Rising Star: Jeremy Hall

• by Bryan Alvarez  @somuser, Sep 22, 2009

[MLS] Jeremy Hall was the New York Red Bulls' first selection in the 2009 SuperDraft. Even though he was drafted as an attacking player from last year's NCAA champs, Maryland, Jeremy has found his way on the field with the Red Bull's as a defender and has made 20 appearances. Get to know the 21-year-old in this profile by Soccer America's Bryan Alvarez that covers on and off-field experiences.

JEREMY HALL
(New York Red Bulls)

AGE: 21
POSITION: Defender
HOMETOWN: Tampa, Fla.
YOUTH CLUB: Hillsborough County
COLLEGE: Maryland

STARTING OUT: My mom went to sign me and my brother up for baseball. But, the registration was full. My brother tried to convince me to play soccer instead. I eventually gave in. I remember going to practice in jean shorts and shinguards over ankle socks.
EARLY SOCCER MEMORY: My best early soccer memories were being selected for the U-17 national team and winning the State Cup with Hillsborough County.
FIRST CLEATS: Cheap Wal-Mart brand Mitre cleats.
CURRENT CLEATS: Adidas adiPures.
OTHER SPORTS: Basketball. I'm a huge basketball fan.

FAVORITE TEAMS: Chicago Bulls, San Francisco 49ers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Tampa Bay Rays, Tampa Bay Mutiny (when they were around), Maryland, Manchester United and the Chicago Cubs.
FAVORITE PLAYER: Michael Jordan, Roy Lassiter, Dwayne Wade.
FAVORITE MOVIES: "Bad Boys II"
FAVORITE ACTORS: Will Smith and Martin Lawrence.
FAVORITE ACTRESSES: Eva Mendes and Hayden Panettiere.
FAVORITE TV SHOWS: "True Blood," "ESPN SportsCenter," "King of Queens."

LIVING SITUATION: I live in a three-bedroom apartment with teammates Nick Zimmerman and Bouna Coundoul.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: It's probably going to be Omar Gonzalez [Los Angeles], Chris Pontius [D.C. United] or Stefan Frei [Toronto FC]. Those are the top three.

MLS EXPERIENCE: It's definitely been one to remember. There have been positives and negatives. I'm learning a lot. One negative has been the losing. I'm not used to losing many games. Also, I switched to defender. So, learning a new position has been a positive.

COLLEGE: It was awesome. We were national champions. Also, five guys went in the draft. I also got to play with guys like Chris Seitz and Maurice Edu before they left. Coach Sasha (Cirovski) has done a good job with the guys. It's weird not being there because it went by so fast.

MOST INFLUENTIAL COACH: I'd have to say my club coaches at H.C., Tony Padilla and Javier Lopez. When I started with them, I really didn't know the fundamentals. They coached me through college and I really learned the game from them.

MEMORABLE COACHING ADVICE (from youth coach): In U.S. U-17s, John Ellinger told us to respect everyone but you can't fear anybody.

HOBBIES: Relaxing, watching movies, listening to music and shopping.

MUSIC: I like a bit of everything. I like rap, hip-hop and R&B.

READING: I'm not really a book guy. I did read Tony Dungy's autobiographies though. I like magazines.

VACATION: I've always wanted to go to Australia. The best place I've been so far is Brazil.

FAMOUS PEOPLE YOU'D INVITE TO DINNER: Michael Jordan, Dwyane Wade, Sean Johnson and Eva Mendes.