MLS rookies aren’t supposed to start their careers in the starting lineup. Rookies less than a year removed from high school are supposed to bide their time — watch, listen, learn.
Perry Kitchen isn’t like most rookies. And that is why, after selecting the Indianapolis teenager third overall in the MLS draft and observing him at training camp, D.C. United plans to start him in the season opener against the Columbus Crew on Saturday night at RFK Stadium.
No apprenticeship necessary. United believes he is ready right now.
“Sometimes you forget how young he is,” Coach Ben Olsen said. “He’s an ultra-competitive guy. He’s the type of guy we want here. His concentration level is high for a young kid, and it’s contagious.”
Kitchen, who won an NCAA championship in his one season at Akron last fall, has brought leadership and bite to a back line that lacked both during a 6-20-4 campaign last year. In other words, he offers some of the qualities that defined Olsen’s decorated career as a tenacious midfielder.
Over the short term, United sees Kitchen, 19, as one of several building blocks. In the long term, the club sees him as the cornerstone.
A defensive midfielder at Akron and center back with the U.S. under-20 national team, Kitchen is expected to start alongside veteran Dejan Jakovic in the middle of United’s four-man back line. Moreover, he and another newcomer, central midfielder Dax McCarty, have been entrusted with providing guidance and grit.
“I’ve never seen a kid at his age as mature as he is,” said McCarty, in his fifth season. “He has the talent to be a big success in this league.”
Aside from the talent — reading the game, winning the ball, triggering the attack — Kitchen brings valuable intangibles. He exudes confidence, embraces the leadership role, and is vocal and assertive — all uncommon traits for a freshly minted professional.
“I see him being the captain someday,” Akron Coach Caleb Porter said.
Kitchen wasn’t Porter’s captain, but “I still led,” he said. “Just because you are not wearing the [captain’s] armband doesn’t mean you can’t lead.”
Mindful that he might come across as a cocky teenager at United’s training camp, Kitchen said he was “smart about the situation. I didn’t want to step on everyone’s toes or make people think this is my team. I have had to ease into it, but now that the guys see that I can communicate and help lead the team, they are telling me to direct traffic and organize. That’s given me the confidence to step forward.”
Olsen has welcomed it. While serving as interim coach late last season, Olsen was troubled by on-field leadership shortcomings.
Before drafting Kitchen, United addressed the issue by acquiring the determined and engaging McCarty in a trade with the expansion Portland Timbers and signing two-time U.S. World Cup forward Josh Wolff.
Initially, Olsen will also turn to goalkeepers coach Pat Onstad, 43, who came out of a two-month retirement because of an injury crisis at that position and will start until Bill Hamid and Steve Cronin are ready.
“We didn’t have enough guys who could concentrate for 90 minutes,” Olsen said of the 2010 squad. “We didn’t have enough guys who would do anything not to let their teammates and this organization down. We’re starting to get there.”
In training camp, Kitchen’s “natural leadership abilities came out,” Olsen said. “It’s not just being vocal and yelling; it’s through diligence and concentration.”
Kitchen also has stamped his personality on the under-20 national team, serving as captain. “He has an incredible winner’s mentality that just seeps out of his pores,” U.S. Coach Thomas Rongen told Comcast SportsNet. “People just follow him.”
Because of his role with the under-20s, Kitchen will probably miss a chunk of United’s season. The CONCACAF qualifying tournament for the U-20 World Cup will take place March 28 through April 10 in Guatemala.
If the United States advances, Kitchen and the squad will head to Colombia for several weeks this summer.
For now, Kitchen will concentrate on adjusting to the uptick in speed, strength and intensity of the pro game. At 6 feet and 160 pounds, he will have to compensate for being a bit undersized for a center back.
“I’m moving along pretty well, but I still have a ways to go,” he said. “It’s a higher level and it’s going to be harder. It’s one thing to say it, it’s another thing to experience it.”
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