Tony Vigil Assumes Role of High-Performance Director
Three individuals were appointed to new positions on the Houston Dynamo FC Academy staff in recent weeks. A key addition is Tony Vigil who will serve as High-Performance Director. The Southern California native joins the Dynamo following five years with LAFC. Houston also added two youth academy coaches to the staff.
Youth Soccer News: The Houston Dynamo FC Academy has announced the hiring of Tony Vigil as the club’s High-Performance Director. Vigil is tasked with creating an environment that will accelerate the development of academy players in the Pre-Professional Phase (U17 and U23).
“The role of High-Performance Director is a new one within the structure of the Academy and Club. The position provides an extra level of technical support, specifically within the Pre-Professional Phase,” said Paul Holocher, Dynamo Academy Director. “There are always strengths or areas that need to improve within a young player’s overall game. Development occurs during collective and team training, but it also should happen on an individual level. Tony will help provide this type of individual support. He has a strong knowledge of the game, strong attention to detail and is very organized in his approach. The players can and will benefit from this type of extra developmental and attention.”
Additionally, Vigil will design and support ongoing coaching development and collaborate with the First Team technical and support staff to improve individual and collective performance levels.
“The opportunity to join the team in Houston is incredibly exciting, and I am humbled to be able to add to the great foundation that the club has built,” said Vigil. “The role itself is one of many signs that illustrate the club’s investment into the future of player development. I am looking forward to working with my new team to ensure that those critical details are addressed precisely.”
Vigil brings more than a decade of experience in youth development both at the collegiate and academy level. The Lancaster, California, native joins the Dynamo after five years with Los Angeles Football Club as the Academy Manager. While at LAFC, Vigil supported Co-President and General Manager, John Thorrington, and Senior Vice President and Assistant General manager, Will Kuntz, with first-team roster management presentations. He also partnered with Academy Director Todd Saldaña to present scouting, player development and community engagement to MLS and US Soccer.
“When you surround yourself with the best, it sharpens you on so many levels on-and-off the field. That drives me to continuously improve,” added Vigil. “My focus is to create an environment in Houston where all staff and players feel challenged and inspired, and also clearly understand and execute the work that must be done when pursuing greatness.
Prior to joining LAFC, Vigil spent two years as the Director of Business Development and Academy Head Coach at Albion SC in San Diego. He coached three boys’ teams during his tenure and facilitated professional development for the staff by creating and executing leadership and technical programming that focused on individual training and maximizing resources. Vigil has also coached at San Diego State University, UC Riverside and Cal State San Bernardino, heading up player recruitment and development at every institution.
The Cal State San Bernardino alum graduated with a B.S. in Exercise Science and earned an M.A. in Organizational Leadership from Gonzaga University. He holds his USSF National A License.
Dynamo Academy Appoint New Youth Coaches
Adin Osmanbasic joins the Houston Dynamo FC from Atlanta United where he most recently worked as the Head of Development Analysis for the academy. He also assisted the USL ATLUTD2. In a previous role with the Columbus Crew, Adin worked as Video Analyst for current U.S. National Team Coach Gregg Berhalter and as an Individual Development Coach. Adin will lead the U17 team while supporting individual development and analysis within the academy.
In addition, Shahad Farhani joins the Houston Dynamo FC from Michigan Jaguars FC. In his previous role, he worked with teams across various youth age groups and was instrumental in developing and implementing various structural and developmental components of the academy programming. A former professional player and member of Iran Youth National Teams, Shahad will lead the U14 team, teach the game model/principles and support the academy’s evolving methodology and player development initiatives.
“We are very excited to add three terrific young coaches to our academy technical staff,” said Holocher. “As we continue to grow, evolve, and build for a strong future, we looked for people that have a combination of unique experiences in coaching, teaching, analysis and operations. Each individual has a strong passion for player development. These are excellent soccer minds who will also actively enhance our culture of collaborative development and innovation. We couldn’t be happier to welcome Tony, Adin and Shahad to the Dynamo family.”
Media Credit: Houston Dynamo
