Union make sure de Vries stays at home
CHESTER >> The Philadelphia Union’s interest in Homegrown Players often serves a dual purpose. There’s a desire to add potential contributors to the squad in the near-term and to protect the club’s longrange investment.
When those forces converged around Jack de Vries recently, the Union knew it was time to pounce.
The Union announced a pre-contract agreement with de Vries Tuesday night that would make the midfielder/forward the club’s 12th Homegrown signing. De Vries, a Wayne resident and rising senior at the Union Academy, had committed to the University of Virginia. But with interest from clubs like PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands and FC Copenhagen in Denmark, the Union wanted to secure de Vries and convinced his family that signing would be the right move.
“At the end of the day, it came down to where I was going to be happy and where I think I could excel the most,” de Vries said Wednesday. “And that was here just because of the support system I have around me and the people that believe in me. I just feel like they really want to see me excel.”
“When the market is demanding somebody, you need to react in an appropriate way, and our goal is basically to fetch our players that have been developed
so far and that we continue in developing,” sporting director Ernst Tanner said. “That’s what happens with Jack right now, and we’re absolutely happy and grateful to the family that they decided for our way.”
De Vries is in a unique spot as a Dutch passportholder through his dad, Raimo, who played at Wake Forest and for the Colorado Rapids in 1996. His European citizenship meant he wouldn’t have to wait until age 18 to sign with a club and he wouldn’t count against non-EU quotas, factors that intensified interest on the continent. He spent part of his youth in Brussels, where his father worked in finance, making a transition overseas potentially easier than for most. He moved to the Philadelphia area four years ago from Virginia
Beach.
De Vries’ European experience informed his developmental trajectory.
“It really made my dream a lot bigger to become a professional soccer player,” de Vries said. “And obviously the atmosphere there is so great. We went to tournaments, played against top level competition, the best teams in the world. So it really changed my mindset from playing soccer for fun. It’s still fun, but it turned kind of into a job then as well.”
The Union, via MLS rules, are only entitled to compensation for players under contract, not those at the Academy, so securing de Vries’ future was paramount.
They’re getting a pretty decent player, too. The
17-year-old stands 6-foot,
165 pounds. His position is unclear as an attackminded left-footer who can play up top, centrally or out wide.
With his physicality and positional versatility, Tanner wants to see de Vries measure up against adult competition. He’s played three games with Bethlehem Steel this season and will get more in the fall around Union Under-19 commitments.
“You don’t find that that often, that we have leftfooters here, and in particular when they’re technically good,” Tanner said. “He was also doing a big physical step over the course of the last season, and I think it’s time now that he really gets competition and playing against real men. That’s what we offer him.”
De Vries joins a long list of players the Union have signed to pre-contracts while in high school, including Anthony Fontana two years ago, Brenden Aaronson last summer and Cole Turner back in July.
“That was a big thing for me to sign as a Homegrown because I see Brenden, and he signed last year at this time,” de Vries said. “I look up to him, and it gives me hope that I can maybe do that.”
•••
Two weeks ago, Auston Trusty was in the starting lineup. Last Saturday, he wasn’t in the 18 that faced Chicago.
Last week, manager Jim Curtin declared Aurelien Collin to be leading the race for the second centerback spot next to Jack Elliott. This week? Uh, well.
“Guys are going to work and compete every week,” Curtin said. “You’ve seen changes to the lineup, changes to the 18, and this week will be no different. They’re competing for spots, they’re competing for jobs in the starting group and in the 18. That will stay the same. We’ll make a decision now, watch D.C. play tonight and make the decision that fits best based on who we think they’re going to play.”
Curtin was again displeased by the quality of goals the Union surrendered against the Fire: One in which they were unlatched by a simple 1-2 leading to Nemanja Nikolic beating Elliott for a near-post tap-in, the second a penalty when Collin took down CJ Sapong in the box.
Mark McKenzie, who worked his way back into the 18 with a strong week of training and has played just 12 minutes this season, is an example of how quickly things can change. As he and Trusty manage the peaks and valleys of their early professional development, the door is open for Curtin to make changes in crafting the best defense he can for D.C. United’s visit.
“With all young players in their development, there’s a little bit of struggle,” Curtin said. “Auston’s had the luxury of almost 60 games consecutively straight there. There’s going to be adversity, a little bit of a dip, there’s going to be a challenge that comes up and I’m confident that he’s going to bounce back. You learn from it.”