Rapids rookies focus on learning craft
Trio of first-year players trying to crack Colorado lineup
"Right now, it reminds me of being in college without the schoolwork," said Holody, a central defender drafted from the University of Michigan. "I never had the expectation that I would step in and play straightaway, and my role right now is to learn from those out on the field."
That means learning from the likes of veteran Cory Gibbs and new signing Ty Harden. Holody also talks a lot with Ugo Ihemelu, who has started every game for the Rapids this season, mostly as a central defender. Holody said he can learn much from Ihemelu as well, even though Ihemelu's speed makes his style more about chasing down forwards than the old-fashioned central defense play he sees from Gibbs and Harden.
"It's nice to have guys around you that make you look better," Holody said.
Clearly, learning and improving are big factors in a rookie season. Schunk, who graduated from a Division III school in California's University of Redlands, said it is the all-round athleticism that really distinguishes soccer at the professional level to that of college.
"It is the quality of the first touch and the decision making that stand out," he said, explaining that he was learning every day from first-choice strikers Omar Cummings and Conor Casey. "It's been a great experience. I'm not finding it frustrating at all and I am learning a lot."
For central defender Holody, the main difference at the professional level is the speed of play.
"If you look at someone like Conor Casey, he is already behind you after he has held the ball up and laid it off," he said, noting that the heightened competition leads to increased pressure, but also helps sharpen his game. "Any little mistake is magnified at this level, and, unlike college, if you make a bad mistake, someone is already behind you. It does take a little time to adjust to and there are some growing pains but I am getting more comfortable at this point and more used to the speed of play."
Both Schunk and Holody are perhaps more likely to get game time than reserve goalkeeper Ceus. In reality, it is rare that several goalkeepers in a squad are injured at the same time, whereas, because of injuries in Colorado's defense, Holody has been a regular on the bench for the Rapids in recent weeks. With Harden and Gibbs still recovering from injury and now fullback Kosuke Kimura doubtful for this weekend's game against Real Salt Lake because of a concussion, it is a case of all hands to the deck in the Rapids defense.
For Schunk, it is a slightly different scenario. Nobody is likely to break up the Cummings and Casey formation but there is an obvious lack of depth upfront to support that duo. That means that Schunk and new signing, Gregory Richardson, are currently battling with each other to get on the bench. Schunk seems to be winning that battle for now and did play in the recent U.S. Open Cup game against the Galaxy.
For goalkeeper Ceus, even though he was on the bench for the April away games against LA, he knows that a fully fit Preston Burpo and Matt Pickens will remain ahead of him in the pecking order.
"The coaching staff have been very straightforward with me by saying I am only really going to play against colleges for now," Ceus said. "But I will use this opportunity to improve as a keeper."
The 22-year-old New York native said he learns different things from the two goalkeepers: true athleticism from Pickens and a mental edge from Burpo.
"Preston's been around as a veteran and, mentally, he knows a lot of things so I use what he tells me on the mental front," Ceus said. "Matt is a more athletic kind of 'keeper, and I use that to help me improve my own athleticism. You have to work hard every day to keep your spot and it is very motivating, a real incentive."
Working hard in training is what these youngsters will continue to do to both improve their overall standard and be ready if the call comes to step up and play. For now, they are living the dream of playing professional sport in Colorado.
"Denver was one of my top choices," Schunk said. "Dream is definitely the way to describe it."
Nick Thomas is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
