With his distinctive haircut standing tall, 18-year-old Bryan Salazar put pen to paper to finalize his anticipated new contact with the Houston Dynamo.
The high school senior is a success story for the Major League Soccer franchise, which has had Salazar in its Dynamo Academy ranks since he was just 12 years old.
"Not only does Bryan show determination and good will, but he brings a certain 'wow factor' to the game."
The Fort Bend County native follows in the footsteps of homegrown Academy alums like reserve goalie Tyler Deric and midfielders Francisco Navas Cobo, Alex Dixon and Josue Soto in some ways. But he's also very unique. Those players all joined the Dynamo Academy later in their soccer developments.
Salazar is truly a homegrown super talent.
"Not only does Bryan show determination and good will, but he brings a certain 'wow factor' to the game," Dynamo coach Dominic Kinnear said during a signing ceremony at BBVA Compass Stadium.
"However, we've stressed for him that potential will get you noticed and get you somewhere, but hard work will keep you somewhere . . . Now we really want to wish him the best and offer our full support."
During the ceremony, Salazar made sure to thank family for years of shuttling him to practices. "This day is really for them," he said.
"It's been an effort for the whole family. If my mother couldn't take me to practice, my uncle would take off work to get me there."
Salazar will continue playing in the Academy league as a midfielder and forward until he graduates this spring from George Bush High School. This summer, he will join the Dynamo full time as the team's youngest player.
Until he graduates high school in spring, Salazar will continue playing in the Dynamo Academy league. He starts with the pros full time this summer.
