Editing Clint Dempsey (section)

==Early life and career==
Dempsey was born in [[Nacogdoches, Texas]], and is of Irish ancestry on his father's side. For much of his childhood, Dempsey's family lived in a [[trailer park]] where he and his siblings grew up playing soccer with the complex's large population of Hispanic immigrants.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.si.com/more-sports/2010/06/09/dempsey|title=Texas tough: Dempsey's upbringing in Naco – nowhere led to U.S. dream|author=Melissa Segura|publisher=[[Sports Illustrated]]|date=June 9, 2010}}</ref>

In his teens, Dempsey maintained these ties playing in a local Mexican-dominated adult league.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.si.com/planet-futbol/2014/11/11/usmnt-street-soccer-jurgen-klinsmann-ussf-youth-clint-dempsey-usa|title= U.S. Soccer turning to overlooked youth to discover next wave of talent|author=Stanley Kay|publisher=[[Sports Illustrated]]|date=November 11, 2014}}</ref> His older brother, Ryan, was offered a tryout for the Dallas Texans, an elite youth soccer club, and brought Dempsey, who was noticed and recruited while passing time juggling a ball on the sidelines.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/soccer/worldcup/stories/060806dnspocuplede.1cd47fa2.html|title=Quite a trip for U.S. midfielder|first=Kate|last=Hairopoulos|work=[[The Dallas Morning News]]|date=June 8, 2006|access-date=December 5, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101206012528/http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/soccer/worldcup/stories/060806dnspocuplede.1cd47fa2.html|archive-date=December 6, 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Dempsey became a standout on the team at an early age but had to quit due to financial constraints as his eldest sister Jennifer was becoming a ranked youth tennis player.<ref name="espn1">{{cite news|last=Drehs|first=Wayne|url=http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=370300|title=No ordinary background|publisher=[[ESPN FC|ESPN Soccernet]]|date=June 8, 2006|access-date=June 22, 2006|archive-date=June 29, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629125514/http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=370300|url-status=dead}}</ref> Several parents of his teammates with the Texans offered to assist the Dempseys with expenses and travel, allowing him to rejoin the club.{{citation needed|date=February 2018}}

On November 27, 1995, Dempsey's 16-year-old sister Jennifer died from a [[Intracranial aneurysm|brain aneurysm]]. Dempsey was devastated with the family's loss and later explained that this event helped him develop a deeper motivation to pursue soccer in honor of his sister.<ref>{{cite news|url= http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/06/24/clint-dempsey-jesus_n_5526311.html|title=Clint Dempsey, World Cup Star, Credits Jesus For His Success|work=The Huffington Post|date=June 24, 2014|access-date=June 26, 2014}}</ref>

He went on to be the captain and high scorer of the Texans and was honored with the [[Most Valuable Player|MVP]] of the Tampa Bay Sun Bowl tournament. Dempsey studied the play of [[Argentina national football team|Argentina's national team]], especially [[Diego Maradona]], and was heartbroken when the news came to Nacogdoches that Maradona would not be playing in the [[1994 FIFA World Cup|1994 World Cup]] game played in the [[Cotton Bowl (stadium)|Cotton Bowl]].<ref name="espn2">{{cite news|last=Connolly|first=Marc|title=Rookie of the year is still a rookie|url=http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=324350|date=February 7, 2005|access-date=July 14, 2006|work=[[ESPN FC|ESPN Soccernet]]|archive-date=June 29, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629125638/http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=324350|url-status=dead}}</ref> He attended [[Furman University]] as a health and exercise science major and a key player for Paladins soccer. Dempsey was an "outstanding" midfielder while at Furman,<ref name="Dempsey Furman Hall of Fame">{{cite web|url=https://furmanpaladins.com/honors/furman-athletics-hall-of-fame/clint-dempsey/44 |title=Furman Athletics Hall of Fame
|access-date=October 7, 2024}}</ref> named second team [[NSCAA]] All-American in 2002, and receiving All-Southern Conference first team honors in 2001 and 2002.<ref name="Dempsey Furman Hall of Fame"/>  He earned NSCAA All-South Region honors in 2002 and 2003 and was a member of the 2001 Soccer America and College Soccer News All-Freshman teams.<ref name="Dempsey Furman Hall of Fame"/>