FRISCO - His 18th birthday wasn’t the only thing Coy Craft celebrated this past weekend.
The Homegrown product made his way back to the pitch and logged 70 minutes with the FC Dallas U-18 academy team in its 0-0 draw against Lonestar FC Academy on Sunday.
“I haven’t played a game in six months, so it’s good to get that pump before the game, that adrenaline,” Craft said. “I also think it’s good to get my confidence up to play with a team I’ve played with before and just getting minutes and getting back to game and fitness. It was just great to get out there and playing again.”
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Craft had been recovering from injury but has returned to training recently. Head coach Oscar Pareja was pleased with what he saw out of his 18-year-old in practice since Sunday’s match.
“I thought he had a tremendous session this morning,” Pareja said. “He impressed me. That’s been quite a long time without seeing that, and I saw that today. I thought it was a result of the exercise that he got during the weekend.”
Although Craft wasn’t with the first team competing in Montreal, Pareja said it was important for every player to get some competition over the weekend as much as each player can. Craft’s performance helped improve the U-18’s record to 14-4-5 on the season and third place in the Central Conference.
“Coy exercised with the U-18s to keep the chemistry with the program at the same time to make these guys understand that despite they are on the first team, it’s a long journey still to accomplish,” Pareja said. “He responds well, and I’m happy with the exercise.”
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Craft praised the FCD trainers for working him to return to being game-ready.
“I think the trainers did a great job of getting me back,” Craft said. “They ran me to death. Now I just think playing after a few weeks, I can already tell I’m getting that game fitness back. Hopefully I can get my first roster spot this year.”
