Since it’s World Cup time we decided to feature Chad Vandegriffe, a professional indoor and outdoor soccer player who has been awarded the Major Arena Soccer League Defender of the Year. His success can be attributed to his consistent work ethic and leadership abilities which continue to benefit those around him which is extremely important to any winning soccer club.
Back before Chad’s professional soccer years, he attended a school in Missouri called Chaminade College Preparatory School. There, he played for the school’s soccer team and strove to become the best defender on the team.
It wasn’t long before he was not only the best defender but also the team captain. He became a four-year letter winner and was named the Defensive Player of the Year.
On top of that, in 2006, he led the school to the Missouri Class 3 state championship. His drive to become a formidable athlete in soccer also brushed off his other athletic pursuits which made him a valuable player in both the baseball and basketball teams he played on.
By the time he moved on to college, he had led his team to a state championship and had won numerous awards.
During his college years, he continued his strive to be the best. Chad ended up making the Atlantic 10 Conference all-tournament team in 2010 and earned Atlantic 10 Conference honorable mention in 2011 while playing for St. Louis University.
He went on to play with the St. Louis Ambush in the Major Indoor Soccer League followed by the Major Arena Soccer League from 2013 to 2016. He was named to the All-Rookie team for his stellar 2013-14 campaign. With many seeing the talent he had to offer, he got the opportunity to sign on with Saint Louis FC of the United Soccer League where he played from 2015 to 2016.
Instead of slowing down, in 2016, he began playing for the Milwaukee Wave. He won the 2018-19 Major Arena Soccer League Championship and continued to play on the team until just recently when he signed a two-year contract with the Florida Tropics SC in 2020.
As seems to be the pattern of Chad’s life, he continued to push himself and ended up winning a whole new set of awards including the:
- Major Arena Soccer League Defender of the Year 2021-22
- Major Arena Soccer League Elite Six 2021-22
- Major Arena Soccer League All-Third Team 2021
- Major Arena Soccer League Regular Season Champion 2021
To this date, it has recently come out that Chad will be starting a new season with the Florida Tropics SC.
While not everyone is a professional soccer player, Chad’s life contains the keys to success. Though he saw many successes in his life, he didn’t stop. Instead, he continuously moved forward.
As he entered each new “level,” he was determined to become the best, and his strive to always do better resulted in him becoming an inspirational leader to those around him. In other words, as he continued to move up through the ranks, he inspired and led others to their own successes.
All in all, Chad Vandegriffe is not slowing down. He continues to raise and surpass the bar over and over again and is able to reach impressive heights in the process. In this way, he has shown that success requires consistency and a drive to always do better.