John Smits

John Smits

Personal information
Date of birth	(1988-09-07) September 7, 1988 (age 36)
Place of birth	Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
Height	1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team	Serbian White Eagles
Youth career
	A.C. Diavoli
College career
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2008–2011	Toronto Varsity Blues	28	(0)
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2012–2015	FC Edmonton	38	(0)
2015	→ Montreal Impact (loan)	0	(0)
2016	Wilmington Hammerheads	18	(0)
2022	Unionville Milliken SC	1	(0)
2022–	Serbian White Eagles	1	(0)
International career^‡
2024–	Canada (futsal)	1	(0)
Managerial career
2017–	Toronto Varsity Blues (goalkeeping coach)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of September 1, 2022 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of April 14, 2024

John Smits (born September 7, 1988) is a Canadian soccer player and coach.

Early life

Smits played youth soccer with A.C. Diavoli.[1]

University career

From 2008 to 2011, Smits attended the University of Toronto, where he played for the men's soccer team.[1] In 2009, he was named an OUA East Second Team All-Star, after recording a CIS-leading 11 shut outs in 2009.[2] In 2010, he helped the team win the 2010 OUA championship, earning player of the match honours in the final, and was also named an OUA First Team All-Star.[2]

Club career

In March 2012, Smits signed with FC Edmonton of the North American Soccer League in 2012.[2] Smits made his professional debut against the Atlanta Silverbacks on May 12, 2012, posting a shutout.[3] In 2014, Smits won the NASL Golden Glove as the league's top goalkeeper, after finishing with the lowest goals against average in the league that season.[4] In April 2015, Smits joined the Montreal Impact on a short-term loan for the 2014–15 CONCACAF Champions League semi-final.[5][6][7] He re-joined on another short-term loan for the final.[8][9][10] He served as the backup for Montreal and did not make an appearance, before returning to Edmonton for the remainder of the season.[11] After the 2015 season, he was released by the club, after losing his starting spot during the season.[12]

In February 2016, Smits signed with the Wilmington Hammerheads of the USL.[13][14] Smits would only spend one season in Wilmington, as the club announced that they would not participate in the 2017 USL season.[15][16]

In April 2022, he played one match for Unionville Milliken SC in League1 Ontario.[17]

In May 2022, he made a lone appearance for Canadian Soccer League side Serbian White Eagles FC but broke his foot in the match and had to be substituted.[18]

International career

Smits has played for the Canada national beach soccer team.[19]

In April 2024, he was named to the Canada national futsal team roster for the 2024 CONCACAF Futsal Championship.[20][21]

Coaching career

In July 2017, Smits returned to his university team, the Toronto Varsity Blues, as goalkeeper coach.[22]

Other playing

In 2023, he played with Sports Leagues Canada FC at The Soccer Tournament, finishing in second place.[23]

Statistics

Statistics accurate as of May 1, 2022[24]

Club	Season	League			Domestic Cup		Playoffs		Continental		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
FC Edmonton	NASL	2012	7	0	0	0	—		—		7	0
	NASL	2013	7	0	0	0	—		—		7	0
	NASL	2014	20	0	4	0	—		—		24	0
	NASL	2015	4	0	0	0	—		—		4	0
	Total		38	0	4	0	0	0	0	0	42	0
Montreal Impact (loan)	MLS	2015	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Wilmington Hammerheads	USL	2016	18	0	1	0	—		—		19	0
Unionville Milliken SC	League1 Ontario	2022[17]	1	0	—		—		—		1	0
Career total			57	0	5	0	0	0	0	0	62	0

References

1. "John Smits Varsity Blues profile". Toronto Varsity Blues.
2. "Smits signs with FC Edmonton". Toronto Varsity Blues. March 27, 2012.
3. Sandor, Steven. "Smits Gets The Shutout In His First NASL Start As FCE Beats Atlanta". The 11. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015.
4. Swane, Brian (November 19, 2014). "FC Edmonton's John Smits win NASL Golden Glove award". Edmonton Sun.
5. "Goalkeeper John Smits on loan with the Impact". Montreal Impact. April 4, 2015.
6. "Eddies goalkeeper John Smits will join Montreal Impact on temporary loan". North American Soccer League. April 3, 2015.
7. "L'impact acquiert le gardien John Smits" [Impact acquires goaltender John Smits]. La Presse (in French). April 4, 2015.
8. "Impact re-acquires goalkeeper John Smits on short-term loan". Montreal Impact. April 19, 2015.
9. "FC Edmonton goalkeeper John Smits joins Impact on loan for CCL final". North American Soccer League. April 20, 2015.
10. Swane, Brian (April 19, 2015). "FC Edmonton goalkeeper John Smits to join Montreal Impact for CONCACAF Champions League final". Edmonton Sun.
11. Itel, Dan (April 28, 2015). "From CIS to CCL: John Smits' unlikely path to brink of Champions League glory with Montreal Impact". Major League Soccer.
12. Sandor, Steven (October 28, 2015). "Smits, Jonke among the five players released by FC Edmonton". The 11. Archived from the original on October 29, 2015.
13. "Wilmington Hammerheads Sign Goalkeeper John Smits". Wilmington Hammerheads FC. 25 February 2016. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 26 February 2016.
14. Brown, McLeod (16 April 2016). "Smits happy with fresh start". Wilmington Star-News. Retrieved 15 April 2024.
15. Smits, John. "John Smits on Instagram: "I would like to thank everyone I've met during my time in Wilmington, NC for an amazing experience that I'll truly never forget. The..."". Instagram. Archived from the original on 2017-05-29. Retrieved 2016-10-06.
16. "Wilmington Hammerheads signs removed from Legion Stadium". WECT. September 30, 2016.
17. "UMSC 2022 Stats". League1 Ontario.
18. "Solid Eagles in Season Opening". Serbian White Eagles FC. 29 May 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
19. "John Smits Varsity Blues coaching profile". Toronto Varsity Blues.
20. "Canada Soccer unveils roster for the 2024 CONCACAF Futsal Championship". Canadian Soccer Association. April 5, 2024.
21. Davidson, Neil (5 April 2024). "Canada futsal players put club rivalry aside to join forces at CONCACAF Championship". The Canadian Press.
22. U of T Varsity Blues [@Varsity_Blues] (July 17, 2017). "Men's soccer welcomes home Varsity Blues alumnus John Smits as the teams new goalkeeper coach! WE ALL #BLEEDBLUE #WeAreTO" (Tweet). Retrieved November 18, 2021 – via Twitter.
23. "Canadian entry finishes runner-up at US$1-million 7vs7 soccer tournament". Winnipeg Free Press. June 4, 2023.
24. John Smits at Soccerway

External links

• John Smits at Soccerway
• John Smits at the Canadian Soccer Association