I wonder whether my own personal luck is on a collision course with D.C. United’s after covering their struggling campaign this year.
It was supposed to be just another day at the RFK Stadium training fields, with an increasingly desperate team ever more on edge – Santino Quaranta and assistant coach Mark Simpson nearly came to blows before Quaranta was sent to the showers early – and the first official conversation with new signing Conor Shanosky.
And then my laptop bag, with my laptop in it, wasn’t in my car when I returned to it, even though I was only 30 yards away from the car – sadly but obviously not in the line of sight – for just over an hour.
What a season. And yet, it could’ve been worse, too, so let’s move on.
There were a few notable absentees from the day’s session: Andy Najar (personal matter), Pablo Hernandez (had a headache after Saturday’s game, kept out of the sun as a precaution), and Bill Hamid (stomach issues). Nothing appears to be long term, and keep in mind, there’s an extra day this week, since Philadelphia doesn’t come to town until Sunday.
Here was interim head coach Ben Olsen’s take on the Quaranta/Simpson exchange: “There’s a thin line between being very competitive and going a little overboard. But it happens. It’s normal. I’d be worried in a lot of ways if that didn’t happen more. Some of the best teams I’ve ever been on had those as a weekly occurrence. Look, it’s not easy. This is not an easy stretch for anybody in this organization. We’re human, and we feel this as well.”
As for Shanosky, he only had to look across the fence to the adjacent turf field to be reminded of how fast he’s come up through the ranks. A year ago, he was still playing for Potomac Falls High and Great Falls Soccer Club. Now it’s D.C. United and the u-20 U.S. national team.
“It was a tough decision to leave Great Falls,” said Shanosky. “I always wanted to come to D.C. United, but I was very close with my former club team in Great Falls. I decided to come here, and I’ve never looked back. It’s been a great experience in the academy, I had a great year there. I had some experience with the national team, and things have just moved so fast. When I first joined the academy, I didn’t think I’d be here today. I’m so happy to be here, and it’s just a dream come true for me.”
Shanosky also talked about George Mason, where he had committed before deciding to turn pro instead.
“As they’ve watched me grow in the year after I committed to them, they were very happy with me, and unfortunately, I didn’t end up going that route,” said Shanosky. “I’ve talked to them, and they’re happy for me, but at the same time, they’re a little disappointed that I didn’t end up coming. It’s a great staff, a great program over there.”
Although he won’t get to play first-team games with D.C. United, he can still play in reserve matches – there’s one scheduled against Georgetown next week (by the way, United goalkeeper Andrew Quinn has joined the Hoyas as a volunteer assistant coach) – and he’ll be traveling to Peru with the u-20s for the Cuadrangular Internacional tournament next month.
“He’s a great young man,” said Olsen. “You can just tell he comes every day ready to learn and excited to be here. That’s very refreshing. He’s a good talent, he’s obviously a central midfielder. The guy makes pretty good decisions for a kid his age. Obviously, there’s a lot that needs to be taught to him, but he’s got some great tools. He’s physical, he’s got the size for this level, and we’re very excited to see him progress over the next year.”
There’s also no hurry to slot him in as either a permanent central midfielder or center back – that’ll come in due time, and Shanosky is anxious to prove he’s versatile enough to play either role for the club he’s been supporting since he moved to the Washington area in 1996, when he was four. He said he’s been a D.C. United fan ever since. Asked who he emulates, Shanosky answered: “I’m big fans of a lot of guys on the first team that are now teammates of mine. Clyde Simms, we play the same position, and I like the way he plays. He’s a good guy, even Ben Olsen, as a player, he was great, just his leadership and his attitude and his work rate has been amazing.”
