USL Feature
Friday, February 25, 2011
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – It was quite possibly the best wake-up call of Scott Gordon’s life.
“I was actually sleeping,” Gordon said of the day of the MLS SuperDraft, “and Barry Gorman, our GM, called me and told they were in Baltimore and had drafted me. I was speechless, I was really excited and couldn’t wait to take this opportunity.”
Suddenly Gordon was a member of FC Dallas, selected with the 53rd pick of the draft. For the former member of the Premier Development League’s Baton Rouge Capitals and NCAA Division II Lynn University, the hard work had just begun. The 6-foot-4 center back has tried to take it in stride as best he can.
“Once all the veteran players helped me adjust to the atmosphere and the level, I think it’s been good,” Gordon said. “I’ve really enjoyed myself.”
That Gordon was even on a Major League Soccer team’s radar is testament to the depth of scouting some teams, including FC Dallas, employ. As Coach Schellas Hyndman points out, while there are lots of players in college soccer who are known commodities, digging deeper to find a player like Gordon can bring a big reward down the line.
Dallas scouted Gordon while he was at Lynn, but also got a chance to watch him compete in a scrimmage against the U.S. U20 National Team in Fort Lauderdale shortly before the MLS Combine, and his performance there helped persuade Gorman and Hyndman that the raw materials Gordon possessed were too good to pass up.
“The thing that he brings is his athleticism,” Hyndman said. “He’s strong in the air, he’s courageous, he fights hard and if you have all those type of qualities the soccer sense, the positioning, the team tactics, you can learn that. If you come in with good skills but you don’t have the athletic ability, you might not make it. I think he’s on the upside right now.”
Gordon believes the experience he received with the Capitals is part of why his game has reached the level it has. Getting to play in a Capitals side that reached the PDL playoffs after finishing second in the Southeast Division, Gordon was able to work hard on his game.
“I played with some really good players and we had a good team and did really well,” Gordon said. “Some of the older players there really helped me fine-tune my game a bit and sharpen up my weak points, they really helped me out.”
With the return of the Reserve League to MLS this season, the opportunity for Gordon to make the FC Dallas squad has certainly increased. But he has also seen a lot of playing time during the preseason thanks to center backs Ugo Ihemelu and George John being out with injuries. According to Hyndman, Gordon has made the most of the added time on the field.
“When you get a rookie to come up, they might not play a lot of minutes,” Hyndman said. “Our first-round draft pick Bobby Warshaw is a very good player, but he only played 10 minutes today and Scott played 90 because we have the necessity of using him right now, so he’s growing quickly because he’s getting playing time.”
Gordon is appreciative of the opportunity he’s getting because of the absences to the side’s regular starting lineup, but is also eager to learn from both Ihemelu and John when they return to the field.
“I’m looking forward to when they get back and get a little more experience off them and learn from them,” Gordon said. “Hopefully do the best I can and we’ll see what happens.”
Whatever does happen, Gordon’s story appears to have a lot of chapters left as he begins his professional career.