Felipe Hernandez might stand 5-foot-6 and weigh 130 pounds, but his play on the field outweighs his small stature. It's that play that has earned the Sporting Kansas City Academy midfielder a one-week training stint with the Sporting KC senior team in Tucson, Arizona. Hernandez joined the club on Monday and will re-join his Academy teammates following Saturday's friendly against the Portland Timbers (7 p.m. CT, watch on Timbers.com).
"Our Academy players continue to impress our staff," Sporting KC Manager Peter Vermes said. "We want these players to understand that if they show the capacity and willingness to get better, these are the types of opportunities that they will be rewarded with."
Hernandez joined the Sporting KC Academy last August after making the trek with three of his friends and teammates from Sporting Nashville Heroes, Sporting KC's Academy Affiliate in Nashville, Tennessee. The club is led by former U.S. Men's National Team player and National Soccer Hall of Fame inductee Desmond Armstrong.
"Coach Desmond [Armstrong] told me about Sporting KC back in 2013 and that's when I started following the team closely," Hernandez said. "It was right around the playoffs and I watched them win MLS Cup. I've been a fan ever since and am really excited to be training with these players."
Hernandez was born in Colombia, but moved with his family to Tennessee at a young age. It was there that he began playing organized soccer in a local recreational league.
"I remember playing on the fields with the small goals but crying to my parents that I wanted to play with the older kids that used the bigger goals," Hernandez said. "My mom had to speak with the league to allow me to play with the older kids. They did, and from there Coach Desmond saw me play and invited me to join his team."
Last August, Armstrong told Hernandez that he should try out for the Sporting KC Academy. Although Hernandez's parents were reluctant at first, they allowed their son to not only try out for the team, but they chose to move to Kansas City so he could play with the team full-time.
"Everything is a lot quicker and more professional with the Sporting KC Academy," the 16-year-old midfielder said. "Things are way more organized and structured and I'm thankful that my parents allowed me the opportunity to try out with them."
With his sharp instincts and eye for the right pass, Hernandez made a quick impression on his new team and the Sporting KC coaching staff.
"He took a little time to adapt when he first moved to Kansas City, but now he is just flying," Sporting KC Academy Director of Coaching Jon Parry said. "From the moment he got to Kansas City, he was someone we identified as having the potential to be a professional soccer player. And if there is someone in our Academy who we feel can be a professional and can handle training with the senior team, we want them to experience that right away."
Hernandez has three goals in 12 matches this past season for the Sporting KC Academy U-16 squad. He has scored a goal in each of the team's previous three matches, which also coincided with the club's four-game unbeaten run.
"He has a strong technical ability and is very comfortable on the ball," Parry said. "He is a true playmaker, which is something you don't see that often. He is also one of the leaders of our U-16 team and has made the whole team better since joining the squad."
So which players does Hernandez admire most and model his game after? Neither answer will surprise you.
"[FC Barcelona midfielder] Andres Iniesta and [Sporting KC midfielder] Benny Feilhaber," he said with a smile. "I think I play a little like Benny and I'm just trying to watch and learn from him as much as possible during this trip.
"I have always wanted to be a professional soccer player and hopefully training with the first team will bring me one step closer to achieving my dream."
