Galaxy coach Greg Vanney has coached a family member before when his nephew Eriq Zavaleta played for him with Toronto FC and recently with the Galaxy.
Saturday, Vanney had another family member on the bench, his son Dylan.
Dylan Vanney, 18, signed his professional contract Friday with Ventura County FC and was signed to a short-term agreement with the Galaxy for Saturday’s game against the Houston Dynamo.
Per MLS rules, “a club may sign a player, age 25 or younger, during the league season from its MLS NEXT Pro affiliate to a maximum of four Short-Term Agreements (up to four-day contracts) each season (maximum of 16 days). An individual player may be included on up to four MLS league season match rosters each season, but that player may appear in no more than two MLS league season matches.”
“He was excited,” Greg Vanney said of Dylan Saturday night. “He’s a young man that’s been in our academy for six, seven years. He’s been successful at every level that he has played within the club. He’s won three (MLS NEXT Cup) championships with the 18s, he was *Galaxy) Academy Player of the Year, he’s done a lot of good things. He’s been looking forward to this day and this opportunity and this challenge for a long time.”
Dylan Vanney has scored six goals for Ventura County FC, playing as an attacking midfielder. He regularly trains with the first team.
“It was funny because yesterday (Friday), you could tell, I could tell how nervous he was,” Greg Vanney said. “I don’t think he said one word to any player on the field, which is not like him, for an hour and 10 minutes. I went home and was like, ‘Dude, I don’t think you said anything to anybody the entire day,’ not between the exercises and he was just in his head, you could tell he was antsy and nervous.
“Today (Saturday), he was more relaxed, like it’s normal. He eats, breathes, drinks, lives soccer. He’s the one that when he was 3, 5, 7, 10, he always came to me with the facility. He was always around. So it’s a dream come true for him to be on the bench and obviously, at some point, have the opportunity to step on the field and play. I’m sure he was hoping that we were going to be up and he was going to get that moment (Saturday).”
Dylan is one of three Vanney sons in the Galaxy system. Mason is currently with Ventura County and the youngest, Christian, is in the Academy.