TEXARKANA, Texas - Reece Gaylor, a standout high school soccer player here and in the region, was recently selected as one of 20 American players to be a part of FC Schalke 04's Integrated Academy, an unprecedented residential program in Germany for highly talented young soccer players.
FC Shalke, located in Gelsenkirchen, is the second largest sports club in Germany and the fifth largest in the world. They have teamed up with the International Soccer Academy to form this program which kicks off this month with a U19 team of 2003/2004 youth soccer players from all across the USA.
With hundreds of applications from players all over the country submitted in hopes of joining, the odds of this opportunity becoming a reality for Gaylor were quite low to start.
Reece's dad Aaron said it started with an email blast that was sent out by soccertoday.com in March referencing the program. Reece then put together a highlight tape and sent it in with a resume on the link that was in the email, saying he didn't expect much to come of it.
"I just sent it kind of as a shot in the dark just hoping that maybe something would happen," Reece said. "I forgot about it after sending it."
He would soon be reminded of it a couple months later.
"We turned it in, and that was it," Aaron said. "It was just like almost not thought about anymore because it was sort of a pipe dream. And then on May 3, we get this congratulations email."
Reece, who is going into his junior year of high school, has had quite the list of accomplishments already. He was named as a first-team all district player in his freshman and sophomore years at Texas High and was a 2021 Dallas Cup Participant while playing for the FC Dallas ETX 03B team - to name a few.
Shalke scouts and coaches were so impressed with the tape he'd put together from his seasons with FC Dallas and THS that they sent him an acceptance email without even conducting an interview.
"I was honestly very surprised," Reece said. "It just made me feel a lot more comfortable with what the club thought of me."
Reece will now have the chance to attend this eight-month academy and be trained by Schalke 04 coaches as a part of their world-renowned methodology at the Schalke complex.
"It's honestly like a fantasy or a dream to have this opportunity," Aaron said. "Not only because it's such a great opportunity within itself, but it's literally never existed before. It's the first time ever an American team is being put together to do a full academy year anywhere in the world. So, it's just unimaginable."
Starting off playing pretty much every sport while oftentimes being coached by his dad, Reece became enamored with soccer in sixth grade. Typically a smaller player, currently standing at about 5-foot-9, 130 pounds, he said soccer was perfect for him because it's more about skill than size.
"We'd have recess, and we'd play soccer with like 50 kids going for the ball at once," Reece said. "And I'd always push myself to dribble through all of them pretty much. That's kind of where I first started really liking soccer. And I knew I could develop fast in that sport."
To this day, he says his size or lack thereof is a source of motivation for him. And anyone who highlights that as a weakness of his is just adding fuel to the fire.
"It definitely has," Reece said about his size being a motivating factor. "When people would say that, it just made me want to work harder and work with what I have. That's why I love soccer. It's not based on your physical attributes, it's based on your skill and how you play. So, that's what I worked on even more because I was always smaller."
His dad said watching his son develop into the player he is today has truly been a sight to behold.
"For me, you see that your kid is talented at something and willing to be very driven and hard-working at it, and you just want to see your kid develop as well and as fast as they can," Aaron said. "And you know that's going to take a lot of effort for the kid and the family to support that effort. So, when you have a situation where the dedication and talent are both there, it's really hard to not try."
The Gaylor family is flying to Germany on Saturday to get Reece set up for the academy.
Reece said that while he is a bit nervous about having to navigate through a second language, he is most excited about learning from the coaches and other players there.
"I'm most excited about getting to train basically every single day and just experiencing how soccer is in Germany," he said. "I know that here in the U.S., it's probably a lot different in how they coach soccer. I'm also excited to meet players from all around the U.S. and Canada."
His goal is to eventually become a pro soccer player, but he knows the challenge that is ahead of him, as likely only a couple of players from this select group will be kept around after the academy. If he is unable to stay on the professional path there, he plans to play collegiately in the states. He already has had offers from several colleges to play for them.
"Long term, I do want to become a pro," Reece said. "But for this year, my goal is for them to want me to join their actual academy."