Houston Dynamo: Juan Castilla and an exciting future

This week, the Houston Dynamo signed their youngest-ever Homegrown player. 15-year-old Juan Castilla offers a tremendously exciting future indeed.

This week, the Houston Dynamo signed their youngest-ever Homegrown Player to a senior contract. Midfielder Juan Castilla will join the team as the 13th Dynamo Academy alum to sign with the club, where he started competing as an 11-year-old.

Castilla helps the organization prove they’re effectively building from the Academy up. He showed coaches and scouts what he can do in preseason trips this year to Tucson and Rio Grande Valley. There, Castilla saw action in matches between the Dynamo and USL side Rio Grande Valley FC as well as a second-half sub during a closed-door friendly against Real Salt Lake.

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The Castilla signing isn’t just good news for him and his supporters, though, The team recognizes the pre-contract, effective on Jan. 1, 2021, as proof the organization is making good on the policy to build Houston Dynamo up from the Academy up.

Other Academy players not yet signed but getting a lot of attention this year include goalkeeper Logan Erb and forward Danny Rios. They add to the growing number of academy products having an impact on the Dynamo present and future. The 15-year-old also joins two other Homegrown Players among Dynamo midfielders in Marcelo Palomino, age 19, and seasoned player Memo Rodriguez.

Castilla wasn’t just a name pulled from a hat, however, another academy graduate sworn into the first team to fill some quota. He deserved his shot, as Dynamo general manager Matt Jordan explained:

"“Juan has worked his way up through our academy to earn this opportunity, and his quality as a player along with his strong mentality and willingness to learn exemplify what we look for in all of our young players. I’d also like to acknowledge the leadership of our academy director Paul Holocher and the hard work and commitment from our academy staff to help Juan get to this point, understanding that this is the next step in the development process.”"

Castilla’s family moved from Colombia to Houston when he was three. From his early experiences with the Academy, he spent time in Spain and the Columbus Crew SC Academy for several seasons before returning to Houston in 2020. He immediately caught the attention of Dynamo head coach Tab Ramos and got the call-up to train with the First Team.

Castilla had already gotten attention when he played with the U-17 squad, helping the team to a top-two finish in the Generation Adidas Cup Qualifying Tournament and getting a spot in the GA Cup Final in April. It was these performances that earned him playing time in the preseason. These senior minutes are what will accelerate his development, as he himself conceded to the club’s official website:

"“With the experience we get from training with the first team, obviously, their game is a lot faster, so we need to try to maintain that level when we come down to play with our own age group. But yes, obviously it does help, because with [the first team] it is a faster game so when we are here not everyone is as fast. So, we can take advantage of what we know from the first team and bring it here and be the better players.”"

As he stays ready for his first opportunity to feature for the Houston Dynamo, Castilla represents yet another young and exciting talent at the club. He is learning, improving, and looking forward to a very bright future indeed.