Tom Kain
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| Tom Kain | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Tom Kain | |
| Date of birth | ||
| Place of birth | , United States | |
| Height | ft in | |
| Nickname | The Tool | |
| Playing position | Midfielder | |
| Club information | ||
| Current club | Retired | |
| Youth clubs | ||
| 1981-1985 | Duke University | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1986 1987-? |
Union Solingen Wichita Wings Kansas City Comets |
0 (0) |
| National team2 | ||
| 1986-1987 | United States | 5 (0) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
Tom Kain is the Nike Director of Global Marketing (Soccer). He is also a retired soccer player from the United States and 1985 winner of the Hermann Trophy.
[edit] Playing Career
Kain graduated from Wall High School in New Jersey in 1980. While there he wore number 7, which the school has retired. Wall High School won the New Jersey Group 3 State Championship the three years he played. He had 56 goals and had 40 assists during his junior and senior years at Wall.
After high school, Kain played for Duke University. His outstanding play for the Blue Devils led to his selection as an All American each of his four years. He attained first team All American status in 1983 and 1985. That year, he also won the Hermann Award as the oustanding men's collegiate soccer player. His school record of 51 career goals stood until broken by Ali Curtis in 2000. During his tenure with the Blue Devils, the men's soccer team went 68-13-7.
After graduating from Duke, Kain achieved a remarkable first, the first native American to play professionally in Germany. He spent one year at Second Division club Union Solingen, but never played a game. The next year, Paul Caligiuri also moved to Germany and became the first American to actually play a game there.
He returned to the U.S. and played indoor soccer for the Wichita Wings and Kansas City Comets.
Kain also played 6 games with the United States men's national soccer team between 1986 and 1987. However, he has only 5 official caps as his last game with the team, a Sept 5, 1987 Olympic Qualifier is not considered a full international.
[edit] Post-Playing Career
He retired from active playing at the age of 27 while with Kansas City and was hired by Adidas. He steadily rose through the company's ranks and became its Director of U.S. Soccer by his mid-thirties. Nike eventually lured Kain away from Adidas and he remains with Nike today.
His success at Adidas and Nike led to SoccerAmerica selecting him as their #24 most influential person in U.S. soccer.
Kain currently resides in Portland, Ore., with his wife Patricia, who's expecting their fourth child in January.
In 1996, Duke University inducted Kain into its Athletics Hall of Fame.
