Jay Needham

Jay Needham

Needham in the blue and yellow kit of his former Norwegian club, Alta.
Personal information
Full name	Jay Charles Needham
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Position(s)	Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team	Austin Aztex
Number	33
Youth career
1998–2003	Dallas Texans Soccer Club
2003–2006	SMU Mustangs
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2006	DFW Tornados	14	(2)
2007	Puerto Rico Islanders	25	(1)
2008–2009	Alta	50	(3)
2010–	Austin Aztex	25	(2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of October 3, 2010

Jay Needham (born September 30, 1984 in Fort Worth, Texas) is an American soccer player currently playing for Austin Aztex in the USSF Division 2 Professional League.

During his college career, he played as a central defender. In his professional career, he has primarily played central defender or as a defensive (holding) mid-fielder. He has also played at outside defender and sweeper.

Career

College and Amateur

Needham played youth soccer with the Dallas Texans Soccer Club. His team, Dallas Texans Red '85's, won four North Texas State Cup titles (2000-2003), three Southern Regional titles (2000-2002) and twice competed in the U.S. Youth National Championship final four (2001-2002). His team also won the Under 19 Division of the prestigious Dallas Cup in 2003. Other professionals playing for this Texans team were Hunter Freeman and Ramon Nunez.

After graduating from Arlington Heights High School, Needham played college soccer at Southern Methodist University. While at SMU, Needham was a member of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Champion in 2003, the Missouri Valley Conference Season and Tournament Champions in 2004. After the 2004 season, SMU participated in Conference USA. The Mustangs were the Conference USA Season Champion in 2005 and the Season and Tournament Champions in 2006. The Mustangs participated in the NCAA Soccer Tournament all four years that Needham played advancing to the College Cup (final four) in 2005. SMU fell to Maryland (the eventual NCAA Champions) in the semi-finals.

Needham earned several honors during his career at SMU. He was named to the Missouri Valley Conference 1st Team All Freshman squad in 2003. After SMU moved to Conference USA in 2005, Jay was named 1st Team All Conference in 2005 and 2006. Conference USA named him Defender of the Year in 2006. He earned 1st Team Midwest Region honors in 2005 and 2006. The NSCAA name him 1st Team All American in 2006. Needham was also a Finalist for the Missouri Athletic Club's Hermann Trophy (given to that year's best college soccer player) in 2006.

During his time at SMU, Needham played summer soccer in the USL Premier Development League with the DFW Tornados.

Professional

United States

Needham was drafted by D.C. United in the third round of the 2007 MLS SuperDraft, but After attending training camp, he and D.C. United were unable to come to contract terms. He signed with the Puerto Rico Islanders in the USL First Division. On arrival, he was asked to change positions from center to outside fullback. While with the Islanders, Needham played both right and left fullback, logging over 2,000 minutes of play. The Islanders advanced to the USL semi-finals where they were defeated by the ultimate champions, Seattle. They also advanced to the semi-finals of the 2007 Caribbean Cup.

At the end of the season, Needham was named the 2007 USL Division 1 Rookie of the Year.

Norway

In March 2008, Needham transferred to Alta IF in Alta, Norway. Alta had just won promotion to play in Norway's 1st Division. He made his debut on April 13 and retained a starting central defender position throughout the remainder of the season. During the 2008 season, Needham appeared in 24 league games, logging more than 2,000 minutes of play. He also appeared in two Norwegian Cup matches. Needham was named the teams Captain for their final four games.

At the end of the season, Alta retained its position in the 1stDivision. This was only the second time in the clubs history that it had not been relegated the season after being promoted into the 1stDivision.

2009 was Alta's most successful season in the 1stDivision. The team ended the season with 42 points (a club record). Their 6th place finish out of 16 teams was the highest finish ever achieved by the club. During their run into the fourth round of the Norwegian Cup, Alta defeated Tippeligaen team, Bodo Glimt, 3-0.

Needham played in 26 leagues games and two Cup matches. For the third consecutive season, he logged more that 2,000 miuntes in league play. During the season, he played right fullback, center fullback, and defensive (holding) mid-field. After being moved into the mid-field, he played 19 games as Alta's holding mid-fielder. He also played defensive mid-field in two Cup mathces. Needham served as the team's Captain from May 21 through the end of the season.

In August, he was selected one of the 1st Division's top foreign players by Football Magazine Norway. In September, the New York Times Soccer Blog named Needham one of the top 11 American uncapped players in Europe. After the close of the season, he left Norway in November.

United States, Part II

Needham signed a three year contract with the Austin Aztex of the USL First Division at the end of January 2010. During the 2010 season, Jay played central defender. He appeared in 25 league games while logging over 2,100 minutes for the Aztex. Austin accumulated a team record 53 points for the season, finihsing one point out of first place. With their high finish, Austin also earned a playoff spot for the first time in team history.

External links

• SMU bio

Template:Austin Aztex squad