Earle Davidson had to take a step back and collect his thoughts.

He had just gotten the news.

FC Barcelona, one of the most distinguished soccer clubs in the world, was planning to open a youth soccer academy in Nashville.

Sporting Global CEO John Nash approached Davidson and asked if he wanted to lead the academy.

The news was surprising, but Davidson was hooked.

In partnership with Sporting Global, Barcelona will be opening a youth soccer academy in Nashville in mid-August. The academy will be for boys and girls in the under-8 to under-18 age range.

Father Ryan High School and Harding Academy will serve as central locations when the academy opens. Father Ryan will host open tryouts the week of May 20, and Harding Academy will have tryouts the week of June 3.

The same training methods which have produced the likes of Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta, Xavi Hernandez, Carles Puyol and others will be used in the Nashville academy.

Nashville will be the eighth city in the U.S. to have a full-time youth soccer academy run by Sporting Global and Barcelona.

Davidson, who was Belmont's men's soccer coach for 17 years, will be in charge.

"It's something you dream about," Davidson said.

Why FC Barcelona and Sporting Global chose Nashville

Three years ago, Sporting Global hosted its first camp with Barcelona in Nashville.

Something clicked with Nash. He noticed how the city embraced the camp and how the city's values lined up with both the company and Barcelona. Nash started planning out how to bring another Barça Academy to the U.S. with the Music City in mind. It took three years to bring the idea to fruition.

During the three years, Nashville has continued to grow, and soccer has aligned with the growth. Nashville was awarded an MLS team, with Nashville SC beginning MLS play in 2020.

"There is no place in the U.S. where there is a stronger alignment in our values in the local communities than there is in Nashville," he said.

Another element of Nash's plan was finding facility and institutional partners. Father Ryan and Harding Academy were chosen after an evaluation period.

Father Ryan was in talks with Barcelona for about five months when President Jim McIntyre reached out to Harding Academy Head of School David Skeen.

McIntyre was looking for another partner for space and facilities to use. After a series of conversations in the last month, Skeen joined in.

"When we kind of (get) down to it, it's a lot more than just soccer," Skeen said. "It's about character development, it's about doing things right and making sure that you're developing the whole child, and that's really what we're all about at Harding Academy."

The impact of Barcelona's Academy

Barcelona's training methodology for its youth academies has been around for more than 40 years. It has produced some of the top players in the world, and has already had an impact in the U.S.

One of its more recent academies is in Northern Virginia, which is finishing up its second season. Nash said one of the senior teams in the area are ranked in the top 10 in the state in its age group.

Nash said he expects Nashville to have the same arc of progression. Off the field, it could continue the growth in the sport the city has seen in recent years.

"Their international reputation enlivens this community's passion for soccer," McIntyre said.

Said Davidson: "This is something else that shows where we're going in Nashville and what we're headed for. It's super exciting."

Reach Luis Torres at ltorres1@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @LFTorresIII.