After a season that saw a number of injuries to the first team centrehalfs, the most consistent player at that position in the Vancouver Whitecaps organization was U18 defender Jackson Farmer.
The Edmonton native's consistent and improving play in the USSDA has seen him become a key player in the Caps' focus on their Residency program.
The central defender is confident on the ball, is able to distribute from the back and plays a physical game, delivering solid tackles. Since the 2012/13 USSDA season ended, Farmer has seen his stock rise to the point where the Caps had him train with the first team on a regular basis.
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<i>"It's a great experience always coming in here and I learn a lot from the older guys. I'm always excited to come here and play with them. Different perspectives and different coaching styles. It's great. I love it."</i>
He's using the experience with the first team in order to help the younger players when Farmer returns to train with the Residency.
<i>"Whenever I go back to the Residency I always try to keep it the same tempo and the same attitude as I would with the first team. It carries back and forth."</i>
By the end of the summer he received his first call up to the Canadian national team where he was excited to receive his first senior cap against Mauritania, which he naturally describes as a <i>"great"</i> experience.
The camp was the first for new national coach Benito Floro and the Spaniard seemed to impress the young defender as the new man in charge of Canadian soccer.
<i>"I thought it was good. I really enjoyed it, learning new stuff from him and definitely just adapting to the way he wants to play.
"Definitely there's a different perspective with the way he wants to coach and the way he likes to play the line, attack and defensive transitions and attacking transitions."</i>
While most young players may find it difficult to train with so many sides, it seems that Farmer feels it can only benefit his development.
<i>"You always have to adapt to whatever environment you're going to, whether that be the first team, the Residency, the Canadian team, the under 20 team. It's just that you always have to adapt. It's good to be in those environments because it challenges you."</i>
Despite his movement through multiple levels the defender realises the most important coach and team in his career at the moment is Gordon Forrest and the U18 residency squad.
<i>"We have great staff in Gordon and Steve and even the medical staff. They always do a great job. Our goal is to keep the winning streak going and maintain composure and make sure we're just organised throughout."</i>
After making the Finals week again last season, Farmer feels they have the team to return the same level of success they achieved in the USSDA again this year, even if they lose a player or two due to international call up.
<i>"We know we're going to lose people and gain people. We just need to keep organised and when we do that we win matches because we keep the ball well, we switch it side to side and we break teams down. It's not like we don't have a playing style."</i>
The U18s have had a solid start to the season winning seven of their nine games despite missing five of their top players and Farmer feels the team can get better as the season progresses.
<i>"We're just growing too. It's the start of the season and it's great to have the wins, especially right off the get go because a lot of people were coming from trips and we just met for the first time. It's definitely going to get better as the season goes on."</i>
Farmer continues his journey to the first team when the Whitecaps Residency squads wrap up the first half of the season on Saturday when they take on Cascadian rivals Portland Timbers at Percy Perry Stadium in Coquitlam.
The U18s kick off at noon and the U16s take the field at 2.30pm. With the Whitecaps' increased focus on their Residency prospects, a good support is expected, so get out if you can and support the future.
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