EL PASO, Texas - In November 2024, El Paso Locomotive FC named Ray Saari as its Technical Director, marking the first time someone other than the head coach would fill the role in the club’s six-year history. To Saari, it showed that despite the pro team’s successful start to its tenure in the USL Championship, the leadership was committed to building a strong foundation for the pathway in El Paso.

“[It] showed that our club has identified that we do want to have a more long-term view to building the roster, and a big piece of that is incorporating the academy and young players into the first team setup,” said Saari. Saari and the Locomotive’s Academy team made the trip down to Florida for the 2024 USL Academy Finals after a 7-2-1 regular season. The tournament allows Saari and El Paso’s coaching staff to see where their up-and-coming talents rank against some of the top national competitions. 

“Our academy over the last two to three years has progressed at a pretty pronounced rate, and I want these players to be challenged a little bit more,” said Saari, “and getting outside of our region, going to a national tournament like this really puts in perspective where they sit amongst the best nationally.”

After falling short in a tough Round of 16 match against AC Connecticut, El Paso moved into the showcase division, where they went 1-1-1 against FC Motown, LFE All-Stars, and San Antonio FC.

El Paso’s Academy, in its short history, has begun to produce talented rising stars with overflowing potential.

Defender Kenneth Hoban started playing for Locomotive’s youth team shortly after the club was established in 2018. The El Paso native’s skill shined through, and he developed into a key piece for the academy team. At 14 years old Hoban signed a USL Academy Contract with El Paso, making him eligible to train with the first team and play in the USL Championship while maintaining his college eligibility.

“I joined this club when I was very young, and I’ve been able to represent this club at a lot of levels,” said Hoban. “Every time that I step on the pitch, I’m honored to represent my hometown and this badge.”

El Paso is a soccer-rich area, with locals that live and breathe the sport. Saari notes how many players in the El Paso system will play soccer with their friends after practice.

As kids who started with a soccer ball and a dream are now playing for the academy team, they don’t have to look very far to see where the dream could lead them. Including Hoban, El Paso signed 11 players to Academy Contracts in April 2024, the fourth consecutive year that Locomotive had signed players to Academy Contracts and the largest singular cohort in club history. Extending the opportunity to these players to integrate into the first team environment adds motivation and shows where their hard work and sacrifice can take them.

Joseluis Villagomez, Diego Alvidrez, and Hoban are among the many young players who have shined on their Academy Contract and begun taking big steps in their development.

“[When they are] training every day with the first team, we saw an extreme difference over a two-to-three-month span both physically and in their ability to process situations on the field and an increase in speed of play,” said Saari. “We’ve can notice their development when they go back down to USL Academy matches after training consistently with the first team and we’re excited about their future in our club.”

Hoban is a prime example of the opportunities El Paso’s strong pathway provides. After continuing to show his potential as an anchor for the academy team’s strong defensive record, Hoban signed a professional contract at age 15 in December 2024, becoming the youngest professional signing in Locomotive history and the first player to each step of El Paso’s player pathway.

As El Paso kicks off the 2025 USL Academy Finals on Thursday, they come in as one of the teams to beat, boasting an experienced roster with players possessing first-team experience and skill that helped them win the Cactus Division title.

The event will give Saari and his players another measuring stick for how they stack up as a unit against the strongest competition in USL Academy. His players will be tested in pressurized, knockout matches that will show who can perform in big moments. It also provides an important chance for all the players to be seen by college scouts, knowing that college soccer is a valuable opportunity for high-level prospects who are not ready to go full-time as a professional.

“One of the biggest values [of the USL Academy Finals], is the college recruitment aspect,” said Saari, “because not all of our U20 players will be professionals. But we are sending almost 10 to 15 players per class to college.”

Hoban, who is still yet to celebrate his 17th birthday, will be a veteran on the team as he makes his third appearance at the tournament. He is hoping that their squad, which is full of skill and excitement, will be ready to meet the challenge put in front of them.

“[We need to] just go in there without nerves,” said Hoban. “Just be excited to play there, be excited to play against really good competition, and go out there and enjoy it and you’ll get the result that you want."