With National Signing Day 2017 just around the corner, FCDallas.com will be taking a look at just a few of the 50+ FCD Youth players committing to colleges around the country
FRISCO - For Jarvian Wigfall, his college choice will not be the biggest commitment he makes on National Signing Day. When he sends his National Letter of Intent to the U.S. Naval Academy on Wednesday, he’s signing up for much more than just soccer.
The son of 10-year Army veterans who met during their service, Wigfall says his military parents have always kept him on track. But he never had a thought about serving himself - until he got an offer from Navy. After looking into the high-level academics, athletics and prestige, there really wasn’t another choice.
“It lines up with how I grew up,” he said. “Going to any other college you get all the partying and everything like that, but at the Naval Academy you're focused on your academics and focused on what you need to be on. It was just a good path for me.”
Wigfall moved to Texas from South Carolina three years ago and soon after was trying out for the FC Dallas Academy. At the time, he was slotted as a DP - meaning he can play both for the Academy as needed and more regularly on the Premier team to see time - but he felt more at home with the Premier squad and set his focus squarely there. For the last two years, he’s been playing under Scott Dymond.
“He came in, played for us and has just excelled. I think he's our most effective player and most dangerous player in our '98 team,” Dymond said. “A lot of colleges were after him and his parents being former military and I think Jarvain loving that lifestyle - he's a very dedicated player, a very dedicated kid and he's very disciplined - I think it fits him perfectly.”
It’s that character of a player that often counts most at military academies - something not unlike what is taught across the various levels of FC Dallas Youth in the development of good people, not just good players.
“Scott always asks me when he finds somebody new, he asks if I know the player in some sort,” Wigfall said of the club’s mentality. “He always asks if he's a great guy and he wants to know if he's a great guy before if he's a great player because you don't want to have egos getting in the way of the team and the goals that we have set for us.”
“In order to be successful at that level, at a military academy, you have to have a high level of character. You have to be a good person, you have to care, you have to be determined, you have to be all of those qualities that it takes to be successful,” Dymond added. “We talk about those things all the time, about how your talent will get you so far and there's all these other components that you have to have to be successful, and I think that's really important to us.”
When Wigfall steps onto campus at Annapolis in the Fall, he’ll focus on his favorite subject, engineering, in the classroom while looking to make an immediate impact on the field with what his coach described as an explosive and creative style. And in four years, he’ll be making an even bigger impact - one way or another. Should he excel on the field and earn a pro contract, the school won’t stand in the way of a professional career. Should he excel even more off it, he’ll be serving a much higher calling.
“Coming from the Naval Academy, it sets you up for life with your degree even after the military. Looking at it, I'm excited to see what it brings, but also there's a chance for me to go pro [if that opportunity presents itself],” he said. “If it doesn't then I'll still be serving and doing what I need to do.”
