Blair Gavin (born January 8, 1989) is a former American soccer player who is an assistant coach for Major League Soccer side New England Revolution.

Blair Gavin
Personal information
Full name Blair Gavin
Date of birth (1989-01-08) January 8, 1989 (age 35)
Place of birth Phoenix, Arizona, United States
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
New England Revolution (assistant)
Youth career
2005–2006 IMG Soccer Academy
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2009 Akron Zips 68 (7)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2009 Bradenton Academics 38 (4)
2010–2012 Chivas USA 43 (3)
2012 New England Revolution 2 (0)
2013 IMG Academy Bradenton 7 (0)
2013 Seattle Sounders FC 0 (0)
2014 Atlanta Silverbacks 18 (1)
2015 Portland Timbers 2 23 (4)
2016–2017 Phoenix Rising 45 (0)
International career
2006–2007 United States U18 5 (0)
2008 United States U20 1 (0)
Managerial career
2018–2020 Phoenix Rising (assistant)
2022 Columbus Crew (assistant)
2023–2024 FC Tulsa
2024– New England Revolution (assistant)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22:36, 3 November 2017 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of August 5, 2012

Career

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College and amateur

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Gavin grew up in Scottsdale, Arizona, played club soccer for the Sereno soccer club which was ranked No. 1 in the nation and won the Arizona state cup four years in a row, and attended the famed IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, before playing college soccer at the University of Akron. While at Akron, Gavin was named to the Great Lakes Region (GLR) third team and was an All-Mid-American Conference (All-MAC) first team honoree as a sophomore in 2008, while in 2009 he was named to the All-MAC First Team and the All-GLR First Team, and recorded the game-winning penalty kick in a shootout against the University of North Carolina to help his team to the 2009 NCAA Division I championship game.

During his college years Gavin also played three seasons for Bradenton Academics in the USL Premier Development League.

Professional

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Gavin was drafted in the first round (10th overall) of the 2010 MLS SuperDraft by Chivas USA.[1] He made his professional debut on April 1, 2010, in a game against Los Angeles Galaxy, and scored his first professional goal - a 20-yard strike from outside the penalty area - in a 4–0 victory over New England Revolution on May 5, 2010.

On August 1, 2012, Gavin, along with a second round pick in the 2013 MLS SuperDraft and allocation money, was traded to New England Revolution in exchange for Shalrie Joseph.[2] Gavin remained with New England through the 2012 season. After the conclusion of the 2012 season, New England declined the 2013 option on Gavin's contract and he entered the 2012 MLS Re-Entry Draft. He became a free agent after going undrafted in both rounds of the draft.

On August 21, 2013, Gavin signed with Seattle Sounders FC after training with the team for several weeks.[3][4]

International

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Gavin has traveled to tournaments in Slovakia, Spain, Portugal and Mexico with the U-18 squad, and was one of 20 players called into the U-18 training camp in January 2007 as the squad prepared for the 14th Copa Chivas Tournament in Mexico.

Coaching career

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In August 2022, Gavin was named head coach of FC Tulsa in the USL Championship[5]

Gavin joined Caleb Porter's staff at the New England Revolution in January 2024. FC Tulsa received an undisclosed transfer fee in the deal.[6][7]

Personal

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Blair is the younger brother of former Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder Michael Gavin.

References

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  1. ^ 2010 MLS SuperDraft Archived January 19, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ "Revolution trades Shalrie Joseph to Chivas USA". 1 August 2012. Archived from the original on 5 August 2012. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  3. ^ Joshua Mayers [@joshuamayers] (21 August 2013). "Gavin, 24, has been training with the team for several weeks. He has previous MLS experience with Chivas USA and New England" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  4. ^ "Sounders FC Signs Midfielder Blair Gavin". 21 August 2013. Archived from the original on 25 August 2013. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
  5. ^ "Blair Gavin Named the Next Head Coach of FC Tulsa".
  6. ^ "Revolution announce updates to first team technical staff". RevolutionSoccer.com. New England Revolution. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
  7. ^ Malue, B. "FC Tulsa Announces Transfer of Blair Gavin to New England Revolution". FCTulsa.com. FC Tulsa. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
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