Most rookies jump at the chance to be selected in the MLS SuperDraft, but FC Dallas winger Ryan Hollingshead opted for a different journey.
The northern California native chose to forego his rookie season to fulfill a five-year-old promise to his older brother to help build a church from the ground up near their hometown of Sacramento, California.
It was not a choice he made lightly.
“I went into the decision thinking I may not ever get the opportunity again to come back or have a chance to come play, and I was OK with that,” Hollingshead said.
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After skipping the 2013 MLS Player Combine to pursue mission work and with his plans not including soccer, Hollingshead fell into the second round of the 2013 MLS SuperDraft, where FC Dallas selected him at No. 20 overall and settled in to wait.
After fulfilling his promise to his brother, Hollingshead did get a chance to play again and returned to FC Dallas last season, but not without struggling after a year-long sabbatical. Active in Reserve League play with seven starts and one assist, Hollingshead played just 289 minutes in MLS play, failing to record a goal or assist.
“Last year, I didn’t perform as much as I would want to,” Hollingshead said. “I didn’t get the opportunities and the chance as much as I would have liked.”
Attributing his disappointing rookie campaign to not having his legs under him after a year away from the game, the Dallas midfielder took it upon himself to focus solely on soccer this past offseason, which has helped him refine his game – something he was unable to do when he opted to join his brother two years ago.
“I could see ways I was struggling, things I wasn’t doing as well as I’d like, things I just needed more time on, and I was able to work on that in the offseason,” Hollingshead said. “But coming in this season, I felt more comfortable in just about every part of my game.”
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Comfort in the game is exactly what Hollingshead is showing this preseason, leading the club with three goals in the past three games, all from close range. His improvement with a full off-season of work is not going unnoticed by the Dallas coaching staff, with head coach Oscar Pareja saying Hollingshead is making a case to start.
“He’s a good example for the group,” Pareja said of Hollingshead’s ability to go from virtually zero production in 2014 to leading the team in goals in the 2015 preseason. “He stopped playing for a year, and now he’s showing a lot of improvement. So Ryan is obviously in the equation in every game right now.”
The seemingly out-of-nowhere production from Hollingshead has created a good problem for Pareja, adding to an already congested group of midfielders trying to crack the starting lineup. Hollingshead is competing with 2014 Rookie of the Year Tesho Akindele, breakout winger Fabian Castillo and recent right wing acquisition Michael Barrios.
Adding Barrios was a necessity for the club that Hollingshead understands, but the midfielder still approaches practice as if it's his job to lose.
“You’re always excited to see the team succeed and see the team doing well, see the team bringing in guys like Barrios,” Hollingshead said. “But obviously that’s my spot, and that’s a spot I’m fighting for.”
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With loads of depth in the midfield, Hollingshead knows he has to differentiate himself from the rest of the pack somehow, and he believes that his offseason and preseason have done just that.
“You need guys that are blue-collar and work their butts off and put in the hard work so the flashy guys can do their job and not have to worry about the defensive side of things as much,” Hollingshead said. “I think so far this preseason, I’ve proved that I can do both.”
Whether his play this preseason leads to a starting role or not, things seem to be falling into place for the young midfielder.
“It worked out perfectly,” Hollingshead said. “On both decisions, when we decided to stay for the church and when I decided to leave and come to Dallas, both times we were 100-percent confident it’s where I needed to be.”
