As he’s done countless times over the past dozen or so years, Oscar Cordon drove his eldest son — and namesake — to a soccer game last weekend.

The destination has changed over time — pint-sized five-on-five; teams in North York, Brampton and Mississauga; provincial youth sides; Toronto FC Academy — but dad’s message never wavered: “You have to give everything on the field and be proud of the shirt you are wearing.”

Clearly, the kid accepted more than just a ride from his old man.

Last Saturday, three hours after his dad dropped him off, 18-year-old Oscar Cordon Jr. trotted out onto the pitch at BMO Field for his first Major League Soccer start with Toronto FC. For the oldest of four children of immigrants from Guatemala, it marked a key point in his — and his family’s — dream.

“It was a great, great moment,” said Oscar Cordon Sr., 47, who was in the crowd but didn’t know his son was getting the start until his name was called out by the public address announcer just prior to kickoff.

“There are no words to explain it,” said the welder, who came to Toronto in 1987 when the Central American country was wracked by civil war.

“Since 14, this has been his focus. It’s a dream becoming a reality.”

Three weeks ago, when TFC traded Dwayne De Rosario, the club’s captain and all-time leading scorer, to the New York Red Bulls, head coach and technical director Aron Winter called the deal “part of our rebuild process.”

In many ways, Oscar Cordon represents the foundation of that rebuilding.

Born at St. Joseph’s Health Centre, barely more than a few right-footed volleys from BMO Field, Cordon comes from TFC Academy. While the midfielder is not the first graduate of the youth program to sign a contract with the big club, he is the only one, so far, to earn a start under Winter.

And, while the Reds were dismantled 3-0 that night by D.C. United, Cordon acquitted himself well in an attacking midfield role. He pushed forward, looked confident on the ball and linked up well in completing passes with the strikers. The night’s performance earned him man of the match honours.

“You can see the moment he’s on the pitch, he loves soccer, he’s breathing it and he wants to become better,” Winter said. “He gives everything he has.

“I think he’s one of the guys who’s going to have a very good future.”

Winter and first assistant coach Bob de Klerk came to Toronto from FC Ajax of Amsterdam, a club with one of the world’s most highly regarded youth programs. One of their goals here is to improve the TFC Academy.

This week, TFC announced plans to build a $17.5 million training centre at Downsview Park. In addition to providing a permanent practice facility for the first team it will also be home to the Academy and its expanding stable of teen and pre-teen players being developed to become professionals.

But as important as infrastructure is, the youngsters also need to see others from within their ranks sign professional contracts and join the big club. Defender Doneil Henry and striker Nicholas Lindsay did it last year. Just prior to this season, it was Cordon and three others — defender Ashtone Morgan, midfielder Matt Stinson and forward Keith Makubuya.

Six Academy graduates, all from Ontario, on the 30-man roster helps lower TFC’s average age to 25.98 years, the third youngest in the league behind expansion sides Portland and Vancouver, according to MLSsoccer.com.

All but one of the six have seen action in an MLS game.

“When (Winter) called my name in the starting lineup, I was like, wow,” Cordon said. “I just felt it was a great opportunity, I had to prove myself.”

Three nights earlier, Cordon made his MLS debut — against David Beckham and the L.A. Galaxy — before a BMO Field sellout crowd of 22,453. He came on in the 79th minute of a 0-0 draw, completed all four passes and pursued and eventually stole the ball from the soccer celebrity.

“I had watched games on TV where he was playing and now I was up against him, taking the ball away from him,” Cordon said smiling.

“That was pretty cool.”

After his two solid MLS outings, Cordon went home to the apartment he shares with his parents, younger brother Allan, 16, and sisters Valery, 6, and Denisse, 3, in the Jane-Finch area of North York. It’s hardly the glamorous lifestyle expected of a young professional athlete, even by relatively low-paying MLS standards. But Cordon wouldn’t have it any other way.

“It’s the best feeling going home and seeing your parents and your family and knowing that you’re loved and you love them,” said Cordon, a Grade 12 student at Vaughan Road Academy, which is home to TFC’s youngsters.

“They’ve always supported me and are a big part of why I’m here.”

The 5-foot-9, 155-pound Cordon joined the Academy in 2009 after playing for the Mississauga Falcons and Ontario’s U-14, U-15 and U-16 teams. He’s also played for Canada’s U-18 team in Costa Rica, been called up to the U-20 national team and hopes one day to play for Canada’s senior side.

Perhaps not surprisingly for a playoff-starved franchise that’s just shipped its biggest star out of town, Cordon has been seen by some as the next De Rosario. It’s a tag he appears to want no part of.

“He’s a great player but I’m not looking to compare myself to anybody,” Cordon said. “What he’s done is big for this league and for Canada.

“But I’m on my own road. I want to make a name for myself too.”