This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Sandy • The resident jokester of Real Salt Lake took to Twitter around 9 p.m. Wednesday night. Luke Mulholland, never one to miss an opportunity for a crack at a teammate, had stumbled upon a close-up shot of 19-year-old Justen Glad. The photo shows the young center back tangling with an opponent, his face twisted in an awkward anticipation of the ball.
It wasn't the photo so much as the caption that hammered home Mulholland's point: "The kid Justen Glad has been solid as a rock all year!!" There's always a dusting of truth in jest. Only this time, the joke was the photo — not the accompanying statement made by Mulholland. In a year in which Glad entered the season as the third central defender on the depth chart, the RSL Homegrown player from Tucson, Ariz., has been indispensable.
RSL has needed him to be. Glad has started 25 of RSL's 32 regular-season games, not to mention scoring two goals and notching an assist. He unseated veteran Jamison Olave early in the year, earning the starting role next to Aaron Maund, the stalwart of the back line, until Maund suffered a toe fracture in early August.
"We came into the season hoping that about halfway through the year he'd be ready and we could get him enough experience for next year," said RSL general manager Craig Waibel. "Circumstances kind of played to his favor, and he's done very well with the chances.
"I felt like everyone thought this was a possibility. These progressions are different for everybody. You keep your fingers crossed that you got it right."
The nearly 2,250 minutes logged in 2016 haven't been entirely rosy. Glad's adjusted to life as one of the youngest full-time starters in Major League Soccer on the fly. Mistakes have popped up at times. But as he's adjusting well to the physicality of the league, his mentors have already outlined necessary next steps for the young defender. And Glad knows it, too.
"The next step for Justen to do is to be a leader back there and be a voice back there and be a commander back there," RSL coach Jeff Cassar said. "That's coming."
During training sessions, Glad said he will not hesitate to ask a veteran defender what he needs to do in certain scenarios or the ideal positioning for when the ball turns over. Waibel, who first coached Glad in 2014 when RSL signed him as a Homegrown player out of the team's Arizona-based academy, said humility is one of Glad's greatest attributes. To have a teenager be mature enough to self-evaluate, Waibel explains, is one reason for Glad's bright future.
"You look at it like it's an opportunity and you've got to take it and develop," Glad said of Year 1 as a starter. "I think the older veterans are pretty understanding that I'm young and I'm learning still. They're always giving advice and stuff. Hopefully I'll grow into that role as each year progresses."
At 19, marching into a veteran group and stamping yours as the definitive voice isn't an overnight development, Cassar said. It takes time, which RSL has plenty of with Glad. He's benefitted from playing alongside a cast of center backs, to see how he complements Maund, Olave or Chris Schuler.
"They all just bring something a little different," Glad said.
"When you have four people doing that, you solve a lot of problems just by communication, just by leadership," Cassar added. "That comes with maturity and confidence, too — confidence to say, 'I can tell these guys what to do.'"
Organizing a defense is seeing the game happen before it unfolds, Waibel said.
"He's still not vocal enough to be called 'the true leader of the back line,' but he's growing and he's becoming more comfortable," Waibel said. "The hardest thing as a young pro is recognizing the game, and surviving it alone."
The future — and present — of RSL's back line has been solid in doing just that in 2016.
Twitter: @chriskamrani —
About Justen Glad
Age » 19
Position » Center back
Hometown » Tucson, Ariz.
Solid at the back » Started 25 of 32 regular-season games, scoring two goals and notching an assist. Did not make an appearance in 2014 due to recurring concussion issues, but started six games in 2015 before undergoing knee surgery.
Pro career » Real Salt Lake (2014-present)
Transaction » Signed as Homegrown player in April 2014
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