Dempsey was born in Nacogdoches, Texas, and, for much of his childhood, his family lived in a trailer park, where he and his siblings grew up playing soccer with the local children or anyone they could find. Dempsey is of Irish descent on his father's side.[7] His older brother Ryan was offered a tryout for the Dallas Texans, an elite youth soccer club, and brought Clint, who was noticed and recruited while passing time juggling a ball on the sidelines.[8] Dempsey became a standout on the team at an early age, but had to quit due to his family's time and money constraints as his eldest sister Jennifer was becoming a ranked youth tennis player.[9] Several parents of his teammates with the Texans offered to assist the Dempseys with expenses and travel, allowing him to rejoin the club.
On November 27, 1995, Dempsey lost his then 16-year-old sister Jennifer to a 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.[10]
He went on to be the captain and high scorer of the Texans and was honored with the MVP of the Tampa Bay Sun Bowl tournament. Dempsey studied the play ofArgentina's national team, especially Diego Maradona, and was heartbroken when the news came to Nacogdoches that Maradona would not be playing in the 1994 World Cup game played in the Cotton Bowl.[11] He attended Furman University as a health and exercise science major and a key player for Paladins soccer.
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