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Zimmerman living his dream with Philadelphia in the MLS

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By NICHOLAS J.E. MURRAY | The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 19, 2010

TAMPA - When he was young, Nick Zimmerman always said that when he grew up he was going to be a professional soccer player.

"I thought eventually if I were given the opportunity and the right situation presented itself, I felt I had a good chance." Zimmerman said.

Now 22, the Tampa native has that opportunity. Tonight he will play what he believes will be just his second game in his hometown since graduating from Wharton High in 2004 when he and the Philadelphia Union face the FC Tampa Bay Rowdies at Pepin Stadium at 7:30 p.m.

"It's great to be back," Zimmerman said. "It's neat to look in the stands and see my family and my friends. It's always a pretty cool feeling."

While known in Tampa as a talented player, and the winner of the Jose Alvarez award in his senior year of high school, he was relatively unheralded when he went to James Madison University in 2004.

One person who was aware of Zimmerman, though, was former University of South Florida coach and current Union assistant coach John Hackworth. Zimmerman regularly attended soccer camps at USF, and Hackworth kept tabs on Zimmerman as he progressed into college.

"I had a long history with him," Hackworth said. "I followed Nick when I left USF. As a high school player obviously he had a good career and he was close to a couple of my assistants at USF at the time."

Zimmerman scored 13 goals and added 21 assists for the Dukes in 65 starts, and got an invitation to the MLS combine. From there, he was selected in the third round of the MLS SuperDraft by the New York Red Bulls and made 11 appearances for the club last year.

Zimmerman said the support he received from the coaching staff and players in New York helped him play to his potential when he got his opportunities, so he wasn't nervous.

"That was definitely a positive to have them on my side and believe in me, and it kind of just took over," Zimmerman said. "Actually playing D.C. United in my first game, I wasn't really nervous. It was more like 'all right, it's finally here.' This was the moment I'd dreamed about since I was a little kid, just go out there and do what you'd done your whole life, go out and have fun and play the game you love."

Zimmerman wasn't able to lock down a permanent starting position and New York went through a coaching change midway through the season. With Philadelphia's MLS expansion draft approaching, the Red Bulls decided that Zimmerman wasn't one of the 10 players they would be able to protect.

Hackworth expected the player he'd known from Tampa to be available, and when the time came for the Union to select the first 10 players in franchise history, bringing Zimmerman on board was an easy move.

"When you have personal knowledge of a player," Hackworth said, "you know what they're like on and off the field, you know what their work ethic is, you know the kind of people they are and the way they prepare for challenges in their life, it's a bonus."

With the Union, Zimmerman joins an MLS expansion franchise that appears ready to succeed from the outset.

"This really is a phenomenal opportunity," he said. "The fans are fantastic and with the new stadium being built (in Chester, just outside Philadelphia) and the new franchise, it's going to be neat to be part of something that's going to be so special. I'm so fortunate and thankful and really looking forward to the season."

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