This is how three South Florida teens wound up signing pro contracts with Inter Miami
It isn’t every day a 17-year-old kid gets to sign a professional soccer contract – with David Beckham’s team, no less – so it makes perfect sense that Edison Azcona was a bit nervous in the hours before he inked a deal with Inter Miami last week.
“I was with my parents, and I was like `I can’t mess up this signature,’’’ Azcona said, smiling. “I practiced my signature on a notebook 100 times before I signed the contract. I couldn’t believe it was really happening. I have been dreaming of this since I was very little.”
Azcona, a winger from Deerfield Beach, is one of three teenagers who was promoted from Inter Miami’s youth academy to the first team in the past two months. The others are 18-year-old center back Ian Fray from Coconut Creek, and 15-year-old winger Felipe Valencia, who grew up in Homestead and now lives with his family in Doral.
Their addition to the Inter Miami senior roster is part of a concerted effort by team ownership and new coach Phil Neville and sporting director Chris Henderson to develop young local talent.
“We don’t want to put too much expectation or pressure on these players, but if they’re good enough it doesn’t matter what age they are, they will be given a chance,” said Beckham. “That is the club we want to be, we want to be known as one of the great academies that has produced great players that come through as homegrown talent.”
Darren Powell, the Inter Miami Director of Player Development, added: “With the new leadership, we will find everything integrated from U12 up to the first team, so it creates a very clearly defined pathway for young children in South Florida to have something to aspire to. We can start instilling core values at a young age that will carry through as they become pros.”
In addition to developing the players, Powell said, the club will cultivate fan loyalty.
“What makes a homegrown player so exciting is they are familiar to their local community, their schools, their academy teammates, and that passion for Inter Miami gets extended and those people become lifelong fans because they see their school friends and club teammates play on Inter Miami. There’s a tie, and that connection is massive.
“The next step for them on their journey is to get into a game. That will be a big, big moment.”
Azcona, Fray and Valencia were signed as MLS “Homegrown Players,” which means they joined the league through a club’s youth academy program and the club can retain their rights without subjecting them to the draft. They typically earn between $65,000 to $100,000 and do not count against the team’s salary budget.
All three come from immigrant families who are passionate about the sport.
Azcona was born in the Dominican Republic and has already been called up to the Dominican national team. Fray is Jamaican-American. His father, Michael, played on the Jamaican youth national team and met his mother, Desiree, when they were both playing college soccer at the University of Hartford. Fray’s maternal grandmother, Charlotte Moran, was a big advocate for American youth soccer and is in the U.S. Youth Soccer Hall of Fame. His younger sister, Marlee, was a star for American Heritage High and Sunrise Sting club. She is on Jamaica’s youth national team, and recently transferred from the University of Central Florida to University of Texas-San Antonio.
Valencia spent his early youth in Colombia before moving to Florida at age 9. He dabbled in basketball, baseball and taekwondo, but soccer was his passion.
“Every time I’m on the field I forget about everything, my mind is clear. I’m just the happiest me that I could be,” he said.
The three players are products of South Florida soccer clubs and were invited to try out with Inter Miami.
Valencia started at the Miami-based FC Barcelona team and then played for the Kendall Soccer Coalition academy before catching Inter Miami’s eye. Fray played for Brazilian Twisters, SAT Soccer, Weston, and Miramar.
Azcona played for Wellington Wave, Margate FC, AC Delray, Boynton Beach Knights and Boca United. He played for Orlando City’s academy team before moving to South Florida last year.
They all agree that playing for an MLS youth academy is a more intense experience. They train adjacent to Inter Miami MLS team at the club’s 50,000 square foot, $100 million facility in Fort Lauderdale. Fifteen players were called up to the club’s USL team Fort Lauderdale CF last season and got pro experience under coach Jason Kreis, who also coaches the U.S. Under 23 team.
Valencia made USL history, becoming the youngest player to score a goal.
“It’s different from other academies because we have a world-class facility, we have a professional environment and a first team, so being in the academy your dream is literally to play on the field next to where you’re training,” Valencia said. “You can see it with your own eyes, and it makes you want it more. You can see there’s a path right in front of you.”
Valencia said the Inter Miami youth players are expected to behave the same as the professional players.
“The discipline and intensity are way different from regular clubs, not only inside the field, but outside, too,” he said. “When you go to the airports, hotels, we have to always be on point. No complaints. It’s more serious than normal youth club because you are wearing that Inter Miami jersey.”
Fray was called up to train with the first team during the latter part of the 2020 season, and has been getting pointers from Leandro Gonzalez Pirez.
“It’s different because we have something to look up to,” Fray said. “We can see all the pros around us, at the same facility, and we have a goal to set. `That’s where we want to be, playing with those guys.’ The first time I was called up to train, I was confident going in but after the first couple practices I realized I wasn’t ready. I wasn’t quick enough on the ball. But now, going back in, I feel way different. I’m ready for it. I’m a whole different player now.”
Playing for an MLS academy, and now becoming a pro, comes with a price. Azcona, Valencia and Fray have had to sacrifice regular teenage life.
“It’s hard sometimes, I’m not going to lie,” Valencia said. “I get sad when I can’t go to a 15s party because I have practice the next morning, or when I can’t go out with my friends or a sleepover. But at the same time, the dream is so much more than that. I am willing to sacrifice all of that. I know that if I do things right, I’ll party better than all of them after I’m done with what I have to do.”
This story was originally published January 29, 2021 at 5:56 PM.