



Julian Araujo moved out of his childhood home after his sophomore year of high school. At 15, he wasn’t just another high school kid chasing the professional sports dream.

He moved to Arizona and began training with the FC Barcelona Academy, before eventually finding his way into the LA Galaxy Academy during his senior year. He took courses in the school run by the academy inside a classroom at the facility and graduated with fellow players.

“I felt like it was what I needed,” the Galaxy defender said. “Just moving away from my family and knowing that for me to be a professional soccer player I'm going to have to be away from my family.”

With his 18th birthday coming up in August, Araujo has started seven of the nine games he has played for the Galaxy. He had a plan B in the University of California at Santa Barbara, but the primary route was always academy soccer followed by the pros. That’s what U.S. soccer has become.

Several MLS coaches and officials interviewed for this story said the SuperDraft is a secondary option for young talent. Clubs want to develop their own players and the academies are also fulfilling the needs of a younger generation that wants to be at the top level faster.

“I'm glad that you don't have to do your high school years or college to be able to be a pro,” Araujo said. “I just wanted to play soccer. I just wanted to be a pro and that's all I wanted to be.”

Fast-tracking the fast track

Araujo’s feelings are common among rising athletes.

As more basketball players are skipping college for professional opportunities with hopes of later reaching the NBA, discussions have heightened about eliminating the NCAA’s “one-and-done” rule. Even baseball, the most traditional of the four major sports, has a younger generation itching for an immediate outlet to the big leagues, exemplified by top prospect Carter Stewart darting for Japan.

So if allowing younger professionals feels inevitable, how can leagues ensure the athletes are ready?

View photos Galaxy defender Julian Araujo is an example of the benefits of the MLS academy system. (Getty) More

Major League Soccer may have the answer. In 2007, MLS instituted the Homegrown Player Rule, which allows clubs exclusive signing rights to players groomed in a club’s academy. This draws inspiration from the European club model, which has been around for decades. The clubs are split into geographical zones, and players in such zones must play for the corresponding club.

For example, a 12-year-old seeking a professional soccer environment in Southern California can find it at the LA Galaxy Academy, just as Araujo did. For the six years leading up to what would normally mark the end of high school, players train for roughly 10 months a year. It’s an aggressive training model that feeds into the specialization trend in youth sports, but also provides a proper avenue for players that want a head start. If all goes well, the player is in MLS by 15 or 16, maybe even Europe by 18. If not, the player has a high school diploma and a top-level recruiting resume for Division I coaches.

The academy system has already produced two of the U.S. men’s national team’s brightest stars, Weston McKennie and Tyler Adams. McKennie spent seven years in FC Dallas’ youth system before graduating from Schalke 04’s academy in Germany, while Adams came up through the New York Red Bulls’ system and moved to RB Leipzig this past January. Both are regulars in the German Bundesliga.

“The environments we are now creating for these players are emphasizing development,” said Todd Durbin, the CEO of MLS. “They are emphasizing, ‘How do I make the player better? How do I get player to get to the place that I think he needs to get to?’”

Life in an academy

In the past year, Betsy Maxfield has bought 14 cars. They aren’t all for her, of course. They’re purchased by soccer players; she just helps facilitate.

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