Scuffed | USMNT, World Cup, Yanks Abroad, futbol in America - Episode 81: Interview with Eric Quill, head coach of North Texas SC

Episode Date: June 17, 2019

FC Dallas has arguably the best academy in Major League Soccer. Four players who came through its doors were on the 21-man U.S. roster at the U20 World Cup in Poland. The national teams at younger age groups are peppered with Dallas kids. And now those kids are getting professional minutes at the ages of 16 and 17 with North Texas SC, the franchise's gateway to MLS first team minutes. The coach of that team, which is 7-1-2 in USL League One, is Eric Quill, the guy who identified Chris Richards from near Birmingham, Alabama, recruited him to Texans SC, and took that team to a national title in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy playoffs in 2017. He joined the podcast for a wide-ranging conversation on everything from the training schedule in Frisco to Nico Carrera’s confidence and whether Dante Sealy has the sauce. Skip the ads! Subscribe to Scuffed on Patreon and get all episodes ad-free, plus any bonus episodes. Patrons at $5 a month or more also get access to Clip Notes, a video of key moments on the field we discuss on the show, plus all patrons get access to our private Discord server, live call-in shows, and the full catalog of historic recaps we've made: https://www.patreon.com/scuffedAlso, check out Boots on the Ground, our USWNT-focused spinoff podcast headed up by Tara and Vince. They are cooking over there, you can listen here: https://boots-on-the-ground.simplecast.comAnd check out our MERCH, baby. We have better stuff than you might think: https://www.scuffedhq.com/store Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Welcome to the scuffed podcast. I'm Adam Bells in Minneapolis. With me is Greg Velasquez in Des Moines. We talk about U.S. men's soccer. Hey, y'all. Our guest today is Eric Quill, the head coach of North Texas SC, the U.S.L League One affiliate of FC Dallas. He stands at the threshold between arguably the highest performing MLS Academy in the country right now and one of the best player kids' first teams in the league. The USU20 side that just fell in the quarterfinals of the World Cup in Poland included four players with FC Dallas pedigree. There will be more in upcoming cycles. Dallas is one of the places where the action is. Eric, thanks for joining the pod. How are you? Good, man.

Thanks for having me. Yeah. My pleasure. Thanks for being here. So let's start with North Texas SC. What sold you on the job and what is the mission as you see it? So it sold me the job is obviously the organization. I've played under the organization as a player back in MLS and also had the pleasure, but sometimes not pleasure,

of playing against the academy here for the last six or seven years while I coached in Houston. And I've seen the great work that they've done here, Bucci and obviously Oscar started originally and Chris Hayden. And so I've just felt like this organization's been trailblazing the youth game, and they've done a really, really great job. and it shows the amount of players they've been signing to homegrown contracts and the processes that are in place here. So I spoke to Lucci. I've gotten pretty close to Lucci over the years to our Academy Director's course and obviously coaching against each other. So when he moved on to the first team, he asked me to be a candidate to interview.

And so I wanted to jump at that opportunity and came and interviewed and God bless me with the job. So I really am appreciative to Dan Hunt and Hunt family and to bring me back to Dallas. And I'm appreciative to Chris Hayden and Lucci for thinking of me in this capacity. So all in all, it's been a great decision and a great move. All right, great. So you guys went up 30 over, let's just get right into the action here. You went up 3.0 over TFC2 last week and gave up a goal late in the first half, make it 3-1, and then two more in the second half.

ended up as a draw. What do you tell a bunch of 16, 17, 18, 19-year-olds after a game like that? They're up 3-0 in the first half and end up dropping points. Well, I think you break it down for them really in logical chunks. And so what we broke it down to them was we always talk about the last five minutes of a half and how important it is to see out of half. And I think that the goal that they scored, and I think the 44th minute was one that really allowed them to come out on their front foot in the second half

versus if they don't score that and we go to the half three zero, maybe they're questioning themselves and maybe they stay on their back foot like we had them in the first half. So you see the importance of that that goal that sort of ignites and changes the momentum, if you will. So I think that's where we really got ourselves

in a bind was coming out in the second half. They had a belief to them and you know, when teams are at home and they have a belief to them, they're hard to stop and they came with and they had to throw numbers forward so they They really went aggressive in their style, which we expected. But, and again, we're very young, and so we learned a lesson on we can't get penned back for

long periods of time, especially not the quality we have. We just struggle to find possession, which has never been a problem of ours. So they impose their will on us, and we don't want to see that too often. So we want to go back and look at it and study it. And we're pretty honest with ourselves, and that's, they can't be, we can't give up points like that. So hopefully that we get in that situation the next time, it's a different story. So that's all you can hope for as a coach is these are good exercises and growth. And you hope that the team responds the next time they're up in a game and feeling like they may be cruising, if you will.

Right. Yeah. Well, speaking of not dropping points, you guys haven't dropped very many. You've, aside from a loss to that TFC two team a couple weeks ago, you guys are undefeated. top of the table in U.S.L. League one. And I wonder, you know, is the level of the league high enough for what you guys are trying to do, trying to get, you know, young players ready for FC Dallas's first team or maybe some other first team somewhere?

Is it good enough? Is it good enough? I think so. I mean, it's not like we're not blowing anybody out of games or every game's been competitive. There's some really good players in the USL one that, you know, arguably can be in championship flights with other squads. So I've been really happy with the level of play. So, you know, we have plenty of guys from our second team that are getting opportunities with our first team in a training environment because of the form

and because of the level of what USL League One brings to us. And so these guys are coming into our first team training. They're getting brave reviews. So for me, I think that, you know, we don't see any, you know, the level, being any different. I think that if you played championship side, which we did in preseason, there's not a real

difference in my opinion. So maybe some here and there, maybe some teams are deeper than others. But so we've been happy all and all for the level of play at the U.S.L. League one. That's good to hear, because it was a bit of a question before the season started, right? I mean, some MLS

franchises were thinking maybe we'll wait and see what the level is like before we drop our second team to U.S.L. League one. I don't know, did, were you, can you add any more color of that? Like, it's, at least in your perspective, it's, it's panned out well. Yeah, it has. I mean, I think any time a new league starts, you know, everybody's questioning or

hesitant to think that it's going to provide what they need. So somebody's got a trailblaze that path, and we were one of them. And I think it allows for some good flexibility with our roster movement. So it works in a lot of ways really well for the organization. So I think all in all, if you're one, we're very happy. And I think others will probably take note of that and, you know, maybe join USL League one. I think more and more teams will join in.

And, you know, I think they've done a really good job in this, getting this off the ground. So we'll see where it goes, but we're happy. Yeah, yeah. I mean, I see in Seattle, you know, Seattle's been their second team is probably the closest thing to what you guys have with North Texas. and they're playing in the championship. And they've had some better results lately, but they've really struggled.

And I know, maybe you could talk about the balance between, you know, throwing a young player out there and giving them the right level of challenge and maybe throwing a young player out there and throwing them to the wolves, you know? How do you sort of balance that? Well, I think like anything, moderation probably is the word you want to use.

I mean, if we're talking about throwing them to the world, growing 14 to 15, 16, 17 year olds to that level immediately. Maybe that's not the right ratio. But if you're wisely choosing the ones you think are ready, whether it be psychologically, physically, you know, it's all stuff that the organization's got to decipher. But I think it's all like moderation is the word. I think if we're honest with the player pool

and if they're ready or not for that level. And I think we have a good preseason. played some USL championship sides. So, you know, I think we have playing backgrounds. We know what the level should look like when we're going to, you know, put a kid on the field and know the timing of which should be right. And so I think we do a good job of really sitting down as a staff and as an organization to figure out when the right time to put a 16-year-old kid in the game is or when, you know,

we bring him in a training environment first. And so there's a little, there's a real methodology. to what we're doing with our young players when we think it's time to give them a shot. So every organization is different. I think some of that sprinkled in, you know, some veterans of late 20s along with the younger players. So I think it's one of those deals where every recipe is not the same. And it's one of those stealing out phases.

I mean, this is our first year with having a second team. So, you know, one day will we be playing a championship flight? I don't know. It's maybe. I don't, I just don't see. right now we're very happy and we'll see where it goes. So, you know, I think that, you know, New York Red Bull, they have a good side that's competing well in championship, white. Right.

You know, you have some organizations that are doing really well, then you've got some of the bottom of the table, like just like any sort of table you see. So, you know, I think we can play what if the what if game. If we're in championship white, where do we sit in the table, which is fun to talk. about and I'm sure it is. I think we can compete in that level for sure. I know we can compete on that level. So we'll see, you know, at the end of the year, we'll see where we are and what the organization

wants to do. But I think if you ask anybody within the walls here, everybody's really happy with the U.S. League 1. Okay. Cool. So how do you guys decide? You said there's a methodology to it that's pretty, you know, pretty rigorous. And, you know, without giving away a bunch of trade secrets, can you tell me,

Can you give me an idea of how you guys decide? You know, this kid is ready to make his debut. Nico Carrera made his debut just this past week for you guys with North Texas. And also, what's the methodology for deciding? Hey, Ricardo Pepi's ready to start in U.S. Open Cup, you know? Can you talk about those methodologies? Yeah, yeah, no, it's really, I mean, it starts in the training environment, right? That's the first logical step to sort of test the waters with a kid.

And so, you know, Nico Carrera playing with 17. You know, the next logical step is having trained up with the 19s. And then, you know, how does he do with the 19s? And then we bring him into the second team environment, which we did for, you know, for a week or two. We brought him in a preseason. And we brought them in, you know, periodically throughout months of time. And we just evaluated him. And we spoke as a staff and with first team staff.

And I know Lucci was in support of it, you know, so it's not a decision that I solely make on my own to say, I'm thinking of playing Nico Carrera this weekend. It's one that we sort of see how he does in a match within the second team. And he showed him very, really comfortable, and he's mature beyond his years. So we felt really comfortable. And again, it's not easy for a kid to come in as a sub, you know, 25 minutes into a 3-1 game where the momentum is basically gone back the other way. So we put him in a tough situation.

It was a tough exercise for him. So, but one that he was, you know, again, after the game, he's got a really professional attitude about where he's going to go in his game and the things he needs to work on and was appreciative of the opportunity. So, you know, again, like I said, going, you know, long story short, we go to the training environment first and, you know, Lucci, when it comes to a second team player, he's going to be tested in the first team environment through training first, you know, and if we can play a friendly game, and then Lucci can utilize a second team player and he gets a good idea.

idea of what he looks like and how he thinks he fits in and then he they speak as a staff and figure out hey let's find a right time he did really well he's done really well let's find the right time and sure enough puppy's right time was the open cup game um this past week and and at smu yeah i mean that must be is some cause for celebration for you right when a when a player makes that step up to the next up to the next level even on yeah no without question But that's one of my, you know, our goals as a second team coach, is second team staff is to get players promoted. You know, that's our, that's our body of work that we feel proud of. And so, again, Pepe's deserve this. And, you know, hopefully it ignites many more behind them. You know, like that's human nature takes over when you're a teammate of Pepe and you see your peer get that call up. and it sort of ignites something in you that sort of brings more to the table and say, hey, I'm close.

If FEPI's getting this opportunity, I know I'm close. And so that could be a really spontaneous combustion. It could be a good chain reaction that happens throughout the club with other players, drives them on to make that jump. And we fully expect that to be the case with three or four others that we have in the pipeline that we think can make that jump pretty soon. So, yeah, no, we feel that's our number one. And I want to say our number one,

but it's one of the number one goals we have as the staff is to make sure we're promoting players and not to do it every once in a while, but be consistent contributors of our second team players into the first team environment. What are the mechanics of training and all that? Do you guys train simultaneously with FC Dallas? Or is there overlap?

Yeah, go ahead, sorry. We do a little stagger. We stagger our time a little bit, just so it allows, if Lucci needs a player, allows them some more flexibility with time, sort of extends that window if we train at the same time. for both of us for an hour and a half, maybe that window shortens

versus if we staggered a bit and so it creates like a two and a half hour window for player utilization, whether it be individual development plans when they go over late in the session to do some stuff, whether it be going over late in the session and play 5E5, you know,

it just allows more of a time span flexibility for us to add players into that session. So we stagger them by 30 to 45 minutes. Okay. And then the CAD at like the U-19s and you 17s, are they also staggered with you? They're staggered too. So they're staggered.

So they start about 30 minutes before we start. So like I said, we have the, and we train all next, you know, at field next to each other. So if I need a player and I want a player from the 19s, I can go over, you know, player can come in and run over and jump in our session. And, you know, typically there's a lot of conversation beforehand about which players are going to come at what time. So based on what we're working on and then we want to see in these,

different profiles. So there's a good communication level amongst the 17s, 19s, and second team and first team. It sounds glorious. I got to be honest. I wish I could check it out sometime. So how much sounds like you have... Come on down. All right.

All right. Write down Interstate 35. How much of a say do you have over who is on your roster on a week-to-week basis? It sounds like a lot. It sounds like it's a pretty collaborative decision, but... No, yeah, I've got a lot of flexes. lot of autonomy with our roster. I mean, obviously, Lucci provides the first team guys if he wants to make some available

to me, and in which case those guys are going to play. So when he has those players in which he wants to get second team minutes, those players come down in which there's a pecking phase. And so it may knock a few guys out of a lineup, but these guys know our second team sign players know that that's the right of passage for the first team player is he's going to come in, he's going to play. And so the nature of the beast is that knocks you out. You don't want to be that player, then make yourself to the first team.

That's the conversation. And so there's a real respect for the process that we have in place when that stuff happens. So I've got a lot of autonomy of which academy players we feel we need for the weekend or which ones we want to see based on performance throughout the week of training and who we feel are ready are the ones we need to give a new shot to who are coming up to the projection pecking order. So there's a lot of conversations that take place between our staffs that we make a good roster for the weekend that we feel comfortable with that can compete. Okay. Well, you sort of already answered this question, but I'll ask it again just to hopefully get a little bit more specifics.

Take the example of Nico since he's the most recent debutante. What did you see from him in training that made you think he was ready to play, you know, ready to play, you know, ready to play, you know, ready to play with the U.S.L. side, like, ready to make that jump. Well, for the first time I ever brought Nico into the second team, he came, without knowing anybody on the field, he came and basically was yelling and screaming and demanding players to do certain things and moving them around and community, and we all looked at each other like, this kid does not lack confidence and he did not lack leadership abilities. And, like, so those things jump out of, you know, off the table to you.

and, you know, he is a humble but hardworking kid. He's competitive, and you just see all these factors sort of play out in an hour and a half training session, and you think, okay, he's one that's going to get a shot sooner rather than later. So just from a, I mean, like I said, he's 17 years old, but he acts like he's 25. Yeah. You know, he's a good locker room presence. He's, like I said, super humble.

He's the first kid grabbing a bag to help. So he just gets it. He's got a great character to him. them. So I was really happy to give them the debut. And I know there's going to be plenty more to come and along with other players here. The culture here is such that these players know where they stand and there's a lot of humility and they're willing to do whatever it takes for the club, for the crest. And so that's been really fun to watch with all these players shake your hands in the morning when they go to training and not one player misses it as a culture.

testament to Chris Hayden, Lucci, and, you know, Oscar back when he was here, just what these guys have been able to built through the academy is really remarkable. Yeah. Well, since we're on the Nico Carrera subject, there's, you know,

Ricardo Pepe, as you well know, is a key member of the U.S.U.17 men's national team. I'm guessing players like Dante Cili, W. Rodriguez, Jonathan Gomez, and Carrera are on Rafael Wiki's radar. I don't know that. I'm just guessing that. But I wonder, does he consult with you? Does he check in? I mean, it's such a,

you know, the culture's so good there. There's so much talent in that academy and so many of those players are now getting actual, you know, professional minutes. It's got to be high on his priority list to be knowledgeable about what's going in. Does he check in with you? I have not spoken with him, but I know his assistance and guys within the federation, who I've been close with over years and are working in the scouting department for U.S. soccer. They've reached out to me quite a bit to get my opinion on certain players. So, yeah, there's a healthy line of communication coming from the Federation

between myself and our organization on behalf of the players that we have that's on their watch list. Okay. So he's definitely one that I assume we'll make, get a call up and run with it when he gets his opportunity. Same with John and Gomez. I know he went to a camp recently with Dante and they both did great. and Chris Che was another one So

There's a Like I said We're not we're not short for talent here And I think that More and more of these players We'll get opportunities But Niko's Nico will get one here soon

And just knowing the type of player he is They'll follow up with him as well They need centerbacks You 17s need centerbacks I need true centerbacks So I hope you're right about that Now I don't want to mindlessly

mindlessly add to the hype around Ricardo Pepe because there's a lot of hype and, you know, who knows how his career will go, but you've now coached him for several months. And I am curious, if he maxes out his potential, what, what striker would be a good comparison for him, you know, when he sort of reaches his peak? What's a good analogy? Like, what kind of? Oh, man, that's a tough one. I like that question a lot. It's a really, he's very he's unique in a lot of ways he's a slasher like right now he's he's a he runs um he's a relentless runner he runs in channels always off back shoulders he's not but he's got he's gonna he's got the body makeup eventually where he can be more he can play a hold up player as well um but he's he's

slight right now he's you know he's an o three he hasn't he hasn't grown into his body um and so thinking he's going to be a post-up fact to goal you know hold play up right now with guys that are 27, 28, 29 running into the back of them is not realistic right now, but he's got that ability when he grows into physically his body to be able to hold guys off better. But right now, I mean, his run, the dad on him, the amount of running he does is absolutely mind-blowing. I mean, he never stops and it's high-speed running. It's not like jogging around, you know, jogging through lines. It's always on the sprint. changing speed and peeling off people.

And he just, it's amazing. So I don't have a fair comparison, one that I would feel comfortable saying right now, but come back to see it at a later date, I'd probably have a more astute answer. Well, it wouldn't be a bad thing. But I like the question. It wouldn't be a bad thing to combine those two types of striker, have a striker, have a striker who can slash and be a holdup guy because that'd be sweet. he's got he's got more more speed than people give him credit for it I mean he's

I think because of his size people think he's not this fast player but I've seen him in a lot of foot races and especially in USL being one where you think that maybe he's not he's going to be the lesser and he's he's somehow he breaks into a different gear and you're like wow you know it's really amazing now he's he's maybe deceptively faster than people give him credit for so but then he's his ability inside the last 30 yards in the field is and it was He's in tight spaces, tight windows, the ability to get shots off and not just get shots off but score goals in different techniques

is uncanny for his age. Yeah, an exciting player, exciting player. Well, thanks for the work you're doing with him on behalf of all U.S. soccer fans. Another one that you've been coaching a lot lately is Dante Seeley. He's had some encouraging performances over the past few weeks. What does he need to do to,

take it to the next level you think as a player? Like, what are you telling him? So Dante's got, I mean, he's a ton of talent. I mean, he's the next high projection in the club. Going forward, he's special. He's got a unique feel for the game. He's got a change of speed that's very high level. He's got great feet.

He's another ambitious player in the final 45 yards in the field. Like, he wants to score goals. He wants to be the guy. I think for Dante is going to be the transition moments now where the up and back at the highest level where you need 10 guys transitioning behind the ball because when you play against real quality teams you can't have, you know, those transition moments have to be done by everybody in a collective fashion. And I think that I think it's just that endurance piece where he's just up and back, up and back is where his, if you look at that data on Dante, when he's, if you look at that data on Dante, when he's, gets into those elite level first team sort of GPS marks is where I think is going to take off. I think, you know, in the academy, you can get by with, you know, maybe not transitioning back

in certain moments and not getting punished for them. But I think as we know in the highest level where players are in the final, the top five positions, you know, they can hurt you in transition if you're not a collective group. group getting back. So, um, but he's, Dante's gotten so much better with it over the past couple months that, um, it's not, look,

if that's the, if that's the area, that's an easy one. Um, so we, the future's bright with Dante. Dante's gonna, Dante's gonna do very,

very well from himself. Um, and he's, he's one that obviously, again, he sees a peppy. He's got a first, he's on for, you know,

with the first team, um, on a consistent basis, too, with peppy. And so I think you're seeing, um, In the next six months to a year, you're going to see Dante really, really come into his own.

He's grown as a young man, and so I just think all these characteristics together are going to allow him to find a lot of success. I mean, Dante's got a huge ceiling. So he's one that we definitely have our teeth into working with him consistently to try to get him in the next level. Here's my main question about him. Does he have the sauce? Can he skin guys? From the wing? He can.

I mean, he can. I mean, I think, so Dante likes to play on the right side where he comes in a lot of his left. It's going to be, and again, this modern day of age being able to be able to play on both sides, where if he goes out on the left and needs to become more of a crosser, a setup guy, he needs to be able to do that. So, but he's got, I mean, he can change his speed. He glides. I mean, Dante's a glider.

I mean, he goes by you with ease. So it's going to be, again, another part of his growth is that maybe changing, speeds a little bit more on people to get that separation and to get to get to get your cross off. And you can't just be one dimensional. We know that like you know that you can't play on the right side just cut in on his left all day mom because teams watch video and, you know, when he does come in, he's going to have to combine and get back out to his right foot again. And can he hurt people with his right foot? That's going to be the question. You know, he's got a right foot. I've seen it. So he's going to be putting him more into situations

where he's got to become a goal score with his right foot. Because obviously, as we know, when you're a dual-footed winger, it creates a lot of success for you. When teams can't sort of pre-plan for you and yet you keep them guessing, you're going to be that much more worthwhile to the organization and for yourself. So we do a lot of switching. He plays half on one side, half on the other. And so, you know, again, I've told them all it's the stat world. I mean, you've got to score goals and you've got to get assist.

I mean, that's what we are ultimately judged by in those front three positions. So he's got to take that to heart and grow and know that, and he's hungry. I mean, I know he's going to do it. He's just, he's come into a good little phase of play the last month. So he knows what's upon him. And again, I think he can skin guys. Long story short, he can skin guys. I've watched it consistently in training.

Okay, yeah. I was especially impressed with, I think it was the third goal against Richmond, where he pulled it back from the end line with his right foot. Made a good decision there for David, I think, to put it away. way. I love to see that. Just me editorializing a little bit here. Let's talk about, let's go back a little bit. You coached one of the most successful youth teams in DA, recent DA history back in 2017.

That U-18 team with the Houston Texans starred Chris Richards and Christian Cappy outperformed to every MLS team in the country on its way to the title. Can you talk a little bit about that, putting that team together and the run you guys went on? Yeah, no, it's a special group. I mean, a lot of those players, you know, outside of those two players you just named, I had for two to three years together. So there was a real solid base of a really good talent and hard work ethic. And we were a blue-collar group.

But then, you know, obviously Christian was a special talent going forward. He was our focal point in the front half of the field. And then Chris, I had a. Chris, we needed somebody as a centerback for stability to sort of solidify the spine of the group. But I knew we had the pieces to really compete with anybody. I know I didn't know a national championship on the horizon, but it was the goal. I mean, we said that was the goal from the beginning of the season was this is we're going to, we're going to shoot for the stars and go for a national championship.

And we said it each night after every training session to each other. Wow. And they trained, possessed. I mean, and I haven't seen a group train that hard consistently in night to night. night like this group did. So you just saw a belief once they made it in the play. I mean, limped in the playoffs. I mean, we were like the last, last group then, I think. And I think that's all it took. There was a belief once we made the playoffs that we were going to win at all. And they just, they hit a stride in the playoffs and won the first game, even though we were, to be

honest, we were outplayed by Montreal, but hit them three times in the break. And it was one of those results you sort of look back on and you got a bit of lucky, what you need sometimes in the playoff. Of course. You know, and then we hit a stride where we became the better side. And a lot of the games, we played moving forward.

And once the team believes and has that chemistry, and then the chemistry was the unsung hero. I mean, it's group really liked each other. And they fought for each other. They, they hung together off the field every moment they could. And that special bond allowed them to win a lot of games late.

And so it was a unique group, one that I'll be fond of the rest of my life. but you know the two pieces that was all of christian capus and and chris richards were definitely you know too bright spot that came out of that that experience richards is richard is such a fascinating story because he was he was playing in suburban birmingham alabama when you i believe when you recruited him is that that's right hoover i guess correct so so he just had a really good he's now everybody who listens this podcast knows he plays for byron munich and they're their academy setup at the moment.

He was perhaps a standout American of the U-20 World Cup, definitely in the top two or three. What did you see in him as a player when you recruited him to Texans' SC back in 26. Was it 2016? 2016, yeah. Well, I saw a kid that came in. He was very gangly, so he knew he came with his father. His father was 6'5, I think, and Chris was about 6'2 maybe 2 at the moment. and you could tell he was gangly.

He hadn't grown into his body yet, and you thought, looking at his dad, okay, I knew he was a centerback, so I'm like, this looks good, this looks promising. And then he steps on the field in a trial. And, you know, the first thing I saw was a guy that hit his body and his intention and fired through the lines of the past, like over, you know, 20 yards on the ground. And I thought, wow, this kid, it was a, yeah, and my first question was, did you play? are you a basketball player? He said, yes. Are you a point guard? I said, he said, yes.

And that's where I knew we had something because centerbacks that can pass like that and disguise their body and what the accuracy he passed with and the intention was unique. And that opened, when people can hide, when center backs can hide their body frame, it opens up bigger windows for passing and bigger windows for special players like Christian Capus to get on the ball and operate in space. That's a lethal combination. So his passing ability was really eye-popping. And then when you see the athleticism, you put it all together.

And his aerial abilities through the roof. I never saw him lose the header. He had soft feet. You know, the one area that we worked on that he had to get better was his ability to drive the 40-yard ball on a dime. He had this long, long release. And so we fixed it and sort of shaved it down. a bit and wanted him to try it more.

We played him as a right as a left side of centerback. So he's forced to use his left foot a lot. And so he became dual-footed in the year. I mean, he really, he could hit it with both feet. And it was, I mean, his ceiling within a year, how fast he grew was amazing. I mean, not only physically, but just as a player, as a leader, he was, it was a fun, fun year for me as a coach to just watch this kid block. in front of him.

And that's when, after we won it, I thought he doesn't need to stay. He's another year with us, and it would be way too much, so he needs to go. It's time for him to move on. Do you think his basketball experience helps him recognize danger fast? Because that's the thing that really sticks out to me, in addition to what you're saying. Like, he sees what's happening before almost anybody on the field, it seems like. You think that's a basketball-related thing? Yes.

I think anybody who plays basketball, anybody that plays basketball knows how high-velocity and being pressed, and it's a fast-paced game. And composure is a massive key to being successful in basketball. And he's always, Chris has always been composed, never rattled, always sees the two steps ahead. So you could close him. He's, you know, just a little bit he passes. He just bumps into people's feet at the right time.

right moment. Never really gets caught in the ball. And as always just really smooth and first taking his touch in the areas that he needs to take him to protect himself, start to give himself more time. So he just makes decisions that are basketball decisions. I mean,

so I definitely attribute his basketball background to his success in soccer. Very interesting. So what role did you plan finding that landing spot for him in Dallas? And I guess Capus, Cabas went to Dallas too, didn't he? Yes.

Did you kind of make that happen? Yeah, so it happened to be the FC Dallas was in the national finals in the U-6 teenage group and we were in the national finals in the 18th and we were at the hotel, St. Lucille, and I was going through the Academy Director's course with Luce at the time

and I told them that I have two players that are juniors and they have another year that they don't need to be with us anymore. they need the environment of FC Dallas and because what they've proven to be here. I mean, it doesn't take a genius to figure out what they've been able to provide the young player here. And I felt like with the processes that they have in place here that Christian Captus and Chris Richards were going to get first team training opportunities, which is what they were needed. I couldn't offer them that. And so we came up with the plan, Mucci and I.

and Chris Hayden, and so I felt really good about letting them go. Much of the chagrin of some teammates in Texans and parents, he thought, what are you doing? We can try to win another one. Yeah. It wasn't the right. It was, it would have been very, what word am I looking for? It would have been negligent on my part to keep those players around for another year

when I felt like they had outgrown the environment big time. So I was happy and obviously looking hindsight, looking back. It was the right decision, and those players are flourishing because of FC Dallas, what they provided them, and now on, I mean, Christian Cap is now in Denmark and doing really well. So I'm proud of them both. Yeah, flourishing because of you, too. Couldn't have, might not have worked out the same way without your wisdom. Of course, this all happened.

All this good stuff happened across town from the Houston Dynamo, who still, you know, there's academy still kind of struggling, at least from my vantage point, where you have, ever contacted by them to potentially work for them or have a close relationship between the Dynamo or the Texans? No, I never, I mean, it was never, never a sit down really to align or to discuss. I mean, I've been around the former academy director and Paul knew the new one now for a little bit, but nothing, no plan. I never offered a job or anything like that to to work within the organization there. So, you know, for me it was, you know, we, I always said that, like, if there was a,

if anybody, if Dynamo came for a player of ours, show me the plan. Show me the plan. You have for them. That's all it was was, you know, I'm not going to hold anybody back. But if you're taking a player just to take a player, then that, for me, that's, I don't know, I feel like that's the obligation of the organization is to, you know, if you're going to take a the key that you're projecting to be a pro, show us how, show us what the pathway is for that player.

Show us, you know, and that's all I wanted. And so, you know, again, it's an organization. I think Paul has done a great job there now. And it's one that looks maybe it's going to on the rise a bit. And so hopefully, you know, again, we want, we want players in the American game to succeed. So these MLS organizations are providing great training platforms for players. And so, you know,

It just happened to be a situation where I happened to be on the course with Lucci. And the FC Dallas had been doing, they had shown that the training integration was real. And it wasn't something that happened every once in a while. It's something that happened on a daily basis. And I think that's where, for me, I felt very confident sending those two players here because I knew what they would be getting consistently. Yeah, right. Makes perfect sense.

What's the next step? Moving back to the FC Dallas and North Texas setup. What's the next step there in terms of getting even better as a pipeline? I'll just say it's hard to complain about what you guys are doing. It all seems really good, but do you think there's anything that can be done to improve it? Sure. I mean, you want to improve. I mean, I wouldn't say there's lots of things that – I'm just a believer that you can always improve.

So whether that – you know, I think what we're going to see is, you know, when players are signed from the second team to the first team is you're going to see now that's going to be the validation of the second team, right, to the, to the academy players, is they can see that pathway from the academy into the second team and into the first team. So that's a powerful, it's a powerful thing when somebody signs from, you know, first team contracts from the second team. And so, you know, I think that that's where we, the body of work and what we do is, is going to really be the focal point is trying to get more players that are, you know,

that the organization can sign that are first team ready. And when that happens is that 14, 13, 14, 15 year old that's in the academy right now, believe me, they're taking notice. And those guys are coming out to training every night. And those kids are coming, and they're windowed the walls here, and they see the first team play. It's been driven into them. And so there's a, it's a unique place.

And they, so that's what I think is you'll see with the longer that North Texas soccer clubs around is you're going to see more players sort of take that organic growth path into the first team rather than having to make a big jump. So I think that's what the purpose of the second team is, is to provide that organic step that allows a player to play and get those minutes he needs to guarantee that he's going to be ready. Yeah. So I'll just shoot my shot here on a couple of things.

How far is Ricardo Pepe from a first team contract? He's not far. I'll say that. Okay. He's not far. All right. Let's see. All right.

Well, how about you as, you know, you professionally, this is a, this is a, this is a, was clearly a good opportunity and you're, you're making the most of it, it appears. What's the, what would be the next step for you after your success at North Texas SC? You know, I mean, I don't, it's, for me, it's, you know, I started coaching for the love of being able to give back to the game that gave me so much. And, you know, I'm just like a player, you want to be the best of what you do. And that's what gets me out of bed in the morning. So if North Texas Soccer Club is where I land for the next 10 years, that's what God's plan was for me.

If it's becoming an NLS coach one day, that's the guy. So I strive, I strive, you know, to keep achieving at whatever level I coach. but I you know where I go I just know I'm in a great place right now and if one day an MLS opportunity came my way to be a head coach and you know then maybe I'm ready maybe I'm not but that's you know I think I'm all about goal oriented and making sure that you know I'm doing the best job for the organization here and for the players here to and that's ultimately what gives me the most joy is being able to work with these guys and provide an environment that allows them to springboard into something greater that they want for themselves.

And so where that leads me, I don't know. But I just want to keep working hard and enjoy what I do. Yeah. Awesome. Well, is there anything else I should have asked you that I didn't get to? No, I think you covered the vast majority of my life as a coach right now. In our organization, I appreciate you taking the interest in the time and allowing us to, or myself to provide the information because we have a great unique environment here,

a great organization that really thinks highly of player development. So it's a fun place to be, and many voices out there that allow us to show everybody what we do here and how our culture is so strong. So thank you for taking the time. Yeah, thank you. Thank you, Eric. Really appreciate it. Thank you for what you're doing in Dallas, too.

Good luck this weekend. I guess you guys face, Madison? Yeah, we're in Madison. So I appreciate it, man. And like I said, anytime I've got all the time in the world, so for the game of soccer and you guys giving us a voice. So I appreciate you.

You've taken the time as well. All right. All the best. Thanks again. Good, man. Take care. Yeah, bye.