MLS FC Dallas

Oscar Pareja Named Director of Youth Player Development and Head Coach of FCD Juniors

Published on July 16, 2008 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
FC Dallas News Release


FRISCO, Texas (Wednesday, July 16, 2008) - FC Dallas General Manager Michael Hitchcock today announced that former team captain Oscar Pareja has joined current FCD assistant coach John Ellinger as the leadership of the FC Dallas Youth System. Ellinger will be the Executive Director of FC Dallas Youth Programs and Pareja will be the Director of Youth Player Development and Head Coach of the FC Dallas Juniors teams. In addition, Chris Hayden has been named Director of Coaching for FC Dallas Youth and Chris Clarke the Director of FC Dallas Academy and Camps.

The FCD player development program consists of four levels, with each level crossing over with the one below and / or above. The goal of the program is to ensure that each step is connected, thus giving players an opportunity to develop and advance throughout the system:

* The professional team, consisting of up to 28 professional players * The FC Dallas Juniors Program, consisting of two elite teams - Under-16 and Under-18 - which will play in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy. * Over 75 boys and girls teams from ages U-11 to U-18 * Over 50 Academy boys and girls teams ranging from U-7 to U-10.

Ellinger, the first assistant coach on the pro team, will be the Executive Director of the FC Dallas Youth Program. In his role, Ellinger will create the coaching curriculum, the player development curriculum, and the FCD methodology in developing players. In 1999, Ellinger was the head coach of the United States Under-17 team that spearheaded the launch of the U.S. Soccer U-17 Residency Program in Bradenton, Florida.

Working closely with Ellinger is Oscar Pareja, who returns to Dallas to be the Director of Player Development of FC Dallas Youth, the head coach of the FC Dallas Juniors U-18 team, and the co-head coach of the Juniors U-16 team. Pareja will be responsible for recruiting and developing players to prepare them for possible advancement to the first team.

A native of Colombia, Pareja retired in 2005 after playing eight seasons with Dallas. As the team captain, Pareja was selected the team's Most Valuable Player twice (2001 and 2002) and was also voted to MLS Best XI team in 2001. Upon retirement, he joined the FCD coaching staff and was an assistant coach from 2006-2007, before joining the U.S. Soccer Federation as assistant coach of the U.S. U-17 Men's National Team in December 2007.

Chris Hayden will continue his role as the Director of Coaching for FC Dallas Youth, and work with Pareja as co-head coach of the FC Dallas Juniors U-16. In his role, Hayden is responsible for the 75 boys and girls' youth teams from ages U-11 to U-18. He'll oversee the coaching staffs, the schedule, and work with Pareja to recruit the best talent for the youth teams. Having managed the youth teams since 2006, Hayden oversaw the recruitment and launch of the FC Dallas Juniors program.

Chris Clarke has been named the Director of the FC Dallas Academy and FC Dallas Camps. A long-time member of the club, Clarke has run the School of Excellence camps and youth camps and clinics for the past few years. In 2008, he was responsible for overseeing the 2008 Sueno MLS tryouts, in which six players were identified and are now part of the FCD Juniors program. Clarke has also assisted the first team coaching staff to run select practice sessions and assist from the bench for various games.

In addition, current FCD goalkeeper coach Drew Keeshan will be the Director of Goalkeeping for the entire Youth Program, and Francisco Molina will be the assistant coach of the FCD Juniors U-16 and U-18 teams.

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