FRISCO, Texas – In 2011, FC Dallas Youth helped over 70 student-athletes earn college scholarships. Midway through 2012, that number has already reached 75. That’s nearly 150 lives changed in the last year and a half, and that number will continue to grow thanks to events like the FC Dallas College Coaches Combine that took place on the Complex at FC Dallas Stadium in Frisco this weekend.
FC Dallas Youth College Director Scott Dymond invited coaches from 20 college programs to personally conduct training sessions with every FC Dallas Youth team in the U-15 to U-19 age range over a three-day period.
“In a showcase [coaches are] watching them play 11 versus 11 and you really have no interaction with the players at all,” said Dymond. “They have the opportunity here not only to see the players, but get to know them a little bit better and discuss more than they would at a normal showcase.”
And the coaches in attendance also recognized the unique advantages the Combine’s format provides over a typical showcase.
“The main advantage is being able to train the kids,” said Trinity University Men’s head coach Paul McGinlay. “When you watch them in a playing environment, it’s not quite the same as training them and raising their expectations during an hour and half training session.”
McGinlay has been the head coach at Trinity in San Antonio for over 20 years. He said the FC Dallas-hosted event is as good as any he’s been to for recruiting purposes.
“It’s always good to come to a professional club,” said McGinlay. “The venue is superb, the training facility and the environment is first-class, and the talent pool to draw from is impressive.”
But it’s not just the male youth teams that were given a leg up over the weekend. The number of college programs present at the Combine was split approximately 50-50 by men’s and women’s coaches.
“There are some really good players out here,” said Colorado School of Mines Women’s head coach Kevin Fickes. “It offers us a nice venue to come out and do drills that we like to do with them, because all coaches measure players differently.”
Some things are universal, but we all have different measuring sticks in our minds, so it allows us each to measure the players in our own way.”
But Fickes was quick to point out that the event wasn’t just beneficial for the college coaches in attendance.
“FC Dallas is providing a really valuable service to their players,” explained the coach of the Division II program from Golden, CO. “Here the players can get used to playing in front of college coaches.
“Especially the younger players who maybe haven’t been to many showcases can now get used to college coaches watching them play. It’s a great thing that FC Dallas is doing to provide that service to their players.”