LUMBERTON — Every kid dreams of joining a professional sports franchise. But what about joining one as a kid?
Ivan Lopez, a 14-year-old eighth-grader at Lumberton Junior High School, has earned that very chance, signing Thursday to join the academy team of the New England Revolution, an MLS franchise.
“This means a lot to me,” Lopez said. “I’m very excited about it; I’m proud of myself, and I’m glad everybody was here to join me, to help me experience my signing.”
Academy teams are a developmental arm of professional soccer as a feeder to the MLS team. Lopez will relocate to the Boston area in August, take classes online and train much of the rest of his time with the Revolution.
“When we come across players like Ivan, we just call them different; 0.1% of players in every sport make it professionally,” said Todd Abbey, director of soccer and coaching for Villarreal Force, Lopez’ club team in Fayetteville. “People strive and they pay tremendous amounts of money, and they do all different levels trying to get there, and then you come across an Ivan, that just breaks the mold. The Revolution are getting a kid that his greatest asset is his adaptability.”
Lopez, an attacking midfielder, got the chance earlier this year to travel to Spain for a week to train with Villarreal CF, a club in La Liga, the top level of Spanish professional soccer, which is affiliated with Villarreal Force in Fayetteville.
“It kind of helped me get ready for this,” Lopez said. “When I got to New England I was more ready for it; I already knew what I was expecting.”
He then got the opportunity to try out for the Revolution, who offered Lopez an academy spot.
“The Revolution, they had him come up pretty much sight unseen,” Abbey said. “I sent them a couple of bits of video, and they talked to Villarreal and Villarreal was very high on him, and they were like, yeah, you need to see this kid. When he went up there, the first night they text me, yes, absolutely yes.”
Lopez has played soccer his whole life, but never thought the game would give him this kind of an opportunity.
“I never thought I would ever get this far,” Lopez said. “I was just doing it for fun, but slowly I started loving it, and kept working hard.”
Lumberton Junior High School’s boys soccer team has won each of the first two county championships after the Public Schools of Robeson County added the game as a middle-school sport last year. Lopez was a key part of both runs; he scored the go-ahead goal in this year’s 2-0 championship-game win over Pembroke Middle.
“I knew he has the talent, but I just didn’t think the opportunity would be presenting itself this quick,” LJHS coach Daniel Humphrey said. “It’s wild, and I’m proud of him for being able to go and do what he gets to do.”
LJHS will retire Lopez’ No. 10 jersey, Humphrey said.
“From what he left, and what our team left in the last two years by winning a championship, I didn’t think that bar could be set any higher, I’m going to be honest,” Humphrey said. “But now, for him to get this individual award, that sets the bar high for the whole county, for him to have this great opportunity. That’s what it means — he’s setting the bar for everybody across the board, and hopefully he keeps setting the bar.”
The MLS has been in the headlines globally this week after superstar Lionel Messi signed to play for Inter Miami in the league.
With Lopez joining the Revolution to play at the developmental level, the possibility exists that he could play against Messi and other MLS stars at the top level in a few years, if all goes well.
“That’s amazing,” Lopez said. “I would love to play with the first team in less than two years so I would get the chance to play with Messi.”
With Lopez set to take on this next-level opportunity, his coaches are confident that he’ll thrive, even in that elite environment.
“It’s on him now,” Abbey said. “We did everything to get him in the place he needs to be, and I have no doubt he’s going to thrive in that environment.”
Sports editor Chris Stiles can be reached at 910-816-1977 or by email at [email protected]. You can follow him on Twitter at @StilesOnSports.