James Sands
 Sands with the United States in 2021 | ||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | James Hoban Sands[1] | |||||||||
| Date of birth | July 6, 2000 | |||||||||
| Place of birth | Rye, New York, United States | |||||||||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | |||||||||
| Position(s) | Defender, midfielder | |||||||||
| Club information | ||||||||||
Current team |
Rangers (on loan from New York City FC) | |||||||||
| Number | 19 | |||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||
| 2010–2015 | New York Soccer Club | |||||||||
| 2015–2017 | New York City FC | |||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||
| 2017– | New York City FC | 65 | (0) | |||||||
| 2018 | → Louisville City FC (loan) | 3 | (0) | |||||||
| 2022– | → Rangers (loan) | 0 | (0) | |||||||
| National team‡ | ||||||||||
| 2016–2017 | United States U17 | 42 | (1) | |||||||
| 2021– | United States | 7 | (0) | |||||||
Honours
| ||||||||||
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of January 5, 2022 ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of September 8, 2021 | ||||||||||
James Hoban Sands (born July 6, 2000) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a defender and midfielder for Scottish Premiership club Rangers, on loan from Major League Soccer club New York City FC. He became the NYCFC's first ever homegrown player in July 2017.
Youth soccer
Sands joined New York Soccer Club, an affiliate team of New York City FC, at the age of 10. In 2015, he joined New York City after the inception of the Under-16 Academy side, alongside his twin brother, Will Sands.[2] Sands credits English born coach, Chris Leaver, as his most influential and important mentor of his youth career.
Club career
New York City
In January 2017, Sands became the first Academy player to be included in the New York City FC roster for pre-season.[3] On June 27, 2017, he signed his first professional contract to begin on July 1.[2] The deal made him the club's first ever homegrown player.[4] Sands made his professional debut on September 16, 2017, coming on as a substitute for Andrea Pirlo in a 1–1 draw against Colorado Rapids.
In 2019, Sands has been a regular starter for NYCFC, first as a defensive midfielder, and then as the central defender in a three-man back line once the Pigeons switched formations.
Louisville City
In 2018, Sands joined Louisville City in the second-division USL on a short-term loan from August 15 through September 1. Sands worked in Louisville under John Hackworth, who had previously coached Sands with the United States U17 team.[5]
Rangers
On January 5, 2022, Sands joined Scottish Premiership side Rangers on an initial 18-month loan deal with an option to buy.[6]
International career
Sands regularly featured for the United States Under-17s rather than New York City during the 2017 season and helped the nation finish second in the CONCACAF Under-17 Championships in May.[7] The United States eventually lost to Mexico in a penalty shootout, although Sands scored and was named to the Team of the Tournament.[8]
In July 2021, Sands was called up to the senior team for the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup and made his debut against Haiti as a substitute.[9]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played November 7, 2021[10]
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Louisville City (loan) | 2018 | USL | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | |||
| New York City FC | 2017 | MLS | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| 2018 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 0 | ||||
| 2019 | 19 | 0 | — | — | — | 19 | 0 | |||||
| 2020 | 16 | 0 | — | 3[a] | 0 | — | 19 | 0 | ||||
| 2021 | 26 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 0 | |||
| Total | 65 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 69 | 0 | ||
| Rangers (loan) | 2021–22 | Scottish Premiership | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career total | 68 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 72 | 0 | ||
- ^ Appearance(s) in CONCACAF Champions League
Honors
New York City FC
United States
Individual
- CONCACAF Under-17 Championship Team of the Tournament: 2017[8]
- MLS All-Star: 2021[11]
References
- ^ "FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017: List of Players" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. January 9, 2017. Retrieved March 2, 2018.
- ^ a b "James Sands Becomes NYCFC's First Homegrown Player". New York City FC. June 21, 2017. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
- ^ "James Sands: The Journey". New York City FC. June 21, 2017. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
- ^ "NYCFC makes historic signing: 16-year-old from their backyard". New York Post. June 21, 2017. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
- ^ "James Sands joins Louisville City FC on loan". LouisvilleCityFC.com. Archived from the original on July 7, 2019. Retrieved August 15, 2018.
- ^ "James Sands Signs For Rangers". www.rangers.co.uk. Retrieved January 5, 2022.
- ^ "James Sands". New York City FC. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
- ^ a b "CONCACAF U17 Championship: Sands Named to Best XI". New York City FC. May 9, 2017. Retrieved September 18, 2017.
- ^ "Meet the USMNT Newbies on the 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup Roster". www.ussoccer.com.
- ^ James Sands at Soccerway. Retrieved February 10, 2021.
- ^ "2021 MLS All-Star Team Roster". MLSsoccer.
External links
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- 2000 births
- Living people
- American soccer players
- Association football midfielders
- Homegrown Players (MLS)
- Louisville City FC players
- Major League Soccer players
- New York City FC players
- People from Rye, New York
- Soccer players from New York (state)
- Sportspeople from Westchester County, New York
- United States men's youth international soccer players
- 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup players
- Association football defenders
- United States men's international soccer players
- CONCACAF Gold Cup-winning players
- Expatriate sportspeople in Scotland
- Scottish Professional Football League players
- Rangers F.C. players
- American soccer defender stubs
- American soccer midfielder stubs