How FC Dallas Academy aided Weston McKennie’s unlikely path from ‘Texas boy’ to world-class star

FRISCO – Weston McKennie, Little Elm’s own son, is not going to charm home residents this week in the CONCACAF Gold Cup. He’s not even in the national squad. Both McKennie and Christian Pulisic, the USA’s best overseas players, have had a hectic club season in Europe and apparently need a little il riposo.

This latest omission isn’t as fearful as the last time McKennie was expelled from a national team. This snub came before he led the U-19s to the 2016 Slovakia Cup titleholders. Previously, he was the first American in black and white to bypass FC Dallas and Virginia for the Bundesliga and history from Juventus Turin. Before he got that big in Italy, his dogs gave him away.

Before he saw Ronaldo in his underwear.

“My goodness! It really is!”

In any case, it’s a long way from Little Elm to Turin. The route took him from Texas to Germany at the age of 6; back to Frisco and FC Dallas Academy at 11 am; a U-turn to Germany at 17; then, in August, at the age of 22, next to the most photogenic athlete in the world.

Such an unlikely path from small-town Texas kid to world-class midfielder was not without effort. For example, his failure to make it to the U-17 World Cup in 2015 was a fork in the road:

To continue his worldly ways?

Or back to Texas?

He chose the academy where he cultivated a dream that once seemed unthinkable and has made all the difference ever since.

“You have helped me a lot,” he says. “I went through some tough times with the U-17 team.

“You helped me put the pieces back together mentally, emotionally and physically.”

A late bloomer

Weston McKennie(fcdallas.com)

If Weston McKennie’s father hadn’t been in the Air Force, the McKennies probably wouldn’t have moved to Germany, and Weston wouldn’t have had to look for anything other than American football, and he wouldn’t be a budding international soccer star.

What would he do instead?

“To be completely honest, I would probably play American football,” he said. “I would sit here with 200 pounds.”

NFL soccer?

“I think I could have made it to the NFL if I had stayed with it,” he said. “I’m one of those guys, whatever I do, I give one hundred percent for it.”

Even as a child in Little Elm, he was so committed that he put on his soccer shoes after playing soccer in the car while his mother drove him to the next game. He loved soccer. He’s reportedly a Washington fan; his father prefers the cowboys. But when the family moved to Germany there was no place to play American football. Football became number one. Probably it helped that he was a child prodigy.

In his first game he scored eight goals. He was so good that he played in old age. Upon his return to Texas, he played at the FC Dallas Academy in 13 underground teams as an 11-year-old. Because of the age difference, his athletic prowess wasn’t noticed that early, which was another way of saying that there was no way to project that he was going to end up where he is now. What set him apart, if anything, was his level of maturity, said Chris Hayden, director of the academy. He was a born leader.

One of his favorite memories – which he at least uses to play other US players – was the U-16 team, which won a national title and went undefeated. Unless it didn’t. The team had to give up a game against Houston because one of their players was incorrectly registered.

They couldn’t believe that a perfect record was ruined because of an accounting mistake. McKennie was the first to smile. He told his teammates that even though they won fair and fair, they needed that mistake. They needed a chip on their shoulders.

“He was absolutely right,” said Luchi Gonzalez with a smile. “Don’t be a victim. He picked them all up. Even me, the trainer. “

The FC Dallas Academy – named the best MLS academy last year by Chasing a Cup, an international website – is not a kids’ camp. As Gonzalez, now the Dallas FC coach, puts it, they use a “hard love” approach. McKennie remembers mind games. Like practicing on a field near the MLS players, a visual reminder of why you were there and how hard you had yet to work.

“You’ve helped me in so many ways, I probably can’t even tell,” McKennie said. “I really developed my mentality here. It’s one of my greatest assets, one of the greatest things I give the game. Track back and stand up for my team to make sure my team stays mentally focused. Do not give up.

“Those qualities are qualities that you can’t really teach, but you can improve them, and I think that’s what I did here at the academy.”

He got a refresher after being removed from the U-17 World Cup squad. The stay in Florida had been miserable. One football site described him as a “peripheral figure”. Gonzalez isn’t sure what the criteria for forming the team were, but he knew that McKennie, a late bloomer, was not physically mature.

His head probably wasn’t in a good place either.

“He was one of those players who wouldn’t go on an international trip,” said Hayden. “This is difficult. This is difficult for a professional, let alone a growing child. He’s always been confident, but in those moments it’s easy to question yourself and ask if you’re doing what you are.” should do. “

McKennie came home and was working at the academy again. He still had the same confidence and talent, but as he rehabilitated his psyche, he became stronger and more flexible.

“He went from a U-17 fringe player,” said Hayden, “to captain the U-18 national team. I’m not sure that was a Dallas FC thing. What did we do? He came back, he continued to work hard, and we continued to support him along the way. I owe most of it to Weston. We had a lot of people in supporting roles. We wanted to help him rekindle that trust. It’s not that he ever lost it. “

It only took him a few weeks to get back to his old self, Gonzalez said. Only a little later came his decision to sign with FC Dallas, to go to Virginia on a football scholarship or to go back to Germany to play in the Bundesliga. There were no hard feelings, said Gonzalez when he opted for Schalke.

Gonzalez said he had no doubt McKennie would make it. He was just sad that it wouldn’t be at Dallas FC.

“We worked well together to take him to the next step,” said Gonzalez, “to the point where we could no longer afford him.”

“Texas Boy”

Juventus American midfielder Weston McKennie (C) warms up before the Italian Serie A soccer match Juventus vs Sampdoria at Juventus Stadium in Turin on September 20, 2020. (Photo by Miguel MEDINA / AFP) (Photo by MIGUEL MEDINA / AFP via Getty Images)(MIGUEL MEDINA / AFP via Getty Images)

So . . about the sighting of Cristiano Ronaldo in his Skivvies. . .

McKennie had just been loaned to Juventus by Schalke in September when he was visiting the Serie A club facility. He went in for his physical exam when Ronaldo went out.

“I’ve done everything I can to behave normally and not act like a total fanboy,” said McKennie with a laugh, “because he’s going to be my teammate.”

Juventus made the deal permanent in March. He even picked him up alongside Ronaldo when the club revealed their kits for the next year. McKennie calls it a “real blessing” to play with a legend who taught him discipline and professionalism. The feeling seems to be mutual, and not just because McKennie brings so much box-to-box energy with him. Ronaldo calls him “Texas Boy”. Italian fans take it as a great compliment that their soccer god actually knows where McKennie is from.

McKennie is making a name for himself, and not just for his play on the pitch. He took to Twitter last year to protest the shooting of George Floyd. In a short video for Adidas with the brand “Standing for Equality” he referred to racist epithets in Germany and to his fear of driving at night in Dallas, “because I don’t know what will happen if I am stopped. ”

Because of his obligations, he only comes back to Texas once a year. He said last month that he enjoys the relative anonymity of his home.

“In Italy,” he said, “people follow you about 200 meters and go into the shops you go to and corner you and take photos.

“Even my dogs in Italy are recognizable so it’s hard to get out.”

Better get used to it because from here life just gets more complicated. He has broken down barriers and is on his way to lead the USMNT when the 2026 World Cup comes to North America. He’ll be 23 next month. It would not reach its prime until ’26.

How far could that kid from Little Elm go?

“The sky,” said Hayden, “is the limit.”

More coverage of FC Dallas in the Dallas Morning News can be found here.

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