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FC Dallas captain Daniel Hernandez, one of the best players in SMU history, has enjoyed a successful professional career that has lasted 13 years ... so far. Last week, Hernandez signed a three-year extension as a player-coach, a position he will learn under his current (and former SMU) coach, Schellas Hyndman. Hernandez visited with PonyFans.com to discuss the contract, why he has been a successful leader on several teams, and the reasons it was so important for him to stay in Dallas.

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Awesome article. What a fantastic player and he sure seems like a pretty good person too.

Great story. Hernandez was awesome when he played for the Ponies, and it's gratifying to see him enjoying extended professional success.

MustangFan wrote:Great story. Hernandez was awesome when he played for the Ponies, and it's gratifying to see him enjoying extended professional success.

He was a great player for SMU. I was at the school when news came of Nico being paralyzed. It was very sad; he had a great soccer future as well.

Didn't Cavan screw him over?

Could've been a great kicker, yes.

Panic Pete wrote:Didn't Cavan screw him over?

I don't know if you can call it that. He (Cavan) and men's soccer coach Schellas Hyndman agreed to share Hernandez for a season. So there were weekends when the soccer team played games on Friday and Sunday, and Hernandez would fly from Dallas to the location of the Friday soccer game, then to the location of the Saturday football game, then to the location of the Sunday soccer game. The travel was brutal, and both coaches made comments about worries that had about wearing Hernandez out.

It's true that Hernandez had a chance to be a very good kicker. He had (has) a cannon of a leg — two, actually — and exceptional accuracy. But while he had the potential to be a very good kicker, he was an All-America soccer player and the first player in the history of the storied SMU soccer program to win a National Player of the Year award, and some have suggested the finest player in school history.

I don't think you can say Cavan "screwed" him. If memory serves, each coach wanted him to play their sport only. If he had to pick one, I'd say he picked the right one.