Whitecaps add ‘Homegrown’ talent
Teen phenom from Langley begins long journey by signing multi-year deal
Simon Colyn knows he hasn’t made it. He might be Homegrown, but he’s not safe at home yet.
The Langley native, who turned 16 last month, signed a Homegrown contract with the Whitecaps this week, a multi-year deal with options through 2022.
“It’s something I’ve been dreaming about, hoping for, my entire life. It’s a dream to sign pro,” said the Caps’ residency player.
“It’s very exciting. It’s only the beginning, though.”
It’s been the beginning of the end for many others. There have been 16 Homegrown players to sign a firstteam contract with the Whitecaps. Of them, only Russell Teibert currently remains as a player getting consistent first-team minutes.
Alphonso Davies counts as an HG, but he joined the residency program at 15, barely spending a year there before joining the first team.
Gone are Sam Adekugbe, Ben McKendry and Kianz Froese, transferred to other teams or released. Marco Bustos, the only other firstteam player to see first-team minutes, is on loan in Mexico.
Forward David Norman Jr. and keeper Sean Melvin — both B.C. products — signed HG deals within the past five months. Norman trains with the first team, while Melvin was with the Caps’ new USL affiliate, Fresno FC, to start the year. He’s back training with the first team since signing an MLS contract.
The Whitecaps’ residency program was a gleaming beacon for other MLS clubs during the team’s first few years in the league. Ownership poured millions into the program, including the three-storey, 38,000-square-foot field house at the University of B.C. that’s home to around 200 players and coaches, housing the club’s U-18, U-16, U-15, and U-14 residency teams.
But the financial commitment hasn’t — yet — resulted in the feeder system that many other MLS teams have developed.
FC Dallas leads the way with double-digit HGs on their roster, while the New York Red Bull and L.A. Galaxy are close behind. The Philadelphia Union could potentially start three Homegrown players on their backline alone this weekend.
Sporting Kansas City, the Whitecaps’ foes on Friday night in K.C., have five on their first-team roster after signing 19-year-old Wan Kuzain Wan this week.
If the Caps had an early lead in this area, it’s gone now, although Colyn’s progression to the firstteam environment is still a remarkable achievement. With Norman, Colyn and Davies, the Caps now have three Homegrown teens on their first team.
“We are producing good players and good teams, but ultimately our job is to put players into the firstteam setting … and we know as a collective we’ve got to do more,” said Adam Day, the Caps’ U17 coach. “We’ve got to get more players up there. Maybe we need to showcase and convince the first-team staff a little bit more. They’re under different
pressures, obviously. They’re trying to win football matches.
“We’ve had players on the cusp of it, and maybe we all need to do a better job of getting those players over the line. But in terms of the youth setting, our guys are up there, and, obviously in my biased opinion, I think we’re producing some of the top players across North America.”
Last week, Toronto FC started two HG players, with a third coming off the bench. Two started for Dallas. Teibert, who has been with the Whitecaps’ organization since 200809, got his fourth start of the season, while Davies made his sixth.
Vancouver’s player development was made slightly more challenging with the folding of WCFC2 last year, with USL side Fresno FC becoming the Caps’ new affiliate. Residency players Matthew Baldisimo, Noah Verhoeven and Terran Campbell are currently with the USL side.
Colyn — pronounced “co-line” — is the 15th-youngest player in league history to sign an MLS contract. He’s split his time between two different age-group teams, scoring 10 goals in 15 U-17 games, and five in six U-19 games, though his playmaking skills are what set him apart.
“(He’s) very intelligent. The word I like to use is ‘difference-maker,’ ” said Day.
“He shows the right passes at the right moments … key passes, key assists and goals. Within the first half-dozen games, he’s (become) the go-to man who’s going to change the game for us and win us football matches. It’s a very unique talent.”
The 5-foot-9 attacking midfielder also acquitted himself well in the pre-season, when he joined the first team for their trips to Hawaii, Nevada and California.
In Hawaii, he set up Bernie Ibini for a goal against J1 League-side Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo in their first pre-season game.
“You want players to come through the system. We’ve had a number of players that have come through the system over the years, but haven’t quite made that next step,” said coach Carl Robinson.
“We’ve gone back to the drawing boards at certain times.
“It’s great having a local boy come into your program, into the MLS environment. He will learn a lot of things, and he will struggle with a lot of things, which is good as well, because there are teaching points to be had.
“It’s the first step on the ladder. … We won’t throw him in when he’s not ready, we’ll throw him in when he is ready.”