During the MLS season, one of the last, if not the last player to leave the practice field for FC Dallas is forward Kenny Cooper. The 6-foot-3 Dallas native just completed his second season, and can be seen working on his finishing long after the rest of his team has retired to the locker room.
Yet while the offseason is all about trying to find a way to improve as a player, for the last few months, Cooper has also been getting an education off the field by taking some classes at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.
"I've been taking some classes there," Cooper said. "With moving back here and being so close to SMU, it's given me a good opportunity to do that. I'm only taking two classes, so it's not too much for me to handle. It's an amazing school and I've enjoyed the little bit of time that I've been able to spend down there."
After a solid schoolboy career at Jesuit College Preparatory School in Dallas, where as a senior he was named the area's top player and was also a McDonald's All-American, Cooper was heavily recruited by a number of schools, including SMU. But in the end, he decided to sign with English Premier League giant Manchester United and played for their reserve team from 2003 through 2006 before signing with FCD.
However, even though Cooper did not end up playing for the Mustangs, he still has strong feelings for SMU. That sentiment looks to get even stronger as his younger brother Joe will play there beginning next fall.
"I feel very fortunate to have been recruited by them in high school," Cooper said. "It's a great school and the soccer program is amazing. (Head coach) Schellas (Hyndman) is someone that I have so much respect for. He's been there a long time and has done a great job.
"I was looking forward to going there. It was a great program at a great school and it was close to home. I feel very fortunate to have had the chance to go there. Now, my little brother is going there and we're really excited for him. It's a great place."
Cooper comes off a year where he played in just 14 matches and had four goals and two assists. Things were going well until on June 9 in a 3-1 win against the Los Angeles Galaxy at Pizza Hut Park, he suffered a broken right tibia in the final moments of that win. He was on the shelf until making his return in an Oct. 11 match with Chivas USA.
In his first season with the Hoops, Cooper was a revelation. He started 29 of 31 games up top for FCD and scored 11 goals, second-most on the side and added four assists. And in a 2006 U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal win over the USL's Charleston Battery, he turned in the first hat trick of his professional career as FCD prevailed 4-3 on penalty kicks.
Cooper admits that he currently doesn't have a major picked out and since he is only taking a few classes at a time, he isn't in a hurry to do so.
"I might go the business route but I'm just getting started and have a long way to go," he said. "I'm only taking a few classes but my experience down there has been great. I haven't looked past this semester yet because I still have some things to finish up."
The big Dallas native isn't the only FCD player to further his education in 2007. Goalkeeper Ray Burse took correspondence courses from Ohio State for much of the season and completed a degree in American History late in the year. Rookie defender Andrew Daniels, a 2007 draft pick, didn't join the Hoops until he had completed his degree from Brown University in May.
Steve Hunt is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
