Welcome to part two of a five-part series looking at a holistic long-term athlete development model within FC Dallas.
Part 2 - The People
I tend to enjoy rooting for teams that possess great ownership and management. After all, they are the ones that drive everything. They set the course.
If there isn’t alignment, it’s like having a bunch of people in a canoe rowing in different directions… and it’s not going to go well.
The People of FC Dallas
Since the beginning, the vision from ownership has been clear: build & develop from within.
FC Dallas built their stadium in 2005 and created a complex around it with 17 soccer fields. Because of this, the youth academy trains next to the professional team
Past head coaches, like Oscar Pareja and Luchi Gonzalez, were heads of the academy before being promoted
Current U20 USA men’s national team coach, Mikey Varas, worked and trained at FCD from 2017-2021