Well the draft is over and the trades are continuing as teams look to fill out their rosters for the upcoming season. Preseason training will start shortly and before you know it will be in the midst of another MLS season. It’s rare that a rookie can come in and have an on field impact in the first year or two. There’s usually two or three players that shine and a few that see some time on the pitch due to starters going down to injury but it’s more of the exception then the norm. However, there have been several people that believe this particular draft has some depth. Only time will tell.
Since MLS owns players contracts and not individual teams several top players have already come to terms on contracts. Nine top prospects have signed Generation Adidas contracts this year. GA contracts encourages early entry into the league for top youth prospects. These contracts don’t count against a clubs salary cap and guarantee players funding to finish their college education if they choose to do so down the road. That may be an oversimplification but that’s what it is in essence.
The last Generation Adidas player that hailed from Georgia was Ricardo Clark of the Houston Dynamo’s back in 2003. There were two Georgia representatives this year that were invited to the MLS Player Combine. Otto Loewy from Lawrenceville who played for Winthorp was a no show after a late season injury kept him from displaying his skills. Patrick Murray of Peachtree City was physically there but according to those who saw him play said his game didn’t make the trip. The Furman senior did little to help improve his stock. Neither of the two were selected in the four round draft the was completed earlier today.
