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American rising star Cruz Medina learned the game under the watchful eye of his father and first coach, Antonio Medina.
Antonio Medina has a necklace he never takes off. It’s a two-rope chain — “one for each of my sons,” he says — with a rock that reads “Bay City," in reference to the San Francisco youth club he launched . It's where 15-year-old Cruz, one of the most exciting youth prospects in American soccer, started out. He recently starred in the MLS Next all-star game, at which Antonio served as the West's assistant coach to Minnesota United's Jeremy Hall.
“It's just been a blessing,” Antonio says, reflecting in the moments after the all-star game. “Every time Cruz tells me he's going to score, he scores. I'm so proud of him and being able to live this dream that we're living right now on has been amazing.”
Medina was the youngest player on the field in Blaine, Minnesota, for the all-star game and scored the West’s lone goal with a long-range deflected shot. He signed a Homegrown contract with San Jose in June and has made a dozen appearances for Quakes II in MLS Next Pro.
After winning the Golden Ball at the 2021 MLS Next Cup with San Jose’s U-15s, Medina was called up to Coach Gonzalo Segares’ U-17 boys national team camp. He scored in two friendlies in March and notched a goal and an assist against Portugal in the UEFA Development tournament in May.
At the all-star game last week, U.S. men's national team general manager Brian McBride singled Medina out as a player the program is keeping their eyes on. "Cruz Medina is certainly one of those players that we really see a pathway for him. Of course it's down to the player himself. And he's very motivated," McBride said during an in-match interview .
“He grew up playing for my club, Bay City Soccer Club,” says Antonio. “I started training him real early — when he was 5 years old, he was with the 11-year-olds. He just loved it ever since he was little.”
His older son, Adrian, who played at San Francisco State and CSU Bakersfield, now plays for the Glens' USL League Two team and coaches at Bay City SC.
The 42-year-old Antonio grew up in the San Francisco soccer scene, but his professional pathway was a barren desert compared to the lush youth programming available in the Bay Area today. He played in men’s leagues as a youth and semipro as an adult. He has coached high school soccer and served as recreational director for the City of San Francisco.
He turned Bay City SC into a futsal club — futsal had always been a key part Medina's training — after it partnered with the San Francisco Glens to provide its players academy opportunities. Cruz joined the Earthquakes academy as a 12-year-old after tallying 31 goals and 28 assists at the U-13 level with the San Francisco Glens. It figures that Cruz played a lot of futsal — playing tidy and quickly in tight spaces proved crucial for a 5-foot-7, 137-pound teenager playing against grown men.
A coach for the U-19 San Francisco Glens academy team, which competes in MLS Next, Antonio has seen the quality of MLS teams up close. The difficulty is coaching against teams backed with the resources of a professional club.
“It's night and day,” Antonio says. “I coach the U-19 team by myself ... sometimes I had an assistant who volunteered his time to come help but we don't have the support that these big MLS clubs have — the funding, the nice gear, the five coaches on the sideline to get different ideas ... it’s hard.”
Still, his team performed impressively this year, reaching the U-19 MLS Next Cup final in early July, losing 1-0 to the New England Revolution after beating Sporting Kansas City along the way. His son, meanwhile, was already playing with the Quakes II.
There’s a lot of sacrifice that goes into playing for a pro academy. Cruz practices five days a week and juggles a full load of coursework of online school.
“It’s a dream that Cruz wanted and we’ve had to adjust our lives a lot,” Antonio says. “My wife had to change her schedule to make sure he gets to practice. There’s so much work that people don't see. Eating right, doing homework in the car, sleeping in our cars a lot — we're just excited to see where it's going and where Cruz is taking it. Hopefully, in a couple years he'll break into the teams in Europe.”
Cruz Medina, who is eligible for both the U.S. and Mexico national teams, is looking to break into the U.S. senior roster come the next World Cup cycle. “Right now we're committed to the U.S. and the goal is for him to make the senior team,” Antonio says.
His father didn’t rule out a national team switch, however, mentioning that Mexico called him up for a U-18 camp that he couldn’t participate in because of all-star week.
Either way, the future looks bright for Cruz.
“The MLS Next guy said it best at the all-star game,” Antonio recalls. “He said, ‘I can't wait for the Medina movie.'"