FC Dallas General Manager Michael Hitchcock and Director of FC Dallas Youth Soccer Chris Hayden today introduced the first 15 players selected to join the FC Dallas Juniors program prior to the professional team’s game versus the Houston Dynamo at Pizza Hut Park. The players were identified by the FC Dallas coaching staff at local, regional, and national competitions and invited to participate in tryouts, where they once again demonstrated their exceptional ability.
The recently announced FC Dallas Juniors program will consist of two elite youth teams that will play in the U-16 and U-18 categories of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy league. The Juniors Program was created to identify and develop the top 13 to 18-year-old local soccer players who will be eligible for promotion to the FC Dallas professional team. The Juniors teams will consist of between 40-44 players, with an additional 20 players selected as developmental, who may be called in to fill roster spots as needed.
The inaugural group of players selected includes seven players that had already been in the FC Dallas Youth system: Cody Adams, Nathan Dombrowski, Joshua and Moises Hernandez, Ruben Luna, Alexander Molano, and London Woodberry). Another four players formerly played at Solar Soccer Club: Chris Figueroa, Rafael Martinez Jr., Nelson Morales, and Alexei Reyes. Other players joining FC Dallas Juniors from other soccer clubs include Gabriel and Ramiro Funes (Associated Soccer Group); Bradlee Baladez (Excelex), and Jael Barrera (Latino Americano).
The group includes two sets of brothers (Funes and Hernandez), and six players that were first seen through the Sueño MLS tryouts earlier this year (G. and R. Funes, Baladez, Reyes, Barrera, and Martinez).
Coached and managed by the FC Dallas coaching staff, both teams will share the Pizza Hut Park facility with the professional team. The Juniors teams will be directly linked to the FC Dallas professional team, and players may be signed directly from the Juniors teams to the professional team without entering the MLS Superdraft.
The first games for each Juniors team will be a friendly home-and-home series against the Houston Dynamo U-16 and U-18 teams, playing first at Robertson Stadium in Houston on June 26 and then at Pizza Hut Park on July 27, prior to FC Dallas’ game versus the Los Angeles Galaxy. The FC Dallas Juniors will also participate in the second annual Soccer United Marketing U-17 Cup.
The team will also host an open tryout on June 14 to continue identifying players for the two rosters. To sign up for the tryouts and for more information, players should contact Hayden at chayden@fcdallas.net.
THE FIRST 15 PLAYERS SELECTED TO JOIN FC DALLAS JUNIORS (Alphabetical order):
Cody Adams
POS: Defender
HT: 5-9
WT:140
DOB:5/10/91
Born in Plano, Texas
Hometown: Frisco, Texas
High school: Frisco High School
Former Club: FC Dallas 91
Bradlee Baladez
POS: Midfielder
HT: 6-1
WT: 185
DOB: 8/8/91
Born in Houston, Texas
Hometown: Mesquite, Texas
High School: Mesquite High School
Former Club: Excelex 91
Jael Barrera
POS: Defender
Ht: 5-8
WT: 150
DOB: 10/25/91
Born in Dallas, Texas
Hometown: Dallas, Texas
High School: Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Magnet Center
Former Club: Latino Americano 92
Nathan Dombrowski
POS: Forward
HT: 5-10
WT: 150
DOB: 7/31/91
Born in Shawnee Mission, Kansas
Hometown: Flower Mound, Texas
High School: Jesuit Preperatory School
Former Club: FC Dallas 91
Chris Figueroa
POS: Midfielder
HT: 5-6
WT: 135
DOB: 7/24/92
Born in-------
High School: Naaman Forest High School
Former Club: Solar 92
Gabriel Funes
POS: Forward
HT: 6-1
WT: 147
DOB: 3/5/91
Born in Mendoza, Argentina
Hometown: Arlington, Texas
High School: Arlington High School
Former Club: ASG 91 (Associated Soccer Group)
Ramiro Funes
POS: Midfielder
HT: 6-1
WT: 150
DOB: 3/5/91
Born in Mendoza, Argentina
Hometown: Arlington, Texas
High School: Arlington High School
Former Club: ASG 91 (Associated Soccer Group)
Joshua Hernandez
POS: Midfielder
HT: 5-9
WT: 145
DOB: 8/9/90
Born in Dallas, Texas
Hometown: Dallas, Texas
High School: Legacy High School
Former Club: FC Dallas 91
Moises Hernandez
POS: Midfielder
HT: 6-0
WT: 145
DOB: 3/5/92
Born in Dallas, Texas
Hometown: Dallas, Texas
High School: Seagoville High School
Former Club: FC Dallas 92
Ruben Luna
POS: Forward
HT: 6-0
WT: 190
DOB: 2/10/92
Born in Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas, Mexico
Hometown: Garland, Texas
High School: North Mesquite High School
Former Club: FC Dallas 92 Blue
Rafael Martinez Jr.
POS: Forward
HT: 5-4
WT: 115
DOB: 2/14/92
Born in New York City, New York
Hometown: Carrollton, Texas
High school: Newman Smith High School
Former Club: Solar 92
Alexander Molano
POS: Midfielder
HT: 5-7
WT: 140
DOB: 4/10/92
Born in Dallas, Texas
Hometown: Grapevine, Texas
High school: Colleyville Heritage High School
Former Club: FC Dallas 92
Nelson Morales
POS: Goalkeeper
HT: 6-2
WT: 200
DOB: 1/16/92
Born in Dallas, Texas
Hometown: Dallas, Texas
High School: W.T. White High School
Former Club: Solar 92
Alexei Reyes
POS: Midfielder
HT: 5-10
WT: 167
DOB: 8/17/91
Born in Mexico City, Mexico
Hometown: Dallas, TX
High School: Jesuit Preparatory School
Former club: Solar 92
London Woodberry
POS: Defender
HT: 6-1
WT: 160
DOB: 5/28/91
Born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Hometown: McKinney, Texas
High school: McKinney High School
Former Club: FC Dallas 91
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