Professional Undrafted by MLS, Conrad had an unsuccessful trial with the
Los Angeles Galaxy. However, the Galaxy coaching staff recommended he play for one of their affiliated lower division teams. Consequently, Conrad contacted the now-defunct
San Diego Flash of the
A-League which gave him a contract. In 1999,
Brian Quinn became the head coach of the
San Jose Clash. When Quinn began searching for an additional defender and goalkeeper for the Clash,
Ralf Wilhelms, head coach of the Flash and a former teammate of Quinn on the
San Diego Sockers, recommended Conrad and Flash goalkeeper
Joe Cannon. The Clash signed Conrad that year. He played with the club, later re-branded as the Earthquakes, for four seasons, helping them to the
MLS Cup in 2001. In 2000, he also played for
Lech Poznań in Poland. In 2003, Conrad was traded to the Wizards for a second-round draft pick, which the 'Quakes used to select
Arturo Alvarez. Conrad's stock rose while with Kansas City; never a big scorer, he tallied four goals during his first season (he has ten in his MLS career). In 2004, he helped the Wizards to the
US Open Cup and the MLS Cup Final as the leader of the league's stingiest defense and was named to the league's
Best XI and was a finalist for
MLS Defender of the Year Award. He won the award a year later. Despite rumors of a possible European transfer following the Wizards' disappointing 2006 season, Conrad renewed his contract with the Wizards beginning the 2007 season, and new head coach
Curt Onalfo rewarded him the club captaincy. Conrad was out of contract after the
2010 MLS season and elected to participate in the
2010 MLS Re-Entry Draft. On December 15, 2010, Conrad was selected by
Chivas USA in Stage 2 of the Re-Entry draft. He made his debut, and scored his first goal for his new team on March 19, 2011, in their first game of the 2011 MLS season – ironically against his old club,
Sporting Kansas City. After struggling with injury during the 2011 season, and suffering from side effects of six concussions, Jimmy Conrad announced his retirement from professional soccer on August 18, 2011.
International Conrad received his first cap for the
United States national team on July 7, 2005, in a
Gold Cup match against
Cuba. Less than one year later, Conrad made the U.S. roster for the
2006 FIFA World Cup. In Germany, Conrad came in as a substitute against
Italy in the team's 1–1 draw with the eventual champions, and played all ninety minutes against
Ghana. On January 20, 2007, Conrad captained the national team for the second time, where the United States hosted an international
friendly with
Denmark. The U.S. won that match 3–1. On February 7, 2007, in an international friendly with
Mexico, Conrad was named the
Man of the Match. He scored his first-ever goal for the U.S. in the fifty-second minute of that match. On June 25, 2009, after not having played with the national team in previous qualifying, Conrad was named to the U.S. squad for the
CONCACAF Gold Cup. ==Coaching==