Following in the footsteps of some predecessors, the Miami FC Kendall U18 Boys team figures to be a top contender for honors in this season’s USSF Development Academy League this season.

Director of Coaching Victor Pastora and his colleagues are doing their part to make sure that the squad are learning life lessons as well as developing on the field.

Pastore, who is heavily involved in the group’s training along with team coach Luis Calix, spoke proudly about the club’s emphasis on helping these young men from the Greater Miami area grow as individuals along with their soccer education.

“One thing we want to do is make players aware of the opportunities they can have in this country if they have good grades,” Pastora said. “Our focus, besides the physical, technical and tactical like everyone else, is to make an effort to make them better individuals. We want them to be more disciplined, to rest, to eat right and to stay way from the things that will prevent them from being a success in the sport and in life. We drill them with information and bring in some guys from the club who are in college now. When they understand they need these things it helps them in a lot of ways. By doing that, we also have better teams. Before there were too many ups and downs from all the distractions, but we’re trying to stop those things from happening.”

The club typically attracts a heavily ethnic mix of players, which Pastora believes can be channeled into a very successful on-field formula.  

“We have a lot of talented and smart players. Miami is a melting pot and we have players at the club from Jamaica,  Honduras, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, Colombia, Cuba….” he said. “We need to take that background and then as coaches get them disciplined and get them fit. A lot of teams around the country are not as talented as we are but they are very fit and disciplined without the ball. If we manage to be that way too we usually outperform teams because we have more talent.”

The club has benefited from the involvement of USL club Miami FC, which is helping underwrite the Academy program at Kendall in order to make it less expensive for the players selected from the area.

Top players on the U18 team team include holding midfielder Andrew Quintana, central defender Daniel Villegas, midfielder Steven Saballos, goalkeeper David Sarabia and forward Nicholas Ramirez. Pastora is reluctant to single players out however, because he said the squad is truly deep.

“We don’t have so much of the superstar players who are good enough to go pro right now, but we have a lot of high-level players on the team, probably 15,” he added. “We also have some very good developmental players on the squad so every week there is a competition to see who will make the squad for the Academy game. That is a good situation.”

The group is 8-3-2 overall after fall play in the league, including a win and a draw over Southeast Division leaders Atlanta Fire United.

Pastora is enthusiastic about the Development Academy.

“It makes the environment better for players,” he said. “Now we can look forward to competitive games every weekend. Before we would play all these games but we would be looking forward to a game three months away or at some tournament. Now we look forward to every game.”