FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The system was put in place from the moment Jay Heaps took the role as New England Revolution head coach.
The rest was up to the young players, who have been given ample chance to prove themselves and have done so at most every opportunity, thus leading to a league-best four Revs players – Juan Agudelo, Diego Fagundez, Andrew Farrell and Kelyn Rowe – in this year’s 24 Under 24.
“One of the things that was pretty much one of our identities when I was hired was that I wanted to build a young team, a team that could be here for a while,” Heaps told MLSsoccer.com. “And there’s different mechanisms to do it. I think that’s key, how myself and [general manager] Mike Burns sat down and asked, ‘What are the best ways to add players?’”
For the New England brass, it was a threefold approach, starting at home base with their Academy and complemented by the SuperDraft and trade opportunities.
The next part was having the trust to provide a longer leash for players to come in and actually contribute. The patience of the coaching staff has paid huge dividends as it has allowed Revs youngsters to develop and flourish all at once.
“So we did the homegrown, college draft, and could we work within the league to get trades?” Heaps said. “That was something I was very adamant about when I took over, was that there are mechanisms and how can we best use those mechanisms.
“I think that, overall, those are mechanisms that we have to be diligent in to succeed, and I think it’s a credit to the mindset to use those players, to build your program off those players. You can design it all you want, but the players have to step on and do it. It’s a credit to each of the players.”
Further proof that it’s been a successful system is the fact that the four New England players on the list are all repeat customers. Half the list is comprised of players who have been named before.
The highest ranked of the group, Agudelo, who came in at 13th, makes his fourth appearance, and he didn’t even play in MLS for the entirety of 2014. He was once as high as No. 2 (2011) on the list.
Acquired via a trade with Chivas USA, Agudelo has scored 13 goals in two season with the Revs.
At age 22, you can expect to see Agudelo return to the list once again. Also likely to return to the list is Fagundez, the homegrown portion of the Revs’ talent crop. He has scored 28 goals and added 14 assists in his time in New England.
It is the third-straight season in which the 20-year-old Fagundez was selected to the elite rankings, coming in at No. 17 this year after being listed fifth both prior times.
“It’s nice,” Fagundez said of being selected for the third time. “It’s something that’s an accomplishment I’ve had for a few years. If I’m on the list or not I just know that I’m putting all the hard work out there and trying to do everything I can do become better. It’s an accomplishment to be on it.”
Through the draft the Revs scored Farrell and Rowe, 16th and 20th, respectively, after coming in at Nos. 14 and 15 last year. Using high draft slots, New England capitalized in back-to-back seasons, with Rowe going No. 3 overall in 2012 and Farrell as the top pick in 2013.
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Rowe has contributed 21 goals and 24 assists in his four seasons, and Farrell has been a defensive stalwart at the top of the minutes leaderboard in all three of his seasons.
This year, all four players have logged at least 1,400 minutes for the playoff contenders, while overall they have each played more than 5,800 minutes in their short careers, all playing integral roles in the resurgence of the Revolution over the past three seasons.
“It shows that the coaching staff has put their faith in the young guys through their playing time,” Farrell told MLSsoccer.com. “I think that’s huge for our development. When I first came in as a rookie, friends and parents told me you might not play a lot, but be ready to work hard. I think New England is a team that gives a lot of young guys a chance to play, and they put trust in them. It’s worked out. It’s a good place for young players to play. It’s a lot of fun to be here.”
