Amani Walker
Encyclopedia
Amani Walker is a Jamaica
n footballer currently playing for NSC Minnesota Stars
in the North American Soccer League.
, and played for the Surf FC club team, before going on to play four years of college soccer
at the University of California, Irvine
. He was named to the All-Big West first team and led his team in goals as a junior in 2009, while as a senior in 2010 he was named to the NSCAA All-Far West Region first team and the All-Big West first-team, was the Big West Co-Offensive Player of the Year, and was voted as one of Top Drawer Soccer Top 20 Players to Watch. He finished his college career as UCI's all-time leader in games played with 85, scoring 27 goals in the process.
During his college years Walker also played with Orange County Blue Star
in the USL Premier Development League
, scoring 12 goals in 16 games for the team in 2010.
by Chicago Fire
, but was not offered a contract by the team.
He subsequently signed his first professional contract when he was signed by the NSC Minnesota Stars
of the North American Soccer League. He made his professional debut on 7 May 2011, coming on as a substitute in a 1-1 tie with the Fort Lauderdale Strikers.
. He is eligible to play for Jamaica through his Jamaican-born father.
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
n footballer currently playing for NSC Minnesota Stars
NSC Minnesota Stars
The NSC Minnesota Stars is an American professional soccer team based in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul area in Minnesota, United States. Founded in 2010, the team plays in the North American Soccer League , the second tier of the American Soccer Pyramid...
in the North American Soccer League.
College and Amateur
Walker attended Francis Parker High SchoolFrancis W. Parker School (San Diego)
Francis Parker School, also known simply as Parker, is an elite college preparatory independent day school in San Diego, California, serving students from junior kindergarten through twelfth grade. Parker was founded in 1912 by Clara Sturges Johnson and William Templeton Johnson, themselves recent...
, and played for the Surf FC club team, before going on to play four years of college soccer
College soccer
College soccer is a term used to describe association football played by teams who are operated by colleges and universities as opposed to a professional league operated for exclusively financial purposes...
at the University of California, Irvine
University of California, Irvine
The University of California, Irvine , founded in 1965, is one of the ten campuses of the University of California, located in Irvine, California, USA...
. He was named to the All-Big West first team and led his team in goals as a junior in 2009, while as a senior in 2010 he was named to the NSCAA All-Far West Region first team and the All-Big West first-team, was the Big West Co-Offensive Player of the Year, and was voted as one of Top Drawer Soccer Top 20 Players to Watch. He finished his college career as UCI's all-time leader in games played with 85, scoring 27 goals in the process.
During his college years Walker also played with Orange County Blue Star
Orange County Blue Star
Orange County Blue Star is an American soccer team based in Irvine, California, United States. Founded in 1997, the team plays in the USL Premier Development League , the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, in the Southwest Division of the Western Conference.The team plays its home games at...
in the USL Premier Development League
USL Premier Development League
The USL Premier Development League is the amateur league of the United Soccer Leagues in the United States, Canada, and Bermuda, forming part of the American Soccer Pyramid...
, scoring 12 goals in 16 games for the team in 2010.
Professional
Walker was invited to the 2011 adidas Major League Soccer Combine, and was subsequently drafted with the 9th overall pick of the 2011 MLS Supplemental Draft2011 MLS Supplemental Draft
The 2011 MLS Supplemental Draft is a secondary draft that was held by Major League Soccer on January 18, 2011. The draft consisted of three rounds with each of the 18 MLS clubs participating. The return of the Supplemental Draft after a two-year hiatus coincided with the return of the MLS Reserve...
by Chicago Fire
Chicago Fire (soccer)
Chicago Fire Soccer Club is an American professional soccer club based in the Chicago suburb of Bridgeview, Illinois. The team competes in Major League Soccer , the top soccer league in the United States and Canada...
, but was not offered a contract by the team.
He subsequently signed his first professional contract when he was signed by the NSC Minnesota Stars
NSC Minnesota Stars
The NSC Minnesota Stars is an American professional soccer team based in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul area in Minnesota, United States. Founded in 2010, the team plays in the North American Soccer League , the second tier of the American Soccer Pyramid...
of the North American Soccer League. He made his professional debut on 7 May 2011, coming on as a substitute in a 1-1 tie with the Fort Lauderdale Strikers.
International
In March 2009, Walker made an appearance for the Jamaica U-20 national team versus in Fort Lauderdale, FloridaFort Lauderdale, Florida
Fort Lauderdale is a city in the U.S. state of Florida, on the Atlantic coast. It is the county seat of Broward County. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 165,521. It is a principal city of the South Florida metropolitan area, which was home to 5,564,635 people at the 2010...
. He is eligible to play for Jamaica through his Jamaican-born father.
NSC Minnesota Stars
- North American Soccer LeagueNorth American Soccer LeagueNorth American Soccer League was a professional soccer league with teams in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984.-History:...
Championship (1): 20112011 North American Soccer League seasonThe 2011 North American Soccer League season is the 44th season of second division soccer in the United States and the inaugural season of the newly-revived North American Soccer League....