San Jose Earthquakes General Manager Jesse Fioranelli with Head Coach Matias Almeyda

Photo credit ISI Photos/San Jose Earthquakes

Prior to the holiday season, a trio of media members sat in the office of San Jose Earthquakes General Manager Jesse Fioranelli in a meeting he personally requested.

As Joel Soria well-documented for NBC Sports, the topics of the meeting ranged from the re-signing of the 2019 core of Chris Wondolowski, Florian Jungwirth, Judson, and Cristian Espinoza, to the signaling of front-office changes which, when announced, included Fioranelli’s own contract extension and increased roles for Chief Operating Officer Jared Shawlee, Executive Vice President Jed Mettee, and Vice President of Strategy Ian Anderson. One area Fioranelli kept coming back to consistently was the Earthquakes Academy.

Displayed prominently on his desk is a Staff of the Year award from the US Soccer Development Academy (USSDA) presented to the 2019 girls Earthquakes Academy for the West Region. During the two-hour meeting, Fioranelli spent over 30 minutes talking about the Earthquakes Academy and the development pathway. It’s clear he takes particular pride in the success of the girls Quakes Academy winning a national championship in 2019 as well as the multiple homegrown signings that have taken place since he joined the team in January 2017 (including two new ones, Emi Ochoa and Casey Walls, this off-season).

“We do believe in the guys we have on this roster, that’s one thing,” he says, transitioning from discussing the re-signings to the homegrowns and academy, “Then there are the JTs, the Gilberts, the Caseys and Emis, [who] are not here for a headline. They are here because they have a pathway. From being in a young developmental role to being a contender to potentially being a starter.”

It’s here Fioranelli begins to lay out his model of player progression in the club referring to a few of the club’s homegrown players (HGPs): JT Marcinkowski, Gilbert Fuentes, Casey Walls, and Emmanuel “Emi” Ochoa, all of whom were signed by him at a young (or pre-college graduation in the case of Marcinkowski) age. “How important is it that the younger players have a pathway in mind? The way we look at our roster is: we have a starting player, we have a contender, and we have a younger player – a homegrown – between the first team, (USL affiliate) Reno (1868 FC), and the academy. And that’s with a long-term view [of the player]. The sooner the young player contends or actually starts, the more value it actually represents to the club, as you might imagine. If you have a JT up-and-coming, who we are really counting on, or a Nick Lima, who has done really well himself, the stronger our model actually is, [it] means the young players have been able to assume responsibility, and that they match up against the best clubs in MLS and against the best opponents.”

Developing Talent

While no MLS team has been consistently successful with a model of selling its talent in order to continuously fund player acquisitions and academy operations, Fioranelli sees this as essential for the Earthquakes to be able to compete with the relatively deep pockets of many other teams in MLS. “We have to be able to not only scout well and sell well, we have to develop really well. And that’s something…we have been focusing on a lot. Our academy teams, across the board, are competing for the top spots in MLS. Because we believe that if we develop them well – and we are patient and take care of these guys – that there will be an opportunity…that these guys could ‘graduate’ from the San Jose Earthquakes, maybe with a longer runway. But I do believe that’s how we can become sustainable.”

Pressed if this will work if the buying frenzy continues by MLS owners at its current torrid pace, Fioranelli concedes, “I don’t think it’s going to be sustainable if all we do is spend [without selling]. There’s no way.”

Over-and-over in the meeting with Fioranelli, he emphasized the family atmosphere that has become central to the club under head coach Matias Almeyda. He is interested not just in what players at all levels of the club can bring immediately to the first team, but how the environment around them is able to nurture their growth and how they work within the environment.

“Matias is very, very competitive. He does not want the first team to have to depend on a 17-year-old that mentally and physically is not ready, even though it would create a fantastic headline. He just believes ‘no, no, we have to continue to improve and sustain these players because they are not yet ready.’ So that’s a natural course of events that are part of their development pathway. Nothing has changed, we actually want to reinforce it even more. None of these signings would have happened if Matias and I didn’t believe in it together, but we are conscious of the fact it will take some time until they are ready to play on the main pitch.”

Asked why he chose to sign a 14-year-old goalkeeper like Emi Ochoa now, with four other goalkeepers on the roster, Fioranelli sees mutual benefits for player and club. “We have consciously decided that a player like Emi Ochoa – that had concrete interest from a Mexican club – that it made no sense for he and his mother to have to drive an hour-and-a-half from Salinas. We had long conversations with him, and he said, ‘I want to be here [in San Jose, so that] I can go to train with (Earthquakes GK coach) Carlos Roa.’”

Epicenter of Soccer

The Earthquakes are cognizant that the competition for players in northern California is rapidly growing. Recently, a 2004-born US youth national team (USYNT) goalkeeper at academy rival De Anza Force, Damien Alguera, went to Sporting Kansas City’s academy. Prior to his signing with San Jose, current homegrown Cade Cowell was heavily rumored to be on his way to Real Salt Lake’s academy. Other players with Mexican-born parents have been snapped up by Mexican academies – most notably Santa Rosa’s Jonathan Gonzalez heading to Monterrey. Soon, another northern California MLS team will be an option, Sacramento Republic, in 2022.

“Casey Walls – he’s European [Walls also has English citizenship] – there have been European clubs that have interest in him. We are not just identifying talent in San Jose. Today it goes from Salinas to San Francisco to Danville and Merced. We’ve been doing this now for several years: Being part of the (USS)DA system, integrating young players, signing them and then developing them.

As for Sac Republic, Fioranelli was sanguine. “I’m frankly not thinking about it all too much,” he said, “even though we are aware they are going to be joining two years from today, because I believe we are doing a pretty good job in northern California. It’s going to add competition, and it will also enrich a rivalry that up until today at least, did not exist because our natural rival used to be the L.A. Galaxy. But this is going to be great for every aspiring young talent in northern California, that there will be another club there that wants to compete in MLS two years from today. We’re trying to reinforce every single year what we can do. Now we have cast our net in these territories: east, north and south. Teams, coaches, players are aware and interested and want to join us, much more than a year ago – especially the Latin American community.”

Academy territory rights have been a topic at the annual MLS owner and general manager meetings with rumors persisting that the current MLS academy boundaries could be done away with in the future. Fioranelli did not deny the rumor has legs. Given this could happen in any off-season and given the level of competition for top northern California talent, how can the Quakes Academy ensure players are not falling through their grasp or heading to their competitors? Fioranelli says that when he started as general manager the club did not have the resources and scouting to identify the talent and develop the players. “It was impossible. I think now we are really doing our job that we need to do. We are doing it pretty well, in the sense that we are covering the entire northern California. (Head of Scouting) Bruno (Costa) is very present at the under-15 games, at the (US Soccer Development Academy) showcases. Our coaches are very active in identifying talent for us. We have cast that net well beyond 80 miles or 100 miles. And so, when we were looking at Emi and Casey, first, it was how do we integrate these players into our academy? This is a logistical nightmare.” Fioranelli is referring to the fact many academy players are now traveling up to two hours each way to come to practices. This was a big concern with Emi Ochoa coming from Salinas. “At a certain point, when you really realize that the talent you have identified is doing is really well – is part of the (US) youth national team – oh boy, there’s a team in Mexico that wants to extend an offer and invite the family down – you add it all up, and you say ‘What is the most logical next step for this family to do? Pack bags and send the kid two hours flight time away? Or is to have a place that he can call home with other fellow teammates in San Jose without the commute and have the coaches there to develop the player?’ So that’s how much it has changed over the last three years.”

Pathways and Coaches

If this model is so strongly dependent on the Earthquakes Academy producing players that can become starters in MLS, then there must be a better way of preparing players to make that leap. It has become commonplace for MLS teams to have at least one team in the United Soccer League (USL) pyramid. The Earthquakes have chosen to have a USL Championship affiliate with Reno 1868 FC several hours away. For now there is no plan for the Earthquakes to add a U-23 team in the manner of some MLS clubs at the USL League One or League Two level. Previously, players such as Nick Lima had the opportunity to play at a similar level in the Professional Development Soccer League in the summertime. Now, players will need to make the jump from the U-19 academy to Reno 1868 FC to continue their development. “(Reno 1868 FC Head Coach) Ian (Russell) has expressed he would like to work closer with Matias and the coaching staff, and that’s part of the reason in preseason we are going to have Reno here for three days.”

That development pathway to the first team begins with the USSDA system utilizing the Quakes Academy. It takes a close collaboration between Almeyda’s staff, Fioranelli’s direct reports such as Head of Methodology Alex Covelo, Head of Scouting Bruno Costa, and Technical Director Chris Leitch, and the Quakes Academy coaching staff.

Fioranelli explained the system: “Since 2017, Alex Covelo, our head of methodology, is the bridge between our game identity and how we train and exercise and analyze for the coaches and for the homegrowns. On an operational level, as the Technical Director, it remains Chris Leitch. On a game identity, player development, and coaching development front, the go-to person is Alex. And then on the talent identification, it’s Bruno. Over the past twelve months, we’ve had every single coach in the youth academy join every single day in training with the first team.” Fioranelli gestures out his window to the Earthquakes practice pitch beside the stadium parking areas. “The coaching tower that we have there – it’s not a member of the coaching staff of Matias, but it is actually a coach of the youth academy that sits in that tower, watches training, films, and then delivers video to Matias and to (first team Assistant Coach) Omar (Zarif). I wanted it that way, because I want to start to create a bridge where coaches not only look at the exercises of Matias, but why we play with a certain intensity. So coaching is not just knowing the formation and the exercises, it’s about how do you get a player to believe why he has to commit to this 1v1 in this way. And that’s something Matias and his coaching staff are brilliant at. They make the player believe.”

Asked if there is an intention to have the academy players play in the same style that Almeyda has the first team play in in order to accelerate their ability to play in the first team, Fioranelli thoughtfully responds, “There’s a reason we defend in a certain way, build-up in a certain way, attack in a certain way, possess the ball in a certain way. There’s a way in how we have to treat one another. So for our coaches in the youth academy, every day it’s a learning opportunity. Each Wednesday, players of the under-19 team spar against the first team players. That’s where the 15-, 16-, 17-year-olds who are playing an age group higher, and play in the 19s, get to attend one of the first team trainings and get to train with Wondo, Shea (Salinas), (Cristian) Espinoza, Florian (Jungwirth), all of them. That’s really special. As much as we look at, ‘well, can we copy the so-called man-marking of Matias across the board?’, we actually care about – whichever system we are playing – how can we be able to assimilate with one another, relate to one another, and train with the same type of intensity and commitment. And in the near future, we will gradually align more-and-more. That is what methodology is all about. That’s where Alex is very close to Matias and the coaching staff, to help the coaches understand how Matias plays, [and having that] as an extra resource.”

Fioranelli underscored the focus on day-to-day preparation over gameday tactics. “You can’t just copy (current Leeds United manager Marcelo) Bielsa or (current Inter Milan manager Antonio) Conte all of a sudden and just assume that because you play the formation he does that you know it. So we just want to equip the coaches to be even better prepared – that’s the way I would like to look at it.”

Facility Questions Remain

Fioranelli was clear he wanted to see the first team and academy “under one roof ” in three to five years, but the location of said roof remains unclear. While not confirmed by Fioranelli, the previously-proposed academy site feels dead in the water at this point. Along with a stadium sponsor and a kit sponsor, an update on the academy site from the front office would be a shot in the arm to the club as it positions itself as the top-flight offering for Bay Area youth development. Local rival club De Anza Force is rumored to have their own facility under development which is expected to be ready sometime in the next few months.

As other teams around MLS continue to roll out joint use facilities for their first team and academy teams, the premium price of land in the Bay Area makes that feel like a far off dream at this point for the Earthquakes. In the meantime, the Quakes Academy goes through the same process as every other south Bay Area club team, fighting for practice space from the available high schools, public fields, and private facilities around the area in both the fall and the spring. Much less than ideal, teams are often required to move practice locations several miles during the week or as daylight schedules require lighted pitches which can be very stressful on families with longer commutes.

Potential Graduates?

In all fairness, the two Quakes Academy homegrowns who are playing regularly with the first team now, Tommy Thompson and Nick Lima, came in under the previous management but also came in under a prior iteration of the USSDA academy system. Arguably, neither was actually developed by the Earthquakes in their youth system – Lima bounced between Bay Area clubs although he spent some time with the Earthquakes in the defunct MLS reserve league as a teenager (there was even some debate in MLS offices if he even qualified as an Earthquakes homegrown), and Thompson only spent a year in the Earthquakes Academy to get the minimum requirement to be able to sign as a homegrown. JT Marcinkowski was practicing with the Earthquakes first team at Santa Clara University when he was 15 years old and can rightly be considered the biggest “success” developed from within the club’s academy. The Earthquakes had their first homegrown transaction this off-season when they transferred the rights to Cal goalkeeper Drake Callender to Inter Miami in exchange for a 2020 MLS SuperDraft second round pick. They have the potential to receive $150,000 in General Allocation Money (GAM) if incentives are met. Callender was never signed as an Earthquakes homegrown but was expected to after college. Fioranelli felt it would have been a disservice to Callender to keep him in the Earthquakes system given the plethora of goalkeeper options he’d have to compete against, and he seems quite pleased with the transfer for the player’s benefit.

The USSDA now starts at U-13 (U-12 was discontinued after spring 2018) and extends through U-19 with a gap year currently at the U-16 and U-18 levels, which could be addressed at some point by US Soccer. Given the club discontinued their non-USSDA youth club in the past year (which was originally intended to provide ready, competitive players to the academy teams and, despite an estimated $1 million in annual revenue from pay-to-play, arguably was not successful in that mission given no homegrown player came from there), it’s not entirely clear how the team will ensure they attract the right players starting at U-13 or retain players in their gap years when typically the older players are retained for competitiveness. The Earthquakes homegrown players that have recently been signed have primarily been discovered through their partnerships with other area youth clubs, such as Partners in Development program, or by approaching players in other clubs directly, and not by developing players starting at U-13, U-14 or even earlier. Jacob Akanyirige came from Ballistic United in Pleasanton as did Cade Cowell. Emi Ochoa was discovered while playing with Santa Cruz Breakers Academy.

Despite the fact only JT Marcinkowski and Gilbert Fuentes have received opportunities in an MLS league game on the Earthquakes Stadium pitch, there are clear signs of the growth of the homegrown players signed by Fioranelli. Each one has been a recent part of the USYNT in their respective age groups, now including Akanyirige with his recent call-in to the U-20 team, and many have been getting time with Reno 1868 FC as well in the summer months when the U-19 academy season ends. Marcikowski is currently having his first camp with the US men’s national team (USMNT). Reflecting on these recent strides, Fioranelli is cautiously optimistic, understanding the “success” rate of homegrown players in MLS is still low and difficult to measure given so few international transfers of value, “I’m super happy about that. It doesn’t mean every kid is going to ‘make it’, but slowly-but-surely they are growing.”

Disclaimer: The author of this article has previously had a youth player in the Earthquakes Academy

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