Moving away from home can be difficult for anyone; it’s particularly harder to do when you’re 16 years old and going 1,102 miles from home.
Gerardo Valenzuela, or “Dado,” as teammates and coaches call him, did just that, leaving Boca Raton, Florida, for an opportunity in Cincinnati with FCC’s Academy. The move away from home wasn’t his first, but it was certainly the biggest.
At 14, Dado, his older brother, and his mom moved to Columbus, Ohio. However, it wasn’t a fit, returning to southern Florida after a year to work with Inter Miami CF’s Academy. A year later, FC Cincinnati came calling, and the 16-year-old moved back to Ohio for what he calls “a better opportunity.”
“I just knew players were ahead of me (at Inter Miami),” Valenzuela says of his decision to join FCC, “So I came over here (Cincinnati) and something switched like, this is more passionate, this is it right here. I knew that I could be more here.”
Part of the move this time was that his mom wouldn’t be coming with him. He would be the first FCC Academy player to be placed with a host family.
Enter the Walkers.
The Walker family were the first to open their home to FC Cincinnati Academy players as part of the residency program, serving as secondary parents to players from all over the country. They drove him to school every morning and took him to practice. The Walkers took care of everything a parent would be responsible for Dado.
“They’re amazing. I love them,” Valenzuela said of his host family, “They’ve been an amazing help to me, and they’re just like a second family to me.
“After a few months, we just got more comfortable…Then during COVID we would watch TV and play board games and eat dinners together.”
The residency program is essential to FC Cincinnati’s Academy. The ability to bring youngsters in from all over the country to train helps the club develop top talent regardless of regional limitations.
As of June 2023, 25 Academy players for FCC live with 17 host families, some of which have as many as three athletes hosted in their homes.
It wasn’t always smooth sailing. Nevertheless, Dado chose to stick it out. “I was kind of struggling in the beginning.” Valenzuela remembers, “The first two to three weeks I wasn’t starting… But I just decided to keep my head up.
“It just took time…the easier it got at home…the easier it got with soccer.
“We just got more comfortable.”
Arriving at FCC was a watershed moment for Dado. His participation in the Academy and MLS NEXT signaled to him that he could play not only with his age group but with anyone in the club.
“Something just clicked,” Valenzuela said of his arrival, “Maybe it’s just like getting more experienced with the game and watching videos of players and watching more games. I was ready to pick it up and be at a higher level than before. Ready to be more of a pro.
“I knew I could be with the big boys.”
Dado credits his on-the-field development to an assortment of coaches that believed in him, citing development coach Ricardo Páez and FCC2 head coach Tyrone Marshall as essential to his growth as a player.
After signing a first-team deal with the club on May 25, 2023, that would run through the 2026 season, Dado became the seventh FC Cincinnati Academy player to sign with the big club and the fifth currently with the team.
Dado is now 18, turning 19 in September. He’s finished high school, looking into taking online college classes next, and he could decide to go out on his own, get his own apartment, and start the next chapter of his life. But his plan for the time being is to stay with his second family as long as they will have him.
MLS Debut
Dado finally got the opportunity to make his MLS debut on a June 21 match with Toronto FC, coming on for Luciano Acosta in the 89th minute after appearing on the roster three times before. With FC Cincinnati 2, Valenzuela has appeared 12 times with 11 starts this season. He has tallied three goals and two assists and the 18-year-old has been key to the attack.
