MLS 2011 Preview: Home Grown Players Ready To Make An Impact

Agudelo is good with both feet, although he prefers his right. However, he tends to prefer playing on the left while occasionally switching flanks. He is also very adept technically and has a decent eye for a pass. Most importantly for the Red Bulls, a team sorely lacking in speed, Agudelo also has plenty of pace and acceleration.

As is the case with many promising young strikers, Agudelo has demonstrated a tendency to go for the extraordinary a little too often. Particularly in the second leg of New York’s playoff tie with San Jose, he seemed too willing to go for goal from tight angles instead of pulling the ball back for a teammate. While he has the quality to score such difficult shots, his decision-making in the penalty area is not the best.

Luna, a big strong forward that reminds you a ton of Carlos Ruiz in his prime, minus the diving, was promoted to the first team for the 2010 pre-season after leading the team in scoring. But due to visa issues, he was unable to be signed to a Home Grown contract until the middle of the year. Luna would appear in a few games last year, but is ready for his time in the spotlight in 2011. Ruben fits perfectly as a forward in the FC Dallas 4-1-4-1 system as he holds the ball up well and will finish half-chances with deadly regularity. In a first for MLS development academies, Luna was called into the Mexican U-20 national team in preparation for the U20 World Cup this summer in Colombia.

Luna simply needs to work on speeding his game up a bit more. His decisions can still be a bit slow, especially at the MLS level, but those will improve with time.

If you believe the reports, then he’s already done it. While recovering from shoulder surgery this offseason, Hamid wasn’t able to spend much time practicing on the field. So he spent his time in the gym instead. Already an intimidating presence at 6-foot-3, Hamid bulked up even more. He went from looking like a blocking tight end to looking like a pass-rushing linebacker. Or maybe even like a professional wrestler. He also made the decision to grow up, improve his diet, eliminate bad habits, etc. Having Pat Onstad as his goalkeeper coach (and now as his competition also) surely can’t hurt. If Onstad can help Hamid improve his communication and decision-making on the field, this kid could go far.

United fans are expecting big things from Hamid this year. Once the team doctors deem him fully-recovered and he’s cleared to play, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Hamid start around 75 percent of his team’s games this year. The future is now!

Bowen has shown flashes that he’s capable of being a premier scoring threat, but other than a seven-match stretch in which he started every game, he’s not been given many opportunities to show show what he can do over an extended period. He’s been tried as an outside midfielder as well as a forward with the Goats and will likely see time at both positions this season.

With Fraser bringing in so many veterans, it seems pretty clear that he intends to make players earn playing time. For all the promise Bowen has flashed, he’s only going to be playing if he is earning it. That said, if Bowen sees 1,500 minutes or more, we can safely say he’s progressing almost regardless of production.

At just 16 years of age, Zach Pfeffer is living a life that most kids his age can only dream of. Born in Dresher, Pa. in January 1995, Pfeffer played for local youth soccer powerhouse FC Delco throughout most of his young life. During his time at Delco, the midfielder honed his talents under a coaching staff that has produced many MLS players, including Seattle Sounders defender Jeff Parke, Colorado Rapids midfielder Jeff Larentowicz and DC United head coach Ben Olsen. Pfeffer was frequently called up to various U.S. youth national teams, including the U-14’s and U-15’s, before earning a place in the Spring 2010 semester of Bradenton Academy, the U.S. U-17 national team’s residency program.

That was when Pfeffer began making waves. After completing his semester in Bradenton, he was identified by the Union’s assistant coach, John Hackworth, as an exceptional prospect. Pfeffer was invited to train with the Union first team, and he achieved a rare feat for a player his age when he appeared in the second half of a friendly match at PPL Park between the Union and Mexican side Chivas de Guadalajara. The young midfielder continued to train with the first team throughout the 2010 season before being offered a unique opportunity to travel to Germany to train with TSG Hoffenheim of the Bundesliga. He impressed the Hoffenheim coaches, who reportedly wanted him to stay in Germany.

The Home Grown Player Rule was instituted in 2006 as a way to entice MLS teams to put more emphasis on their academies. Over time, the rule has evolved and expanded to the point where teams are essentially allowed to sign as may Home Grown Players as their rosters allow. In the last year, teams have greatly increased the number of players they are signing under the rule, with 23 HGP signings coming in the past calendar year.

Being mostly players 18 years old or younger, the vast majority of the 33 signings in the rule’s history have not had much of an opportunity to play. As of this writing, just three players who were signed to HGP contracts have made as many as 10 appearances and just eight have made even one senior team appearance.