Kyle Beckerman

Kyle Robert Beckerman (born April 23, 1982) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a midfielder.

He made his first international appearance in 1997 as a member of the U16 national team in a match against France.

He played for the United States in the 1999 Under-17 World Cup in New Zealand.

He attended DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, Maryland as a freshman, where he won a state wrestling title.

He spent 21 seasons in Major League Soccer (MLS) with the Miami Fusion (2000–2001), Colorado Rapids (2002–2007) and Real Salt Lake (2007–2020).

He later transferred to and graduated from Arundel High School, and he signed a Nike Project-40 contract with MLS on June 27, 2000.

Beckerman had been involved with the league for the previous few years, having been one of the inaugural students at the United States Soccer Federation's Bradenton Academy, which also featured Landon Donovan, DaMarcus Beasley, Oguchi Onyewu, and Bobby Convey.

Two days after he signed with the league, Miami Fusion claimed Beckerman.

Beckerman hardly played in his first two years; he registered only 110 minutes in his first year and only 14 in his second after breaking his leg playing in the A-League.

He went on loan with MLS Project 40 in 2000.

After the Fusion were contracted at the end of the 2001 season, Beckerman was selected 11th overall in the 2002 MLS Dispersal Draft by the Colorado Rapids.

In his first year with the Rapids, Beckerman again saw limited time, playing 477 minutes and registering one assist.

In his second season, he finally broke through, starting 24 games, playing 2124 minutes, and registering five assists as a central midfielder.

Beckerman performed at the same level in 2004, starting consistently.

Beckerman is known for his distinctive dreadlocks, which he started growing around 2005.

Beckerman remained a regular starter through the 2005 and 2006 seasons, playing an increasingly important role for the Rapids.

He finished the 2006 season with seven goals and four assists, making him one of Colorado's top offensive players that year.

On July 16, 2007, Beckerman was traded to Real Salt Lake for Mehdi Ballouchy.

Despite joining the team mid-season, he quickly established himself as a team leader for RSL.

He took over the captain's armband early in the 2008 season.

He started all 38 matches for Salt Lake that year, helping the team reach the Western Conference Final (the club's first-ever playoff appearance).

Also in 2008, he was named to the MLS All-Star Inactive List for the second consecutive season.

He was a starting central defensive midfielder and captain when RSL won MLS Cup 2009.

He also earned 58 caps with the United States national team.

In 2021, Beckerman was named the head coach of the Utah Valley University men's soccer team, a Division I program in Orem, Utah.

Beckerman was born in Crofton, Maryland.

His parents are Margaret "Meg" (née Lamade) Beckerman, a third grade teacher, and Paul Beckerman, a science teacher.

His brother Todd is four years his senior and coaches the wrestling team at Brown University.

Beckerman continued as RSL's team captain throughout the 2009 season.

During the year, he became the youngest player in MLS history to appear in 200 games.

At mid-season, MLS Commissioner Don Garber added Beckerman and teammate Javier Morales to the roster for the 2009 MLS All-Star Game played July 29 at RSL's Rio Tinto Stadium in Sandy, Utah.

RSL struggled through an up-and-down regular season, finishing with a losing record (11–12–7) and barely qualifying for postseason play.

But with Beckerman leading the way, the team completed a stunning sweep through the playoffs, capped with a shootout victory over Los Angeles Galaxy in the 2009 MLS Cup championship.

On January 4, 2014, he married Kate Pappas, a Greek American account supervisor at Love Communications, at the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Salt Lake City.

On October 17, 2015, Beckerman broke the record for all-time MLS regular season appearances by a field player, at 379.

In November 2017 Beckerman shaved off the majority of his hair in preparation for a new physical.

Beckerman began his career in various youth leagues in the Bowie, Maryland area.

Beckerman was named on December 9, 2020, to The 25 Greatest by Major League Soccer as part of the circuit's 25th season celebration.

He announced his retirement as an active player twelve days later on December 21.

Beckerman represented the United States on multiple levels of competition.