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WFC2’s Chung on Rapid Ascent after Whirlwind Ride

By MICHAEL McCOLL - USLSoccer.com Contributor, 04/01/16, 10:00AM EDT

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After preseason with Whitecaps, Canada U20s camp, ready to kick off USL season

VANCOUVER, B.C. - It's been a whirlwind few months for Vancouver Whitecaps 2’s young fullback Kadin Chung.

After being a standout with the Whitecaps' academy side, a 16-year-old Chung signed his first professional contract in September with WFC2. After impressing in his two substitute appearances towards the end of the last USL season, the 'Caps MLS Head Coach Carl Robinson included Chung in his side's preseason camps in Vancouver, Arizona and Portland.

A busy few months culminated on the international stage and a wonderful solo goal for Canada's U20s in their 2-1 win over England's U21 side on Sunday. Now it's time for Chung to take stock as he gets set to play his first USL minutes of the new season in Portland on Saturday night.

"It's been overwhelming," Chung said of his last seven months. "To see the progress that the club's made and they believe so much in me, it's just been a great year and I hope to continue that going forward."

The Whitecaps Residency program has produced a conveyor belt of young Canadian talent in recent years, with 10 academy graduates on the Whitecaps' USL roster and six on their MLS team.

Now 17, Chung is one of five teenagers on the WFC2 roster, the youngest being newly signed 15-year-old striker Alphonso Davies. Excited by what next lies in store, Chung knows how crucial playing in the USL will be to his footballing future.

"It's huge," Chung says. "You can have all the technical abilities, you can have the right mentality, but a huge part of making that jump from Residency to either USL or the first team is the physicality.

"Carl and the coaching staff have made it clear to me that in order to make the next step, I need to become a more physical player. By playing in the USL, that really helps with that. It's important."

At 5-foot-6, Chung cuts something of a diminutive figure on the pitch at times, but what he may lack in stature, he more than makes up for in skill and speed. The physicality will come, and is all just part of the tough transition from youth football to the pro game.

There will be times this season when Chung goes up against players almost twice his age, but last season's taste of USL action helped the defender move quickly along the learning curve he now faces as a professional soccer player. He's now ready for the season ahead.


Photo courtesy CONCACAF

"It was really difficult at first but all the coaches were really helpful with letting me ease into the transition," Chung said. "Now, I'm comfortable with the pace of the game, the physicality. It's just all about improving from there."

Robinson is in no doubt that Chung has what it takes to make it onto his MLS squad in the near future and feels that the tough and competitive USL environment is just what the young defender needs to develop his game and take it to that next level.

"Kadin's got a great future ahead of him," Robinson said of Chung this week. "He's a young player with fantastic potential. We took him in preseason because I know what he's about. He still needs to grow a little bit and fill out. Playing in the USL will do him the world of good.

"You're playing against men and it means everything. The three points on the Saturday, that's an important bit of the makeup for a young professional footballer. He's getting that with the USL team, which is important and will hopefully stand him in good stead to kick on to the big team."

Chung, who can play both full-back positions as well as on the wing, will see regular minutes for WFC2 this season, but he will also continue to split his time with the Whitecaps' U18 side. Wherever he plays this year, Chung knows that every minute is crucial.

"They want to see me in the USL as much as possible," Chung said. "But they also understand that we have a lot of players and, if need be, first-team players coming down, they need to get minutes. It's a good way for me just to get minutes, playing with the Residency."

Like many young players, Chung was faced with the difficult choice of signing professional forms or going down the college route and getting an education before looking at the pro game, but with the Whitecaps clearly seeing him as one for the immediate future, he has no doubts he made the correct decision.

"I definitely pondered both situations and the club was really good," Chung said. "They gave me all the time I needed to make a decision, but in the end, pro football is what I want to do and it's what I want to do with my life, so I thought it was the right choice for me.

"The [clear pathway to the MLS team] was a huge reason why. I believe that in this club, you get chances and you get opportunities if you play well. I think that if I just continue to put my best effort in, I'll get those opportunities."