On Thursday February 14, 2013, the Houston Dynamo announced that they have signed Dynamo Academy forward Bryan Salazar to a homegrown contract. Salazar becomes the fifth player from the Dynamo Academy to sign a professional contract with the Dynamo first team. Per team and league policy, terms of the contract were not disclosed.
Salazar, a senior at Houston area Fort Bend Bush High School, has been in the Dynamo program for six years, having progressed from the Dynamo Junior Academy as a 13-year-old up to playing for the Dynamo U-18 squad over the past two years. The Houston native has traveled with the Academy to tournaments in El Salvador, Mexico, and the Netherlands. Salazar was also part of the Dynamo Academy U-16 squad that won the 2010 Dallas Cup.
“When I joined the Junior Academy six years ago, I was told this was my chance to become a professional soccer player and I’m excited this day has arrived,” Salazar said. “I want to thank everyone at the Dynamo Academy that has helped me achieve my dream of playing for the Dynamo and I look forward to continuing my career under Dominic Kinnear.”
This season, Salazar has scored nine goals in 14 games for a Dynamo U-18 squad, which has won seven of its last nine matches and is in second place in its division. At the USSF Development Academy Winter Showcase in December, the 5-foot-9 winger scored five goals in three matches, including two goals each against the Portland Timbers and San Jose Earthquakes U-18 squads.
“Bryan is an exciting young player,” said Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear. “When he gets the ball, he is not afraid to run at defenders. He has put up some good numbers with our Academy teams and I think he has a very promising future. We want him to succeed as a person and a professional and we will do everything we can to make sure that happens.”
Salazar will finish high school and continue to play with the Dynamo Academy before joining the Dynamo full time this summer. Salazar is tentatively scheduled to travel to Charleston with the team this weekend for their first match of the Carolina Challenge Cup.
The Dynamo Academy, presented by Statoil, was launched in 2007 as a way to develop local talent in the Houston area with the goal of signing players to the Dynamo. Since 2007, four players have been signed to Dynamo homegrown contracts: goalkeeper Tyler Deric and midfielders Francisco Navas Cobo, Alex Dixon, and Josue Soto. Deric recently re-signed with the Dynamo after leading the team to a first place finish in the 2012-13 CONCACAF Champions League group stage. Of the other homegrown players that have signed with the Houston Dynamo, only Alex Dixon remains a member of the club.
The Houston Dynamo begin their 2013 MLS season by hosting D.C. United at BBVA Compass Stadium on Saturday March 2nd.
Portions of the above were taken from a Houston Dynamo press release.
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