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Recruit Kassel Joins the Terps, At Least for Now
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"It was very competitive," he said. "You are always competing for a job with better players and you are not guaranteed anything. It made me better."
Early this year, after impressing the coaching staff, he was invited to accompany the full team to Austria for training camp. Few high school-age players are presented with such an opportunity, but allowing the team to pay his expenses would have violated his NCAA eligibility. "I held back. I didn't want to risk it," Kassel said.
Eventually, after meetings with the Red Bulls about his immediate future, he was packing for College Park.
How long he will stay, though, remains unclear.
"I am going to see how the season goes," he said, "and I am not going to promise anyone anything right now."
While the quality of play in college soccer has stagnated as an increasing number of players leave early or bypass school altogether, Cirovski sees it has a beneficial experience to even the most elite prospects. He cites Edu as an example. The midfielder spent three seasons in College Park, was the top overall pick in the 2007 MLS draft, was named the league's rookie of the year and recently joined a prestigious European club.
"We have a lot of aspiring pros," said Cirovski, in his 16th season, "and we have shown guys can go from here and be successful."
