Before Caden Glover could talk about becoming the first Homegrown player to sign with ºüÀêÊÓƵ City SC, the new Major League Soccer expansion team, he first had to finish his day at school.
Glover, only 15 years old, may be a professional soccer player after he signed a five-year contract with City SC on Monday, but he’s also still a 10th grader at Columbia High School in Columbia, Illinois.
Monday was a bit different.
“It’s what you’d imagine it to be,†he said. “All my friends congratulating me, all my teachers. It was a great experience, obviously, with everyone around. ... It obviously makes your day amazing, but it also motivates you to keep going after working so hard to get something like this.â€
People are also reading…
Signing a 15-year-old is not unheard of in MLS, which has seen at least eight players sign when they were 14, seven of those since 2019. And Glover is an old 15; he will turn 16 two weeks into the MLS season, which starts at the end of February.
“I’ve always believed in myself and seen myself getting in this position, and I’ve worked toward it,†he said, “but whenever the position does come and it happens, it’s a surreal moment. I always imagined myself getting to this moment in my career. ... But I can’t say 15 is the age I imagined it to happen.â€
“I really believe it’s one of our biggest moments so far,†said City SC sporting director Lutz Pfannenstiel. “It shows we want to have impact. To get kids from this region an opportunity to represent their hometown at the highest level is one of the big goals ownership has had from Day 1. We’re here to give an opportunity to local talent. Caden is now the first but definitely not the last one. There’s a big number of highly talented players in our setup. (Two other players in the team’s academy system are currently in camp with U.S. youth national teams.) We have a lot of confidence, pride and potential for the future.â€
Of course, ordinary days are about to change for Glover, not that his days were typical of a high school student’s before. When Glover started training last season with City2, City SC’s developmental team that plays in the MLS Next Pro league, he would go to school in the morning for two periods, drive across the river to City SC’s training facility near Union Station, practice, then drive back across the river and back to school when he was done. (Glover is quick to note that he’s still not old enough to drive, so it was his mother, Bridgett, doing the driving. Until he gets his license, he’ll be the only player on the team whose mother drives him to practice. “Once I can drive, things will be more smooth with transportation,†he said.)
He’s already doing some online classes, but with the workload that comes with being a professional soccer player, he’s expecting to go fully online soon.
Glover has been playing and training up an age level with the club’s under-17 team and also was training with City2 last season. He has, in a short time, built a strong resume. He got in one regular-season game with City2 and when the club played German club Bayer Leverkusen in a November exhibition in the first game at its new stadium, CityPark, Glover played the whole second half.
“I thought he did really well,†City2 coach John Hackworth said after the game. “I’m happy for him and that the ºüÀêÊÓƵ pipeline of traditionally having fantastic players is continuing. We’re seeing that right in front of our eyes.â€
At the national team level, Glover was called in to the U.S. under-15 team’s April camp and made three starts in the team’s four international friendlies. He came off the bench to score the game-winning goal in a game against Belgium.
“He’s 15,†said Pfannenstiel, “and being 15, playing in a Next Pro game, playing against teams like Leverkusen, shows what he’s capable of in the future. He showed us over not just two games, but performances in training with us and also having played outstanding seasons with teams in U-16 and U-17 competition, he’s highly talented. That’s a player we will talk a lot about in the future.â€
Being a Homegrown player, with a capital H, is not just a point of pride for MLS teams. There’s a financial benefit to the team, as the league works to encourage teams to develop talented players. Salary figures were not disclosed, but Glover will likely be getting between the league senior minimum salary of $84,000 and the reserve minimum salary of $65,500, but because he’s a player from City SC’s region who played at least a season in its academy system, he won’t count against the salary cap.
Glover might not see a lot of action at the start. City SC has three experienced forwards who figure to get most of the playing time.
“It’s definitely a long-term move,†Pfannenstiel said, “but sometimes long-term moves turn into short-term moves. We have a pretty good setup attacking-wise, but we didn’t sign him for the sake of signing him. We signed him with an idea that he will play a certain role in 2023. Otherwise, we could have waited for another year. I think he deserves to get that moment now, and he deserves to be part of our first MLS team. We signed him because we believe in him right nowâ€
“There’s nothing like it,†Glover said. “It’s the most excited I’ve ever been in my entire life. I’m excited to represent the city of ºüÀêÊÓƵ with our hometown team.â€