Willie Sims

Football player infobox| playername= Willie Sims
fullname =
nickname =


dateofbirth = birth date and age|1984|1|18
cityofbirth = Guatemala City
countryofbirth = Guatemala
height = 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
currentclub = Miami FC
clubnumber = 22
position = forward
youthyears = 2003-05
youthclubs = Cal State Northridge
years = 2006-07
2007
2008
2008
clubs = New England Revolution
→Puerto Rico Islanders "(loan)"
San Fernando Valley Quakes
Miami FC
caps(goals) = 09 (0)
10 (3)
01 (0)
010 (0)
nationalyears = 2007-
nationalteam = fb|Guatemala
nationalcaps(goals) = 1 (0)
pcupdate = October 2, 2008
ntupdate = 27 November 2007

Willie Sims (born January 18, 1984 in Guatemala City) is a Guatemalan-born soccer player, currently playing for Miami FC in the USL First Division.

Sims played college soccer at California State University, Northridge from 2003 to 2005, redshirting in 2002. Sims was named the Big West Conference Co-Offensive Player of the Year in the 2003 and 2004 seasons, and NSCAA First-Team All-American in the 2005 season. CSUN made the NCAA Men's Soccer Championship tournament all three seasons that Sims was on the team. He attended Reseda High School, graduating in 2002.

Sims was drafted in the 2nd round (23rd overall) of the 2006 MLS SuperDraft. He saw little time in his rookie season, but showed lots of potential for the Revolution, and was praised by Revolution head coach Steve Nicol. [http://web.mlsnet.com/news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20061125&content_id=79357&vkey=news_mls&fext=.jsp] Sims led the Revolution's Reserve squad in the 2006 season with 3 goals in ten games (the entire team only scored 9). His best performance for New England came in a pre-season exhibition match against Bermuda U-21 team, in which he scored 3 goals. He also had an assist in a mid-season exhibition against Scottish giants Celtic.

During his second year, he only saw regular time for the reserves, so the New England management decided to loan out Sims to the USL-1 side Puerto Rico Islanders to gain more experience and minutes. Sims made 10 appearances for the Islanders, and became the first Islanders player ever to score a hattrick (against Miami FC on August 19).

Sims returned to New England for the final few months of the season, but was waived at the end of 2007. He subsequently signed for PDL side San Fernando Valley Quakes, where his brother Oscar has also played, and played one game for them against Ventura County Fusion, before signing with Miami FC of the USL First Division in June 2008.

Guatemalan National Team

Sims's name is often discussed as a potential player for the Guatemalan National Team. Sims was born in Guatemala, and his father Oscar played for the national team and in the Guatemalan League.

Before the 2006 MLS SuperDraft, Sims said he had no interest in playing for "La Azul y Blanco", and that he was even considering becoming an American citizen, in hopes of one day playing for the U.S. National Team. [http://www.rojomania.com/columna.php?columna_id=14103]

By November 2006, Sims had changed his position, telling La Opinión that he would be interested in playing for Guatemala in the UNCAF Nations Cup 2007, and nearly joining the squad for a friendly against Venezuela on November 15. [http://www.laopinion.com/deportes/futbol/?rkey=00000000000000820420]

Sims finally made his debut for the Guatemalan national team on 17 November 2007 in a game against Honduras, coming off the bench in the 85th minute. It was his first appearance at any national level, having been ignored by Guatemala at youth level in spite of his college performances. He would have also been in the Guatemalan Olympic team, but missed out because of the U23 rule that applies for that competition.

External links

* [http://web.mlsnet.com/players/bio.jsp?team=ner&player=sims_w&playerId=sim606024&statType=current MLSnet.com player bio]