Is the FC Dallas Academy still good?

One of the questions I get asked the most these days pertains to the FCD way. Is the FCD Academy still good? Often, it’s not phrased as a question; people seem to love telling me the FCD Academy stinks.

So let’s examine it.

Is the Academy still good?

Historical Context

1998 to 2003 is often referred to as the Golden Years of the FC Dallas Academy, even by me, and it’s hard to argue that’s not the case. Check out the partial list.

• 1998: Reggie Cannon, Weston McKennie, Alex Zendejas
• 1999: Paxton Pomykal, Brandon Servania, Chris Cappis
• 2000: Edwin Cerrillo, Jesus Ferreira, Chris Richards
• 2001: Tanner Tessmann, Bryan Reynolds, Charlie Kelman, Michael Collodi
• 2002: Jonathan Tomkinson
• 2003: Justin Che, Jonathan Gomez, Ricardo Pepi, Dante Sealy

Bottom line, that run is bonkers. (Add or subtract whoever you like, I just kind of arbitrarily picked a line.)

For me, if you produce 1 or 2 pros a year, that makes you an outstanding academy on the world stage. And FCD was clicking along at a high rate.

Many of those players have been sold for profit, some are still performing in MLS, and a few FCD just missed on signing with FCD. And FCD has produced many more professionals, but I skipped over them just to keep the list shorter.

So let’s look at where FC Dallas is now.

Current State of the FCD Pipeline

FCD had a bit of a talent gap. The 2004 class, like 2002, was light on talent. And other than Pepi, you can argue the 2003 class has flamed out.

There are one or two guys that still might break through from 2004, notably Antonio Carrera (many USYNTs). Or maybe Diego Pepi, who FCD signed as a Homegrown and loaned to Texoma FC, but is more of a long shot.

After the poor 2004 class, the FCD is waiting for the next crop of players to come through, class 2005 and on. This is where they are in the timeline, and FCD is betting, in volume at least, that the talent is still there.

Here’s a list of 2005 and beyond FCD Academy players signed to USL and up professional contracts as of today.

Keep in mind, the 2007s just “graduated” from the Academy last month. There is also talent in the college game that still might land. (You can see the “talent bubble” I talked about for a couple of years; there are a lot of names here.)

Player	Class	Pos.	Notes
Nolan Norris	2005	LB, 6, CB	FC Dallas Homegrown, US U20 Captain
Nighte Pickering	2005	F	Las Vegas Lights (USL)
Anthony Ramirez	2005	W/10/8	FC Dallas Homegrown, Mexico YNTs.
Tarik Scott	2005	F	FC Dallas Homegrown, Jamaican YNT.
Daniel Baran	2006	LW	FC Dallas Homegrown, Poland YNT.
Matthew Corcoran	2006	6	Nashville SC, US YNT
Julian Eyestone	2006	G	Brentford FC, US YNT
Keyrol Figueroa	2006	F	Liverpool U21 (he left after U13s), US YNT
Diego Garcia	2006	6	FC Dallas Homegrown, recent US U17 camp
Malachi Molina	2006	RB	FC Dallas Homegrown, Jamaica YNT.
Alejandro Urzua	2006	8/6	FC Dallas Homegrown
Jaidyn Contreras	2007	W	FCD Hybrid contract, recent US U18
Marlon Luccin	2007	8	Straight NTSC contract
Nico Montoya	2007	G	Straight NTSC contract, recent US U17 camp
Santiago Morales	2007	10	Inter Miami Homegrown (followed his Dad), US YNT
Leonardo Orejarena	2007	W/10	Straight NTSC contract, US YNT, signed from Barca USA
“Kaka” Scabin	2007	CB	FCD Hybrid contract
Caleb Swann	2007	8/10	FCD Hybrid contract
Josh Torquato	2007	LB	FC Dallas Homegrown
Isaiah Kaakoush	2008	6/CB	Straight NTSC contract, US YNT, signed from Barca USA
Zach Molomo	2008	LB, LCB	Straight NTSC contract, US YNT
Samuel Sedeh	2009	F	FCD Hybrid contract, recent US U16 camp

The Burn has 17 of those players under contract.

So you can see the club has bet pretty big on its pipe, notably in 2006 and 2007, with a high volume of signings. And since there is still talent coming through college, it may end up with more.

Norris and Scott at 20, Ramirez at 19, and Garcia and Torquato at 18 are leading the way in terms of breaking in with FCD.

The Big But

“But,” I can hear you saying, “those players aren’t the same level as McKennie, Zendejas, Pomykal, Ferreira, Richards, Tessmann, Reynolds, and Pepi.”

Yes, that’s true, they aren’t. That’s a fair assessment. At least, so far, it is.

And it’s hard to argue they will be without proof. It needs to happen before we can judge.

So What Changed?

The “fall off” in the FC Dallas Academy is multifactorial.

First, while it’s not the Golden Age anymore, I don’t think it’s as bad as some people think. “The sky is falling” makes for punchy headlines and internet feedback loops. The club continues to produce pros and youth national team players, and in the next couple of seasons, we’ll start to see them come through to the first team.

Second, FCD was ahead of the curve in developing an Academy well before there was a league for them, and having an Academy was required. Now that everyone is catching up, we don’t see these youth national teams with 5-9 FCD players in camp. There is more competition, and the entire country is getting better at talent production. Competition to recruit players from all over the US has gone way up.

Third, MLS is getting better. FC Dallas’ MLS roster is a better collection of talent than it was in the 2010s. It’s harder to break in. The roster is deeper, and there’s a lot less room for kids to get minutes.

Fourth, the best Academy coaches and recruiters from when Oscar Pareja set the club system up are gone. They have been hired away for higher jobs, sometimes even by FCD. Pareja himself, Luchi Goncalez, Javier Morales, Josema Bazan, Peter Luccin, Mikey Veras, Alex Aldez, and John Gall.

Are there good coaches still left? Of course, there are. But there are also coaches who got left behind for a reason. Ever heard of an Academy coach being let go? Me neither.

Fifth, the pipe got clogged. Nico Estevez didn’t want to “play the kids.” He preferred veterans with experience and actively worked to push kids off the FCD roster and onto the North Texas SC roster so he could sign guys like Omar Gonzalez to the supplemental roster for FCD. The club lost its commitment to the pathway.

Sixth, the club’s “professional development team,” North Texas SC, no longer plays in USL-1 and now plays in MLS Next Pro. No matter how you slice it, Next Pro is worse for the development of MLS-level talent. USL-1 is made up of teams of adults who are trying to win games and make a living. Virtually all of MLS Next Pro is U20 or U23 extensions of the MLS Academy, and no one wants to be there. Those two leagues are NOT the same. All those golden era FCD guys who came through NTSC, played in USL-1.

Seventh, FCD continues to miss, now and again, on getting the very best products to sign (Eyestone, Corcoran, JoGo). This is due to a combination of the salary they can offer compared to Europe and/or the players’ belief (or lack thereof) in the organization. This one mostly falls on Andre Zanotta, although he’s not the only member of the committee.

All those factors have hurt the FC Dallas pipeline.

So, Does the FC Dallas Academy Now Stink?

No, I don’t think so.

Post 2003 class, I think the FCD way hit a bit of a dry spell after all the epic signings and sales. I think the pipeline got a little clogged in the Estevez era.

But it looks like the pipe is flowing again. Norris and Torquato are leading the way on the fringes of the senior team, and there will be more to come.

Is the club casting a wider net with some of these signings? Yes, for sure.

Are there a couple of players I thought should not have been signed? Yes, there are. But that’s a long way from saying the Academy is no good.

And there are a couple of classes on the near horizon that look stacked.

But, as they say, the proof will be in the pudding, and only time will tell.

How Can FCD Make the Pipeline Better?

Here are a few quick suggestions.

1. Refresh the Academy coaching staff. I’m not calling anyone out, but there are some guys that need to move on. Get back to peak recruiting and talent development coaches. I know a couple of coach names in the org, but outside the Academy, I would look at, and some younger ex-pros who want to coach.

2. Recognize MLS Next Pro is soft and send 4-6 kids a season to USL-1 or USL-C sides where they can play. (Assuring they play is key.) Pareja tried to put North Texas SC in USL-C as he thought USL-1 wasn’t good enough, let alone MLS Next Pro, which is worse.

3. Stop worrying about winning games at North Texas SC and the Academy. Within the games, yes, seek to win. At NTSC, schedule playing time and starts for the homegrowns, and not retread USL players or foreign junk pile finds. In the Academy, play kids up as far as they can handle the level, and don’t worry if you aren’t winning MLS Next titles.

Onward and upward.