Chris Bennett
Personal information
Date of birth	1951
Place of birth	England
Playing position	striker
Youth career
	likely Chelsea
Senior career1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1974 1976-1977 1978 1978-9	Vancouver Whitecaps Seattle Sounders Memphis Rogues Cleveland Force (indoor)	08 (2) 17 (0) 05 (0) 25 (6)
National team2
1973-1975 1975	Canada Canadian Olympic (amateur)	06 (1) 04 (1)
Teams managed
1993-1997 1998-2000 2000-2004 2004, 2005 2005, (?)2006	Canada U-20 (assistant) Canada U-15 Canadian Soccer Association Whitecaps FC Women Whitecaps FC men's reserves
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 14 May 2008. 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 14 May 2008. * Appearances (Goals)

Chris Bennett (born 1951) is a former Canadian international and North American Soccer League soccer player. Since retiring from playing, he has been a soccer coach and instructor in the Vancouver area.

An English immigrant to Canada, Bennett was a member of the Vancouver Whitecaps of the NASL in their inaugural season of 1974, playing 8 games and netting two goals and an assist. A striker, he played three other NASL seasons - 1976 and '77 with the Seattle Sounders and 1978 with Memphis Rogues. Prior to going to North America, Bennett was a member of Chelsea F.C. in 1970 and '71, although he never played a first-team game [1]. He played indoor soccer at some point, likely the 1978-9 season, for the Cleveland Force.

Bennett earned 6 Senior 'A' caps between 1973 and '75 for Canada, scoring once. He also earned four Olympic team caps in 1975, scoring once.

Bennett was a coach for 12 years with the Canadian Soccer Association, including 1998 to 2000 as the U-15 boys team head coach as well as assistant coach to the U-20 side and as an interim to the national side. The U-20 mens team won the 1995-6 CONCACAF gold medal whereas the 1993-4 team finished third in the same tournament. From 2001 he has provided soccer coaching to his local community in Coquitlam and at Penticton, BC, Canada.

Bennett was in 2005 and possibly 2006 coach of the Whitecaps F.C. men's reserves. In 2004 he led the Whitecaps women's team to the W-League championship which subsequently led to his inauguration in the BC Sports Hall of Fame in 2007.

[edit] Coaching Certification

Level I, II, III NCCP Theory, Technical and Practical Certified
National 'B' License Course
National 'A' License Course

[edit] Special Recognition

2004 - 2005 BC Directors Coaching Award, for dedication to the development of soccer through coaching
2001 - 2002 Coach of the Year, North Coquitlam

[edit] Sources

• Chris Bennett Soccer Academy
• Canadian Soccer Association profile

[edit] Sources

'Canadian Soccer Association Press Release of Whitecaps hiring Bennett
[2]