Back in 1961 pop singer Ricky Nelson had a hit song entitled Traveling Man. That was 26 years before Nathan Sturgis was born in St. Augustine, Fla., but it could be Sturgis’ signature theme song.
The former Clemson Tigers defender/midfielder is currently playing for Chivas USA, his seventh Major League Soccer team.
Actually, Sturgis’s professional history is one of never playing more than two seasons with any one club. He only played two seasons at Clemson before accepting a Generation adidas contract and turning pro.
During his high school years he could have played more than two seasons at the same place at Neese High School in St. Augustine, but he spent 2003-2004 at IMG Soccer Academy in Bradenton with the U.S. U17 Men’s Residency Program.
Sturgis was third team All-America as a sophomore at Clemson, and was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year. He also helped the Tigers to the NCAA College Cup.
He played 2004 with the Ajax Orlando Prospects of the USL Premier Development League, and the next year as a Generation adidas signee, was taken #12 overall in the 2006 MLS SuperDraft by the Los Angeles Galaxy. Thus began his professional Odyssey, which has taken him to seven teams over nine seasons.
“Nathan is a very experienced player at the prime of his MLS career,” said Chivas USA manager Wilmer Cabrera when he took Sturgis in a trade with the Colorado Rapids in July.
“I had the chance to meet him and work with him during my time in Colorado, and he was one of the top players on our squad. He’s a very technical and smart midfielder with great vision and good touches and I’m confident that he will help us improve our team at all levels. As a player, as a person and as a leader in the locker room.”
After being drafted by Los Angeles he played in 24 games before being traded to Real Salt Lake. He got in only eight games with RSL through the 2008 season. He was selected by the Seattle Sounders FC in the second round of the 2008 MLS Expansion Draft, and made 29 appearances with that club over two seasons.
In 2010 he was again taken in an expansion draft, selected by the Vancouver Whitecaps FC, which traded him the next day to Toronto FC for a 2011 first round draft choice.
He played in 14 games for Toronto in 2011 and only five in 2012 with the Houston Dynamo. In December 2012 he was traded to Colorado where he played in 31 games in 2013 and 2014 before the mid-summer trade with Chivas USA.
As of the middle of September, Sturgis had played in 11 games with Chivas USA, six of those in a starting role. Earlier this season, he played in six games, starting four, for Colorado before being traded to Chivas.
Sturgis was a highly rated youth national player. He played in six games with the U17s, once with the U18s, and was a 27-game mainstay with the U20s from 2004-2007. He also has four games with the U.S. U23s, but has never made an appearance with the U.S. senior national team.
His brother Caleb is the second-year place kicker for the NFL Miami Dolphins.