An Invitation to Dream Big: John Mike Frias’ Path to Playing Pro

At the age of 19, Frias joined Revolver FC in Orlando and tried out for a showcase tournament in Italy with Soccer Scouting Pros and Coach Mario.  This trip proved to be life-changing for Frias, reigniting his passion for the sport and giving him newfound confidence in his game.  “When I went to Italy, I felt like it was the first real professional experience I’d had in soccer.  And when I was accepted after that trip for the residential program in Germany, I felt wanted, like I was better than I thought I was.”

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Mario Erazo
Emiliano Grimberg: Increasing Opportunities with an International Player Pro Development Exchange Program.

In a country like Argentina, with more than 100 years of soccer history, there are more players than opportunities. It was in response to this shortage of opportunity that Emiliano Grimberg founded Cross Border, an organization whose mission is to connect players in their academy to the opportunities that will support them in realizing their dreams of becoming professional players.

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Mario Erazo
Advice on Getting Scouted from a Professional

A contributing factor toward IDV’s continued advancement is its dedication to the recruitment of talent throughout the country.  Jorge Cartagena, who has been IDV’s Coordinator of Recruitment for the past three years, recently took some time to speak with us about his work scouting players to support the club’s continued development.  Cartagena brought years of experience as a coach to the position and has been fundamental in bringing a steady stream of talented players to IDV’s academy, which is located in Sangolquí, a suburb of the capital city of Quito.  

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Mario Erazo
Independiente del Valle: Teaching Humility - Something to Be Proud Of

Written prominently in the main stairwell of the facilities of the rising Ecuadorian football club, Independiente del Valle, is the following quote: “My greatest enemy is pride & my greatest virtue is humility.” In the highly competitive environment of professional soccer, this philosophy of humility sets Independiente apart, and may very well be a large contributing factor to the club’s continued success.

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Mario Erazo
The Laser Focus of Geordy Chavez

A short conversation with Geordy Chavez makes it very clear that for him, soccer is life. Chavez recently traveled with Soccer Scouting Pros’ Fan Select Team to train and play in Rome, Italy, and will be traveling again to Munich, Germany in November for scouting opportunities.

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Mario Erazo