Not often does a player come along that catches the eye of professional coaches at a young age.
FC Dallas might have discovered such a talent in Bryan Leyva -- a 14-year-old that trained with the Mexican national team when they were in town to face Ghana in March. Leyva caught the eye of the Hoops with his amazing touch on the ball while also putting on a show with his juggling skills.
Juan Carlos Michia spotted the youngster, Leyva's father said, and was able to coordinate the training session with Mexican assistant coach Jorge Campos with the help of Hugo Salcedo, a soccer official who is the father of former MLS standout Jorge Salcedo. Michia was one of the first to recognize Freddy Adu's potential while a coach with the U.S. Soccer Federation.
"It was a really great experience," said Leyva of his training session with Mexico. "I really learned a lot from everything -- it was really exciting to practice with people I see on TV and admire."
Wednesday morning, Leyva joined the Hoops in training at Pizza Hut Park, giving Colin Clarke and his staff a chance to evaluate the local talent that plays many of his local league matches at Pizza Hut Park. Leyva plays for Everton FC America in the Dallas Classic League U-14 division, where he has seven goals as a midfielder. The club is an affiliate of Everton FC in the English Premier League.
"We're very excited about it," said Clarke. "Young kid, a lot of talent, heard a lot of great things about him. It will be interesting to see how he does with us."
The Hoops have done well in attracting local talent, such as Ramon Nunez, as well as recent signing Kenny Cooper. But one that got away would be Clint Dempsey, the Nacogdoches, Texas, native who now plays for New England and has a good shot at making the USA's World Cup roster this summer.
"Texas, and Dallas in particular, keep producing some very good players," said Clarke. "Obviously you never know where things are going to go in this league and what changes might happen, so we've always got to be very aware of our local talent and keep an eye on them.
"I would like to think somewhere down the line that any talent we nurture here in Dallas we'll be able to keep. It's exciting -- he's a young kid and I'm sure he's looking forward to it."
As an up-and-coming player the training experience will be valuable, but if his role models are any indication Levya could very well be a budding star.
"I really like Ronaldinho from Brazil," said Leyva. "I hope one day I will be able to do all the things he does."
Scott Joiner is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
