Manny Aparicio became the latest player to graduate from the KIA Toronto FC Academy to the first team on August 8. He credits his time in the Academy for preparing him for a professional career.

Manny joined the TFC Academy in October 2010. “The trials were five or six months,” Aparicio recalls, “and for the first three or four months after, it was a big jump to get used to” being in a professional environment. The midfielder, who played club soccer in North York and then Unionville, noted that, in coming to the Academy, “there were big changes off-the-field, with having to practice every day and go to school. You see the difference in your social life, because it was every day - club soccer is usually 3 or 4 times a week. And obviously on the field, playing-wise, the skill level was way higher.”

Aparicio, who turns 18 next week, listed Academy Director Thomas Rongen, and coaches Danny Dichio, Anthony Capotosto and Jim Brennan as major influences in his development, and was grateful to all of them for also facilitating his recent transition to the next level. He greatest memory from his time in the Academy stemmed from the spring, “when we went to Dallas Cup; scoring the goal against Tigres to tie it up for a 2-2 draw.”

Now that he is living the dream of playing professionally, with the added thrill of representing his hometown, Manny is not shying away from the responsibility of embodying to current and future Academy players that the leap to the first team is possible. “Manny is a young talented player with great character and passion for the game,” said KIA Toronto FC Academy Director Thomas Rongen. “He is a player that our TFC fans and community can be proud of for years to come.”