Sigi Schmid was born in Tübingen, West Germany, on March 20, 1953. At the age of four, he moved with his family to the United States; they took up residence in Torrance, California, in 1962. Schmid's father, Fritz, who had been a prisoner of war during World War II, worked at Pabst Brewing; his mother, Doris, ran a Los Angeles-based German deli, where Schmid worked on weekends. Schmid's family spoke German at home, making him feel German despite spending so much of his life in America. He began school in the United States with little understanding of English and a stuttering speech disorder he did not overcome until high school. In his youth, Schmid visited Germany every summer, playing soccer with the local children and watching Bundesliga clubs play exhibition matches in neighboring towns. In 1964, Schmid played for one of the inaugural American Youth Soccer Organization teams, and was inducted into the AYSO Hall of Fame in 1996.