Kyle Beckerman

Kyle Robert Beckerman (born April 23, 1982) is an American soccer player who plays for Real Salt Lake in Major League Soccer and the United States national team. He is a holding midfielder and also serves as team captain for Real Salt Lake.

Early and personal life

Beckerman was born in Crofton, Maryland, where he grew up. 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.

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.

Early soccer career

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