Heard was born in Cardiff, Wales and moved to Victoria, Canada when he was three.[2] Heard played youth soccer with Lakehill Soccer Association.[3] He also played for Victoria Metro and the Victoria Highlanders.[4] He had been invited to train with the Vancouver Whitecaps Academy, but he elected to attend college and play college soccer instead.[5]
In 2012, Heard began attending the University of Washington, where he played for the men's soccer team.[6] He had been recruited to the school after impressing the team's coaching staff when they saw him playing in a youth match, which they were attending to watch two members of the opposing team who had committed to joining Washington.[7] He made his debut on August 24, 2012 against the Gonzaga Bulldogs.[8] On September 22, 2013, he scored his first collegiate goal against the Georgia State Panthers.[9] On October 8, 2013, he scored a brace in a 2-0 victory over the Seattle Redhawks.[10] In 2013, Washington won the 2013 Pac-12 title and advance to the Elite Eight of the NCAA National Tournament.[5] In his senior season, he was named an Honourable Mention for the All-Pac 12 All-Star Teams.[11] After the season, he was invited to the MLS Player Combine ahead of the 2016 MLS SuperDraft,[12] however, he was not able to attend due to injury.[5] Over his time with Washington, he scored 13 goals and added eight assists in 74 games.[13][14]
In late January 2016, he signed a professional contract with USL club Bethlehem Steel FC.[22][23] He made his debut on April 11, 2016 against New York Red Bulls II.[24] He scored his first goal on July 7, 2016 against Toronto FC II.[25] He departed the club after the 2017 season, upon the expiry of his contract.[26]
In February 2018, he signed with the Real Monarchs of the USL.[27][28] He scored his first goal on May 19, 2018 against the Las Vegas Lights.[29] After the season, the club picked up his option for the following season.[30] In July 2019, he was sent on a one year loan to Austrian club FC Pinzgau Saalfelden until July 2020.[31][32] With Pinzgau, they qualified for the promotion playoff series, but it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.[33] Upon the conclusion of his loan, he departed the Monarchs, mutually terminating the deal, after being unable to return to the United States due to COVID-19 pandemic travel restrictions.[34]
On July 31, 2020, he signed with Pacific FC of the Canadian Premier League.[35][36] On August 15, he made his debut for Pacific against the HFX Wanderers.[34] He won the 2021 CPL Championship with Pacific.[37][38] In January 2022, he re-signed with the club for an additional season.[39][40] On August 2, 2022, he scored two goals in a 6-0 CONCACAF League victory over Jamaican club Waterhouse FC to help Pacific advance to the Round of 16.[41][42] In November 2022, it was announced that he would return to the club for the 2023 season,[43] and he was named team captain in March 2023.[44][45][46] In January 2024, Pacific announced that Heard would return for the 2024 season.[47]
Media related to Josh Heard at Wikimedia Commons
