Every player is going to have their highs and their lows over the course of a year. For the Houston Dynamo's Danny Cruz, those lows might have been a little lower than most, but the young midfielder is hopeful that the best is yet to come for himself in 2009.
The lows started right out of the gates at the MLS SuperDraft when Cruz was selected in the third round. Cruz was signed to the Generation adidas program, meaning that his salary would not count against the salary cap of whatever team selected him. As a result, many Generation adidas players are scooped up early, but Cruz remained on the board until the Dynamo selected him in the third round.
"I had a feeling after the way it went at the combine, that would happen," Cruz said. "Going late when you're a free player is tough mentally, but it's just going to make you better in the long run and I wouldn't have it any other way."
Rather than dwell on the teams that passed him up, Cruz buckled down and is trying to learn everything he can from the veterans around him and the coaching staff.
"Everything happened as best it could have," Cruz said. "I am in a great environment. I have two coaches who are trying to develop me and get me better every day. I am learning new things from veterans every day, and I don't think I could be in a better environment. I am very happy where I am."
The high on the year for Cruz had to be against Houston's opponents this week, the San Jose Earthquakes, where Cruz was brought on as a substitute, marking his first MLS appearance. For Cruz, the fact that Dynamo coach Dominic Kinnear had faith to play him so early in the season provided a lift for him.
"Giving me those 15 minutes helped me tremendously as a player," Cruz said. "I went in and worked hard, and it's a feeling that you are never going to forget. After that, you continue to work hard and hopefully get some more minutes throughout the year."
The year wouldn't have been a rollercoaster though if there wasn't another low on the horizon. After playing a solid 70 minutes against the PDL Laredo Heat in a scrimmage and making several dangerous runs, Cruz and went for a header and hit a player from Laredo. The ensuing thud broke Cruz's nose and was heard on the opposite side of the field.
"I knew it was broken," the rookie said. "It was a setback and I have to wear a mask which is definitely tough. I am trying to get it off so I can have better vision."
While a broken nose might have at least slowed down most every other player, it didn't slow Cruz down at all. The former high school football player was at practice a couple of days later despite having to have surgery later in the week.
"I'm a rookie, and I didn't want to sit out," the former UNLV midfielder said. "I couldn't breathe out my nose, so I had to get the plastic surgery and getting it fixed."
That type of work ethic has impressed not only his coach, but also the veterans on his team.
"I really like Danny and all the guys like Danny," Brad Davis said. "When you get a young guy that comes in and doesn't say much and just puts his head down and works hard, even if he loses a ball, it's not a big deal, because he is the first guy trying to get it back. For a young guy, that is all you can ask for. He's 19 years old and has plenty of time to learn a lot of stuff."
The next step for Cruz is to continue to work hard and try to earn playing time for Houston and hopefully earn a spot on the U.S. under-20 national team that is scheduled to compete in the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Egypt.
"My goals are to keep contributing as much as I can in practice, and in games if my number gets called," Cruz said. "I want to get better at the little things and that is what this club is helping me do on a daily basis. Big goal is to make the U-20 World Cup squad."
If U.S. coach Thomas Rongen needs a recommendation, he can call Davis.
"I think Danny has come in and I really do think we have had some good guys come in and in terms of the right head on his shoulder and coming in to work hard, he's one of the top guys," Davis said. "For me, he's a class act."
Dwain Capodice is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
