analyst. Armstrong provided commentary for all Cleveland City Stars home games. The games will be aired on SportsTime Ohio. The City Stars play in the USL First Division.
On May 11, 2007, he was inducted into the Maryland Soccer Hall of Fame.[2]
References
External links
United States squads Categories:- 1964 births
- Living people
- 1990 FIFA World Cup players
- African American soccer players
- American expatriate soccer players
- American expatriates in Brazil
- American Professional Soccer League players
- American soccer coaches
- American soccer players
- Baltimore Blast (original MISL) players
- Charlotte Eagles players
- Cleveland Force (original MISL) players
- Expatriate footballers in Brazil
- Association football commentators
- Association football defenders
- Association football midfielders
- Footballers at the 1988 Summer Olympics
- Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players
- Maryland Bays players
- Maryland Terrapins men's soccer players
- National Premier Soccer League coaches
- Olympic soccer players of the United States
- Santos Futebol Clube players
- Soccer players from Washington, D.C.
- USISL players
- USISL Pro League players
- United States men's international soccer players
- University of Maryland, College Park alumni
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