Kyle Beckerman

Early career

Beckerman began his career in various youth leagues in the Bowie, Maryland area. He played for the United States in the 1999 Under-17 World Cup in New Zealand. He attended DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, Maryland as a freshman, where he won a state wrestling title. He later transferred to and graduated from Arundel High School, and he signed a Nike Project-40 contract with MLS on June 27, 2000. Beckerman had been involved with the league for the previous few years, having been one of the inaugural students at the United States Soccer Federation's Bradenton Academy, which also featured Landon Donovan, DaMarcus Beasley, Oguchi Onyewu, and Bobby Convey.

Miami Fusion

Two days after he signed with the league, Miami Fusion claimed Beckerman. Beckerman hardly played in his first two years; he registered only 110 minutes in his first year and only 14 in his second after breaking his leg playing in the A-League. He went on loan with MLS Project 40 in 2000.

Colorado Rapids

After the Fusion were contracted at the end of the 2001 season, Beckerman was selected 11th overall in the 2002 MLS Dispersal Draft by the Colorado Rapids. In his first year with the Rapids, Beckerman again saw limited time, playing 477 minutes and registering one assist. In his second season, he finally broke through, starting 24 games, playing 2124 minutes, and registering five assists as a central midfielder. Beckerman performed at the same level in 2004,…

Beckerman represented the United States on multiple levels of competition. He made his first international appearance in 1997 as a member of the U16 national team in a match against France. He made 40 appearances for the U17 national team, starting 36 times and scoring 15 goals. He started all six games in the 1999 FIFA U-17 World Championship in New Zealand, helping the U.S. to a fourth-place finish in the tournament. He also played for the U23 national team in the 2004 Pre-Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Mexico. Beckerman's first appearance for the senior national team came January 20, 2007 in a friendly match against Denmark. He was named to the U.S. roster for the 2007 Copa América in Venezuela, where he earned two caps: he entered as a reserve against Argentina, then played the full 90 minutes against Colombia. In July 2009, he was named to the U.S. roster for the 2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup. He started all six matches for the United States, helping his team to a second-place finish in the tournament. On July 18, 2009, he scored his first international goal in the quarterfinal match against Panama. On August 27, 2009, Beckerman was named to the national team roster for two World Cup qualifier matches: against El Salvador (September 5) and Trinidad & Tobago (September 9). He entered the match against El Salvador as a second-half substitute. In August 2011, Beckerman re-joined the U.S. at the invitation of new coach Jürgen Klinsmann. He played all 90 minutes in a friendly…

Beckerman was born in Crofton, Maryland. His parents are Margaret "Meg" (née Lamade) Beckerman, a third grade teacher, and Paul Beckerman, a science teacher. His brother Todd is four years his senior and coaches the wrestling team at Brown University.

On January 4, 2014, he married Kate Pappas, a Greek American account supervisor at Love Communications, at the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral in Salt Lake City. Beckerman is known for his distinctive dreadlocks, which he started growing around 2005. In November 2017 Beckerman shaved off the majority of his hair, after his RSL coach jokingly told him to cut his hair and come back a new man.