Michigan State's 2014 Big Ten Midfielder of the Year, Jay Chapman, signed with the Major League Soccer (MLS) team the Toronto FC on Thursday prior to the SuperDraft as a Homegrown player.
"I'm very excited to be moving on to the next level. It has been a lifelong goal of mine and to achieve it is the greatest feeling. A lot of dedication has gone into becoming a professional athlete and my family has made a lot of sacrifices and helped me out in too many ways to count. It feels good to make all their hard work worth it," stated Chapman after his signing.
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Chapman was reportedly sought after by European and Barclay Premier League teams such as Aston Villa, Celtic, Sunderland and Swansea, but after playing for Toronto FC's academy TCF in 2010-2012, it was that much more significant to him to be able to sign with the club as he stated, "I'm very excited to start with Toronto FC, it'll be great to start my career with my hometown club and be able to be around veterans and great players like Jozy Altidore and Michael Bradley. I have a lot of childhood friends on this team as well so it'll be great to play alongside them once again and contribute to a great organization."
Altidore was just transferred from Sunderland on Friday and both he and Bradley are US Men's National Team standouts who were a part of the 2014 World Cup. Chapman will most likely play in the midfield with Bradley and Jonathan Osorio or with the team's newly signed, just as of today, midfielder Sebastian Giovinco from Juventus and he will be joining the club in the summer.
A homegrown player is one that has resided lived in that club's home territory and has been a part of their youth development system/academy for at least one year along with other league requirements. Jay not only was a part of the TCF Academy for two years, he also was a part of Canada's U17 team that won the silver medal in the 2011 CONCACAF U-17 Championship.
The head coach for Toronto FC is Greg Vanney and the General Manager is Tim Bezbatchenko. Bezbathchenko commented on Jay's signing stated on the club's website that "We are very excited to sign Jay. It's always rewarding to sign players that were developed from within your Academy."
The homegrown rule is also in the Premier League Clubs since the 2010/11 season and with their rule, each club with a team of 25 players needs to include at least eight homegrown players. Their players need to have played with an affiliate for at least 36 months, continual or not, before their 21st birthday. Some of those players get called up straight from the academy or affiliate teams rather than go on to college.
Head Coach Damon Rensing stated, per the Michigan State website, "I think Jay is a very skilled, technical player. He proved he was one of the best players in college soccer this year. I think he's a great fit with Toronto. It's neat to see him come up through an organization and then player for a homegrown team."
Chapman, in reference to his time under Rensing's helm and with Michigan State, "I do believe MSU has prepared me for the next level. Training and playing under great coaches like Damon Rensing, Kylie Stannard, and Ben Pirmann has been extremely beneficial and they have not only helped me fine tune my game but they have also helped me grow into an adult. I think that is very important, they have taught me life lessons and explained to me what it takes to lay at the next level and have been supportive of my endeavors since the first day I stepped onto campus."
The standout attacking central midfielder was a key part of the impressive team of No. 3 seeded Spartan's this season who made it to the Elite Eight in the NCAA Men's Soccer Championship Tournament and were allotted hosts up to their last game due to their (12-5-6) record and (4-2-2) in the conference. Chapman is a player that creates plays and is always in action on the pitch and tallied 5 goals and 5 assists this year and in his career as a Spartan, he totaled 61 regular season games played. He received the highly touted Big Ten Midfielder of the Year award this year as well as Top Drawer Soccer's Second Team Best XI as well as the NSCAA All American team honors. Chapman is the first First-Team All-American soccer player at Michigan State since 1970.
"I will always have a place in my heart for MSU and the teammates I have played with past and present. I owe a lot of my collegiate success to the great players I have had the chance to work with and become lifelong friends with," concludes Chapman regarding his very successful time as a Spartan.
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