TOCA and FC Dallas Youth Soccer Club Launch Player Development Partnership

TOCA—a California-based, tech-enabled soccer experiences company and the largest operator of indoor soccer training centers in North America—is building on its already strong North Texas presence with a new partnership. Today TOCA and the FC Dallas Youth Soccer Club announced that they’re partnering “to develop the next generation of soccer players.”

As part of a multi-year deal, TOCA will install its proprietary training technology in the UMB Bank Performance Center in Frisco, the home of FC Dallas Youth. The tech will be used for both professional player development as well as on-site evaluation for youth players.

TOCA’s Touch Trainer (seen below) has the ability to launch soccer balls in many ways and speeds toward players undergoing training. In addition, TOCA technology provides data and feedback on player performance.

“The great part of this technology is it really allows athletes to know where they are,” Chris Hayden, VP of Youth Soccer at FC Dallas, said at a partnership announcement event in Frisco Wednesday. “It’s an objective measurement. So, for players to be able to get meaningful feedback, it helps them understand what they need to work on, and get better. And that’s what this technology really helps them do.”

The TOCA Touch Trainer can launch balls in many ways to boost players’ training. [Video still: TOCA]

“TOCA’s training technology simply works and the real-time data collected is invaluable,” FC Dallas COO Jimmy Smith added in a statement. “We’re excited to install this proprietary technology in our performance center and to customize a curriculum for our players in TOCA Soccer Centers in North Texas.”

Along with that initiative, the partners say they will also co-develop “team training programs for youth players that will be operated in all TOCA Soccer Training Centers” operating in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. TOCA soccer training centers are located locally in Keller, Carrollton, Mansfield, Allen, and The Colony.

“TOCA’s proprietary training technology is the gold-standard for player development,” TOCA founder and two-time USMNT player Eddie Lewis said in a statement. “I’m delighted by the endorsement of FC Dallas Youth, a premier youth soccer club.”

Lewis, a former MLS/English Premier League midfielder, founded TOCA in 2016.

TOCA and the FC Dallas Youth Soccer Club announced a player development partnership. TOCA founder Eddie Lewis is at center holding the ball. Third from right is Chris Hayden, VP of Youth Soccer for FC Dallas. [Photo: FC Dallas]

TOCA inked a 10-year partnership with Major League Soccer in 2022

The FC Dallas Youth partnership comes on the heels of a 10-year partnership TOCA announced with Major League Soccer in October 2022—with a goal of growing the sport and developing the next generation of soccer players in North America ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2026.

“TOCA is proud to be an official training partner of Major League Soccer and a leader in the development of the next generation of North American players,” TOCA CEO Yoshi Maruyama said of both partnerships.

TOCA’s “interactive targets” surround the training surface at the UMB Bank Performance Center in Frisco. TOCA and the FC Dallas Youth Soccer Club announced a player development partnership. [Photo: FC Dallas]

In June 2022, TOCA said it had become the largest operator of indoor soccer training centers after acquiring Blue Sky Sports, which operated four indoor sporting venues in North Texas. At the time, TOCA said it saw North Texas becoming an important hub for the company, noting current operations it has in Mansfield and its plans to open a TOCA Social venue here.

TOCA Social project in Dallas gets kicked back

We told you last year about TOCA Social, a planned three-story competitive soccer entertainment experience that had been slated for the Dallas Design District. The venue was expected to offer “world-class” cuisine, sprawling decked bars with “bonkers” views of the Dallas skyline, and 34 immersive target-game “TOCA boxes,” where groups would be able to eat, drink, and take turns fielding and kicking soccer balls at gamified video-screens.

However, according to a report by WFAA, TOCA has scrapped plans to develop a TOCA Social venue at the Design District location. Alex Harman, president of TOCA Social at TOCA Football, told WFAA “the project was more complex than originally thought.” However, Harman told the station that TOCA “is still eyeing Dallas” for its first-ever U.S. TOCA Social venue and as of late August was narrowing in on an alternate location.

Members of TOCA’s board of directors include Erik Anderson, former Executive Chairman and CEO of Topgolf Entertainment Group; Abby Wambach, USWNT World Cup winner; Celeste Burgoyne, lululemon President Americas; and Julie Haddon, NWSL Chief Marketing Officer.