Honor Thy History is a recurring series throughout the 2024 MLS regular season on OrlandoCitySC.com, highlighting some of the names and faces that have helped build Orlando City's history, from USL Pro to present day.
In March of this year, former Orlando City SC forward Dennis Chin was on hand at INTER&Co Stadium in Orlando, Florida, to sign autographs and meet fans ahead of the team's 10th-season anniversary match.
"When the 10-year anniversary came around, and the new kits came out, going back to bring honor to that time in USL, for me, and I know some of the older guys, and people in the front office that were part of that build-up to build this club, everyone was excited," Chin told OrlandoCitySC.com "I've never seen so many guys that used to play for the club, come back to the club when that kit was launched. We have a bunch of players that are coaching other teams in MLS and stuff like that. We'd talk about old memories with fondness, but we never talked about current Orlando City, but now since the kit and the halftime ceremony back in March that honored all the former players, I think that it just brought everybody back. I thought that was such a great touch, and Honor Thy History and all that really brought back a lot of people that were around the club at that time, and they all felt really honored and appreciated by that gesture."
For Chin, it had been exactly 10 years since he laced up his boots for the Lions back in USL Pro, but even a decade later, fans were still excited to meet Orlando City's first unofficial "homegrown" player.
In Orlando City's early days, "Chinny" became synonymous with goals. For four years, the Oviedo native became a fan favorite in his hometown, scoring 32 times, the most of any City player in the USL era. He also made 103 appearances across all competitions, winning the USL Pro Golden Boot in 2012, helping him earn his own chant from the supporters every time he scored.
“I believe in Dennis Chin, I believe in Dennis Chin!”
Chin's journey with Orlando City began in 2011, when he was signed by the club in its inaugural year. Discovered by then-Head Coach Adrian Heath at a tryout session, the striker's athleticism, speed and contagious personality quickly stood out amongst the group.
“It seems like a long time ago that I was watching Chinny in a practice game out in Oviedo,” Heath said in 2014. “There was a guy who had put some players together for me to observe, and he wasn’t one of the ones that I was supposed to be looking at. But what caught me was his athleticism and the fact that he kept scoring and smiling. His enthusiasm was infectious, and I thought that he certainly deserved an opportunity.”
Chin, who had just graduated from Rollins College that year, still remembers the first season vividly.
"It was really, really chaotic at first because everyone, from the front office to the players, was trying to figure out the Club's identity," Chin said.
In the end, what helped cultivate that identity was the team's winning ways and attractive brand of soccer, working on the heels of the 2010 FIFA World Cup to build a budding soccer culture in the City Beautiful.
For Chinny, being able to play for his hometown team was an incredibly meaningful experience. The Chin family moved to Orlando from Jamaica when Dennis was very young, and as he grew up, he looked to get involved in sports. Naturally, soccer became not only his sport, but the entire Chin family's. His father, younger brother and wife would go on to work for the club, while his youngest brothers played in the academy.
Being able to play professionally in the city that raised him on the sport gave him a sense of responsibility to represent Orlando on the big stage.
"I felt like an extension of what everyone wanted to be," he explained. "I felt like I was representing not just myself, but the whole city, my family and everyone. To still have that connection and to still feel that love, it just means the world to me."
Out of all his games with the Lions, Chin's standout memory was the 2013 USL Pro Final. More than 20,000 fans filled Camping World Stadium (formerly the Citrus Bowl) for an unforgettable atmosphere that helped cement Orlando as a soccer city and pave the way to an eventual MLS franchise.
"I remember every touch I had on the ball or anyone in the attacking third that had the ball felt like an eruption from the crowd," Chin reminisced. "I felt like everyone there were our fans. I can't remember a better moment than lifting that trophy and the feeling of everyone hugging and really being proud of the accomplishment, from the front office all the way through. It was just a really special moment for the club."
After leaving Orlando, Chin would go on to play for Arizona United, Ottowa Fury FC, the Richmond Kickers, and even in Israel before deciding on the next stage of his career. Eventually deciding to return to Central Florida, the question became, what was next?
He had tried a stint as a player assistant with the Kickers in USL League One, but he quickly realized that coaching wasn't his true calling.
"I didn't enjoy it at the pro level," Chin said. He wanted to make everyone happy, while also trying to develop more personal connections with players, which he felt like he couldn't do as a coach.
That mentality, combined with his deep understanding of the game and his desire to work with the next generation, led him to try out player representation. His former agent as a player suggested it since Chin had helped him get players who had signed with him in the past.
Chinny's desire to remain close to the game while helping others navigate their careers using the lessons learned from his playing days led him further down the rabbit hole. Initially, he had considered joining already established agencies but ultimately decided to start his own. It allowed him to build something unique from the ground up to support players in a way that aligned with his values.
"I knew it was going to be tough, but there were lessons that could be learned that would take me years to learn while under someone else," Chin said. "I treated it like when I started playing, starting at the bottom and then building myself up. I brought in people that I felt could help, like my former Orlando teammate Giuseppe Gentile as someone that I wanted to partner with. I just felt like it was a great use for my skill set. I get to choose the players that we work with and the teams that we send them to, so it became a very great fit."
Starting his own player agency, CHYN Sports, he started with a few of his former teammates and worked the connections that he developed over the years, building up a sizeable network of players around the world. His agency quickly grew, handling more than 60 transfers over the past three years, a testament to the rapid growth of his brand.
That expedited growth, along with a chance meeting with a mutual friend, has now led Chin and his agency to partner with renowned rapper Lil Wayne and his Young Money sports agency, already a major player in the NFL and NBA markets. Their desire to start getting into soccer, along with Chin's vision and experience, led to deeper discussions and a shared vision for the agency's future. As of yesterday, officially, Chin will be the president of the Young Money Sports APAA's new soccer division, expanding his influence and reach within the sport.
It's a significant step forward for Chin's career, which now allows him to have that brand recognition to compete for top talent globally and provide even more world-class support to his clients.
"We get to do the same things and help the same caliber players but now add world-class guys to that list a lot earlier than we expected," he said. "Now we can compete for some of the best talents in the world, so hopefully, we'll have the same growth and success that we've had with my agency in this new chapter."
Although Chinny's playing journey has ended, his soccer journey is far from over, and his future in the sports world looks brighter than ever.
