From the youth academy to Toronto FC: The amazing ascent of Kosi Thompson

Former Canadian national team midfielder Terry Dunfield had just started his tenure as a youth coach with Toronto FC’s youth academy in 2017 when he first met Kosi Thompson.

Even back then, Dunfield saw great things in Thompson’s future when he was playing for the under-14 team.

“After five minutes of the first training session, [which was] my first time ever taking charge of a team, I remember saying to one of my assistants, ‘He’s our captain.’ The way Kosi carried himself both on and off the field, I thought he would be great for the other players to model themselves after. Even at age 14, he was a top pro,” Dunfield told TFC Republic.

“What comes to mind with Kosi is his intellectual curiosity. He’s a hardworking, competitive team player. He has a ton of qualities that really epitomize what we want in an academy player.”