Dayton High School senior soccer star Jesus Cruz has little time to dwell on missing a chance to make a professional team in Mexico. He spent weeks trying out for the squad but, after making it past the first two rounds of cuts at Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara/Tecos, Cruz failed to get past the third and will return home for a regional soccer camp held at Linfield later this month.

Cruz has remained in Mexico visiting several soccer academies after meeting other coaches and scouts at the tryouts in Guadalajara. He traveled to Mexico City, even, to see about another potential academy.

Cruz saw that he had a lot of competition left ahead with so many players left in his position and only a few positions open. He was told by the club they were looking specifically for players in certain positions and not for the most skilled athletes.

“The (club) told my son there were too many athletes trying out for his position,” Dayton soccer coach and Jesus’ father Jose Cruz said. “There were another five or six players in his position who were cut. He said some of the kids that were making the team weren’t that good. There are a lot of politics that go into making the team, and usually the older you are the less likely it is for you to make it.”

Cruz has a couple of weeks to return and be ready for the regional camp, hosted by the Olympic Development Program. It’s the second summer he’s been invited to the camp, held at Linfield from July 13-18. Several college scouts will be at the camp, giving Cruz a shot at a scholarship. It will also provide him a possible spot on the regional team, which could then lead to an opportunity to make the national team.

Although the trip to Mexico did not end the way Cruz was hoping it would, he knows the experience will benefit him. He will bring the different style of play he learned, as well as the drills and mental toughness learned from playing against high-quality athletes, back to the regional camp and eventually to his teammates in Dayton, who are building toward another strong season.

“Going down there exposed him to great competition that he wouldn’t get up here,” Jose Cruz said. “It’s also a different style of game down there; learning that will definitely benefit him. It’s outstanding, because at his age he is going to bring this experience back with him.
“Right now, the regional camp is priority. Hopefully there the coaches see his potential at the camp and maybe he can make the national team.”