When it comes to All-Star game appetizers, baseball has its Home Run Derby, the NBA its Slam Dunk Contest, and MLS its Skills Challenge.
But MLS also includes in its midseason festivities an event that’s especially intriguing because it showcases top teenage talent — the MLS Next All-Star Game. The first, in 2022, included a 17-year-old Benjamin Cremaschi, who has since been playing alongside Lionel Messi with Inter Miami and is currently with the USA at the Olympics in France.
On Tuesday, the third annual MLS Next All-Star Game took place at the Historic Crew Stadium, MLS’s first soccer-specific venue, a few hours before the battle of skills at Lower.com Field, the Crew’s home since 2021 and site of Wednesday’s main event — MLS vs. Liga MX All-Stars.
Shortly after entering Historic Crew Stadium — I spotted John Hackworth.
St. Louis City’s SC’s director of coaching since the club’s inception and its interim head coach since early this month, Hackworth was closely watching his club’s 16-year-old outside back Tyson Pearce.
Hackworth has been amid American soccer youth development during its most profound phases — starting in the early years of U.S. Soccer’s U-17 Bradenton Residency, when he and John Ellinger built it up from the inaugural 20-player class in 1999 — a class that included Landon Donovan and DaMarcus Beasley — to 30 players, and then 40.
After coaching the USA at 2005 and 2007 U-17 World Cups, and directing U.S. Soccer’s Development Academy for its first two years, Hackworth got the Philadelphia Union’s now famed academy started, with the enthusiastic support of Union part-owner Richie Graham.
“Just an unbelievable person who understood the investment,” said Hackworth. “I said the players shouldn’t have to pay a dime to wear a Union jersey, and he said, ‘got it.’”
Hackworth returned to U.S. Soccer, coached the USA to quarterfinals of the 2017 U-17 World Cup, the final Bradenton Residency group that was joined by some players who remained with their club academies. The time had arrived when enough sophisticated youth programs had emerged around the nation to serve its most promising teens and make Bradenton unnecessary.
“We thought that was going to happen and I was hopeful it would happen,” Hackworth said. “And I believed it had to. You spend more buying players than you would developing players. I think pro clubs have to develop players in the long term.”
As we spoke, NYCFC’s Andrew Baiera equalized for the East just before halftime to make it, 2-2. Anthony Boyadjian (Albion SC) and Skylar Kaplan (Strikers FC) had given the West an early lead before D.C. United’s Nelson Hernandez scored the East’s first goal.
In the second half, Cavan Sullivan came on for the East, six days after at age 14 years and 293 days he debuted for Philadelphia to become the youngest-ever MLS player. Sullivan, whose Union homegrown predecessors include Brenden and Paxten Aaronson, Nathan Harriel, Jack McGlynn and Mark McKenzie, made it 3-2 from the penalty spot after getting fouled. FC Cincinnati’s Stefan Chirila‘s late goal made the final score, 4-2.
“I haven’t been in Philly for 10 years, but I’m super proud of starting that Philadelphia Union Academy, because you see what it’s produced,” Hackworth said. “That’s where owners in the MLS just need to be patient, because when you plant that seed, it takes about five years before you actually see whether it’s going to come to fruition. But Philly’s a good example. Dallas is a good example. LA is a good example.”
Hackworth left U.S. Soccer in July 2018 when federation leadership dismantled the full-time staff created by Youth Technical Director Tab Ramos, who left U.S. Soccer in 2019, after also serving as U.S. U-20 coach since 2011. Requiring relocation to Chicago also led to the departure of Shaun Tsakiris, who was on the sideline coaching the West after guiding the LA Galaxy to back-to-back MLS Next U-17 titles.
The revamping of the youth national team program when it looked to be on a promising course with staff continuity and full-time head coaches at each group comes to mind as celebrity club coaches’ names have been bandied around as candidates to succeed Gregg Berhalter. Former youth national team coaches led their nations to this summer’s Copa America and Euro titles. Argentina’s Lionel Scaloni went from U-20 national team coach to assistant coach to head coach. Luis de la Fuente spent nearly a decade coaching Spain’s U-19s, U-21s and U-23s before taking the full national team helm. (Euro runner-up coach Gareth Southgate moved into his position after coaching England’s U-21s.)
Hackworth came to St. Louis City in late 2021 after a stint with Louisville City that included the 2018 USL title. He was hired by Lutz Pfannenstiel, the German sporting director put in charge of building the franchise in 2020. Pfannenstiel, while head of international scouting for Bundesliga club Hoffenheim, saw Hackworth’s U.S. team play at the 2017 U-17 World Cup.
“He said he loved the way we pressed and re-pressed,” said Hackworth, whom Pfannenstiel came across again when Louisville played at Saint Louis FC in a USL Championship game and Hackworth started 16-year-old Jonathan Gomez and 18-year-old Akil Watts at outside backs. Pfannenstiel told Hackworth, “You started a teenager at right back and a teenager at left back. Two of the most influential players in the game. And that caught my attention.”
While St. Louis City’s director of coaching, Hackworth also coached St. Louis City’s MLS Next Pro team when it finished runner-up in the league’s inaugural season. In 2023, when it began MLS play, he started serving as assistant coach to Bradley Carnell. Hackworth became interim head coach when the South African Carnell was let go July 1 with the team at 3-7-10. It had finished atop the Western Conference in 2023.
Hackworth’s focus is honed in on getting St. Louis City back on track, but of course he keeps a close on the national team program, which includes many players he coached.
“I think it’s in a great spot,” he said when I asked him about the U.S. player pool. “I really do. I don’t think the quality of the pool is the problem right now.”
The Copa America exit has tempered optimism, but watching these MLS Next players drives home how dramatically youth programs in professional environments have proliferated since the Bradenton Residency was one of a kind.
“I still hold out great hope in us having a really successful World Cup in 2026,” Hackworth says.
