Former SMU soccer star Daniel Hernandez followed an award-laden career on the Hilltop with a professional career that still is going strong 13 years later. Thanks to a fairly unique contract extension he signed last week with FC Dallas of Major League Soccer, Hernandez gets to explore his next career before his current one ends.

Hernandez, who has spent the last three years with the club, signed a three-year extension Nov. 30 as a player-coach. The National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Div. I National Player of the Year in 1997, now 35, is guaranteed at least one more year as a player before he transitions to a full-time coaching role under the tutelage of legendary former SMU coach Schellas Hyndman.

Daniel Hernandez is guaranteed at least one more year as a player for FC Dallas (photo by FC Dallas).

“It’s a three-year deal as a coach, with at least one as a player,” Hernandez said. “But as long as I’m healthy, I’ll continue to play. If I’m able to play the full three years, then it might be time to hang up the boots. But that depends on how I feel physically, how I feel health-wise.”

Hernandez, who has had a knee injury in each of the last two years — he played four months this season with a torn meniscus — said he realizes that the opportunities for players to learn the coaching profession while still playing are extremely uncommon, and he is grateful for the one afforded him by FC Dallas.

“It’s very rare,” he said. “I might be one of maybe three guys who have even had the chance to do this — it’s not something that happens very often. I know that leagues and individual clubs are very particular about who they allow to do that. I feel very blessed that they’re giving me this opportunity.”

Hyndman has raved about Hernandez’s leadership when they were together at SMU, and since Hernandez joined FC Dallas, and said he sees a bright coaching future for Hernandez when his playing days are over.

“Daniel has been such a great leader for us in the locker room and on the field,” Hyndman said when Hernandez signed his extension. “I’m very excited to have him back. He’s an integral part of our team.

“I had the pleasure of coaching him in college at SMU, and I’m honored to be a part of this next transition for him, and hope to pass along as much coaching knowledge as I can in the next three years. I’m sure he will excel.”

Widely considered to be among the finest players in SMU history, Hernandez said he never has wanted to do anything other than play soccer. A native of Tyler, Texas, he played one year at Creighton University before transferring to SMU, in part to be closer to his family. Since being drafted in 1999 by the Los Angeles Galaxy, Hernandez has played for five MLS teams and three professional teams in Mexico.

“I never thought about retiring,” Hernandez said. “These last two years, I pretty much had the best two years in my career, performance-wise. So by no mean did I think about retiring. I had some interest from other teams in MLS, but if it was not going to work out here, my focus was going to be to go back to Mexico. I had a couple of teams there that were interested in me, but I wanted to finish my (playing) career here.”

In addition to his loyalty to Hyndman, Hernandez said his family also factored in to his decision to sign his latest contract with FC Dallas. He and his wife have three daughters in Dallas, and staying with FC Dallas allows him to stay close to his younger brother, Nico, who played a couple of seasons at SMU before being paralyzed in a car accident. His hometown of Tyler is just an hour and a half east of Dallas.

“I could have gone to Mexico and made bigger money,” Hernandez said. “When I first signed with FC Dallas, I never imagined going anywhere else. I have three beautiful girls, and my family is so close in Tyler. Plus, my brother sort of plays through me. He’s part of FC Dallas — I feel like he’s part of the club, because he’s so active with the team. It’s important to stay here and have him watch me — that’s why I want to finish my career here. It’s a great situation to finish my career in front family and friends.

“Plus, I have the opportunity to play here and learn (coaching) from one of the best in Schellas. It couldn’t be a better situation.”

Hernandez said that in addition to being closer to his family, part of the allure in signing with FC Dallas in 2009 was to get back near SMU, where he has some unfinished business.

“Obviously, I’m really happy being a part of the FC Dallas organization, and I have looked forward to getting the opportunity to transition into coaching,” he said. “Ever since I left SMU, I always wanted to play professionally, learn from Schellas, and had a goal to coach one day at SMU.

Daniel Hernandez was named NSCAA National Player of the Year in 1997 (photo by FC Dallas).

“I love SMU dearly, and obviously that’s not an easy job to come by, but it’s another great reason for signing with FC Dallas: I never graduated. But I have talked with SMU, and I’m going back to finish up school. That was a huge factor in signing here. I want to go back to SMU and get my (public relations) degree.

Hernandez was a captain under Hyndman at SMU, and at several stops in his professional career. He said he doesn’t worry that his coach-in-training status will affect his relationship with his teammates.

“You have to have the confidence and the trust from your coach to allow that to do that, to loosen up the reins,” Hernandez said when asked what it is that has made him such a leader throughout his career. “Obviously, with Schellas, I have that long-lasting relationship. I consider him a very good friend, and he instilled that confidence in me. A lot of guys know I’m hard on my teammates — I yell a lot, I scream a lot, I stay on them. But from my perspective, it’s just that I’m a competitor and I hate to lose, and I know the talent my teammates have and I expect the best out of them. That’s the same on any team I’ve been on. I wear my heart on my sleeve. I’m very loyal, and it’s all about that jersey. I’d give everything for the team, whether it’s practice or a game. I know guys can’t play great every game. I’ve had my share of games when I didn’t play my best, but I definitely expect the effort from my teammates because I always gave everything on the field. I might not have a great game, but I bust my butt on the field for them every day.

“That (how his new role will affect his relationship with his teammates) was brought up during the negotiation. It’s understandable, but it doesn’t bother me. I know my teammates, and I know how they feel about me. Don’t think anything will change, because of the tightness that we have, and how close we are and how they feel about me. The only awkwardness is going to be that as a player-coach, you can’t play every game. Even when I’ve been hurt — played four months with a torn meniscus — I want to be out there with my team. They know that.”

That he has played so long has surprised Hernandez, but his durability and commitment to the sport have allowed him to reunite with Hyndman and begin preparing for the next stage of his career.

“I (recently did) a radio interview, and that was one of things we mentioned, playing 13 years,” Hernandez said. “That’s like a kid starting elementary school and going through high school graduation — that’s a long time. I’m so fortunate, so blessed to play this long. I have played for some great coaches, and now I get to learn to coach from one of the best ... and I get to do it at home.”