- Jim Stamatis
Infobox Football biography
playername= Jim Stamatis
fullname = D. James Stamatis
nickname = The Jim, Majestic
dateofbirth =
cityofbirth = Kiriaki
countryofbirth =Greece
height =
currentclub =
clubnumber =
position = Forward
youthyears = 1975-1979
youthclubs =Penn State
years = 1980
clubs =San Diego Sockers Denver Avalanche ("indoor")Pennsylvania Stoners
caps(goals) = 9 (0)
manageryears =
managerclubs =
pcupdate =
ntupdate =Jim Stamatis (born Kiriaki,
Greece ) is a retired U.S.-Greeksoccer forward and Vice President of the Berger Group. He played professionally in theNorth American Soccer League , Major Indoor Soccer League andAmerican Soccer League .Youth and college
Stamatis moved to the United States with his family as a youth. He attended Liberty High School in
Lehigh Valley ,Pennsylvania . and was selected to the All State Team in 1975. [http://www.pasoccercoaches.org/allstateboys1975.html] After high school, he was recruited by many top colleges but elected to play atPenn State because of Coach Bahr’s honesty that Stamatis would need to earn a place on the team. [http://www.oldsoccerguys.com/Attendees.htm] Stamatis did work hard and developed into one of the top collegiate forwards. In 1978, he was named as a first team All American. He topped this the next year when he was selected as that year'sHermann Trophy recipient as the top collegiate player. Penn State also made it to the NCAA championship semifinals before losing to eventual winners SIU-E.National team
His outstanding play with Penn State brought him to the attention of the national team and he was called up to the U-23 national team at the Pan American games and for preparations for the
1980 Summer Olympics .Professional soccer
In 1980, he joined the professional ranks with the
San Diego Sockers of theNorth American Soccer League . He only played a year in the league before moving to theDenver Avalanche ofMajor Indoor Soccer League and thePennsylvania Stoners of theAmerican Soccer League before injuries cut short his playing career.Post-soccer career
He had failed to complete his degree while at Penn State, so he decided to enter the
New Jersey Institute of Technology where he graduated with aCivil Engineering degree in 1985. His choice of school was influenced by the fact that his fiancée, now wife, was from New Jersey. While in New Jersey, Stamatis continued his association with soccer, now as a coach rather than as a player. He became an assistant coach with the school’s men's soccer team. [http://magazine.njit.edu/2004/winter/alumni_circuit_w04.pdf] Stamatis became a civil engineer for theLouis Berger Group and rose to the position of senior vice president. While he did not continue to coach soccer after graduating from NJIT, he got back into coaching when his children began playing. His achievements as a coach now include three New Jersey State Cups and two Region I Championships.External links
* [http://www.njit.edu/alumni/pdf/Alumni.pdf NJIT bio]
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