The New York Red Bulls are committed to developing and improving the level of youth soccer in the tri-state area. From an early age, the Red Bulls offer coaching and instruction to youth players of all skill levels. Whether that means providing a fun, safe environment to play the beautiful game, to developing the next Homegrown MLS star, the Red Bulls’ multi-layered youth program offers something for everyone.
In The Future is Bright series, NewYorkRedBulls.com takes a closer look at the organization’s youth development platform.
Juan Sanchez
Born in Peru, Sanchez moved to the United States when he was 11-years-old. The forward joined the Red Bulls Academy in 2014 and during the 2014-15 Academy season led the Red Bulls U-18s with 17 goals in 21 matches.
On January 27, 2015, it was announced that Sanchez would be a part of the Red Bulls first team preseason camp in Florida. Then on March 27, he joined New York Red Bulls II as an amateur, which plays in the United Soccer League.
Sanchez made his professional debut the next day against the Rochester Rhinos. He came on as a 79th minute substitute as the Red Bulls II finished the match tied, 0-0. On July 25, 2015, Sanchez scored his first professional goal for Red Bulls II in a 4-3 victory over the Richmond Kickers. During his 2015 USL campaign, the forward made 12 appearances finishing with the one goal.
“Red Bulls II was a great environment,” Sanchez said. “It definitely prepared me going into my freshman year of college and I enjoyed competing every day at training. There is a lot of competition within the team which helped me become a better playing.”
In August 2015, Sanchez joined the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes for his freshman season where he started all 21 games and had a team best eight goals finishing with 19 points. He was tabbed as the American Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year after taking his team to the Second Round of the NCAA Championship.
