The dream became reality on Monday for Brenden Aaronson. After rising through the Union's youth ranks since starting as a 10-year-old, the now-17-year-old Medford native got right into the middle of an intense training session for the first time since signing his first pro contract.
It was not, however, the first time Aaronson had trained with the senior squad. He's done that quite a few times this year, going back to when manager Jim Curtin invited Aaronson to join the team at a preseason camp in Florida.
"You're seeing all these guys that you watch on TV — you saw [Alejandro] Bedoya play in the [2014] World Cup," Aaronson said after Monday's practice.