Dynamo Academy forward Juan “Charly” Flores was named to the 36-player roster by head coach Tab Ramos for the U.S. Under-20 national team camp in Miami this week. Flores signed his first professional contract on Dec. 18 as the first member of the Rio Grande Valley FC Toros, the Dynamo’s new hybrid affiliate set to join USL in 2016.
It is Flores’ first U.S. youth national team camp, and the 18-year-old is one of nine forwards on the roster. The camp includes four games, with local all-star team CASA on tap on Jan. 8 and Weston FC of the NPSL later the same day. The U.S. U-20s will play two additional games on Jan. 12 against opponents TBD.
View the complete U.S. U-20 camp roster
Flores leads the Dynamo Academy Under-18s with 14 goals in 12 games this season. The U-18s lead the Frontier Division of the Central Conference with 29 points from 12 games (9-1-2). Flores was named Dynamo Academy Players’ Player of the Year in 2015 after scoring 25 goals in 31 games. In 2014, he tied for second in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy with 26 goals.
Born in Houston, Flores joined the Dynamo Academy in 2013 after time with youth club Manchester United Houston under head coach Francisco Campos. Flores trained with the Dynamo first team for three months this season. Flores will take part in Dynamo preseason next month before joining RGVFC for its inaugural preseason in March.
The Dynamo and RGVFC formed a hybrid affiliation in July. As part of the partnership, the Dynamo control the technical side of the club, including head coach Wilmer Cabrera as well as the construction of the roster. RGVFC, which operates the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the NBA D-League affiliate of the Houston Rockets, will manage business operations for the club, including the current construction of a 9,400-seat state-of-the-art soccer stadium in Edinburg, Texas, 330 miles southwest of Houston, across the Mexican border from Reynosa.
