Vancouver Whitecaps head coach Martin Rennie has tapped Canada's U-17 captain as the club's next homegrown player and made him a full MLS roster player today.
The native of Kitchiner Ontario, joined the Whitecaps residency last year and was called up for the clubs post season evaluation camp in November. During the camp he showed solid positioning, was strong in his tackles, and clearly possesses decent first touch.
Coach Rennie speaks highly of the youngster. "Bryce is an intelligent, gifted player that has already played at a very high level in his young career," offering up further praise for the starlet he pointed to his successes on the international stage "He captained Canada at last summer's U-17 World Cup, and has continued his development in our Residency program and by training with our first team. We're excited to add another young Canadian talent to our MLS squad."
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]Alderson's arrival on the West Coast was a major coup for the Whitecaps, he was already playing in Toronto for the CSL's Portugal FC. Since leaving the Toronto based outfit he led the Canadian National side to the U-17 World Cup in Mexico. Appearing in all three games the young midfielder gained valuable international experience.
While this is exciting news for both the Whitecaps Residency, and the Canadian Soccer Association, let's not get too excited here. He is still only 17 and pretty raw. Don't expect him to see much first team action. His presence will likely be felt in Voyageurs Cup matches and Reserve League games where he will get more starts against older players.
How many games would you like to see the youngster play next season? Are you worried that he might be being brought along too quickly? Is this evidence that our current player development system is actually working?