Here's a sign of where Philadelphia Union's homegrown talent pipeline is at right now: Today is recent US Men's National Team call-up Mark McKenzie's birthday; He's still not old enough to legally drink alcohol. McKenzie and Auston Trusty were incredible success stories in 2018, but they also fit into a pair of narratives about homegrown players that should be reconsidered as Major League Soccer evolves a broader and more robust structure for bringing young players into senior teams.
Trusty -- who played every minute last season -- and McKenzie made happened to be signed near when they were ready to contribute at a first XI level, and their growth as players around when they signed first team contracts until now has appeared relatively linear, if not exponential. That is what many expect of homegrown signings.
But look carefully at what the Union's group of homegrowns and you will find that neither of the narratives Trusty and McKenzie seem to fit describe the goals the club seems to be aiming for when they ink academy talent.
Matt Freese, for example, was signed to the first team but is expected to start for Bethlehem Steel FC this season. Freese is a special talent with a high ceiling, but there is not a rush to move him into the Union starter role. Instead, he will learn through osmosis by training with Andre Blake and Carlos Coronel, and he will learn by instruction from Oka Nikolov and the first team coaching staff. If Freese fulfills his potential, he has every chance of starting in MLS. But there is no rush.
This is how the Union have also handled recent homegrown signings Matt Real, Anthony Fontana, and, to an even greater extent, Derrick Jones. Real and Fontana were signed at a very young age; but their talent, potential, and -- particularly in Real's case -- skill at a position that is difficult to fill were not the only reasons they were signed. Leaving young talent unprotected by contracts is more dangerous in MLS than it used to be. Top young players at Dallas and LA Galaxy have been picked off by overseas clubs in recent years. An ironic consequence of MLS academies becoming larger and more experienced is that the respect they gain internationally means their best young talents are considered more worthy of a risk by foreign competitors.
It is important to keep this context in mind when homegrown signings spend a year -- or even multiple years -- at the USL level or coming off the bench rather than stepping immediately into the first XI. Simply because they have flashed the talent to start every day doesn't mean they have reached that rarified group of players that can turn the switch consistently. Patience, not frustration avoidance or a desire to validate a signing, should be the priority.
While keeping in mind the many motivations that could co-exist behind signing a homegrown player, it is also necessary to recognize this unavoidable yet reliably annoying fact: Development has no obligation to be linear. Managing development, and finding the right mixture and weighting of concepts to introduce to a young player, means respecting that each individual's timecourse for mastering those concepts can be different, and the range of differences can be broad.
What does this mean for fans and observers? It can mean that Derrick Jones or Anthony Fontana may take longer to reach regular first team status than Trusty, McKenzie, or even more recent signing Brenden Aaronson; and it means that is alright.
The phrase, "Play your kids" gets thrown around a lot in MLS circles, but the unspoken second clause of that phrase is: "when they're ready."
And, of course, they will never be entirely ready -- MLS matches will be unique from U-20 matches or USL matches. But "ready" often means displaying the parts of their game that allow them to fit into the team concept consistently enough to be likely to provide more benefits than risks on the pitch.
As the Union's youth movement continues, keep those first two narratives in mind, and don't be afraid to reconsider and revise them. Aside from Trusty and McKenzie, who are both likely to play significant minutes in 2019, any of Jones, Fontana, Aaronson, Real, or Freese could prove their readiness and grab an opportunity.
And when they do, it will be when they are ready.
That moment of readiness? For fans, that transition from homegrown prospect to Player, Capital P, should be a moment of joy every single time.
