Before the second leg of GA Cup regional qualifying began at Real Salt Lake's academy, Union Academy Director Tommy Wilson and Sporting Director Ernst Tanner briefly discussed whether eligible players should leave preseason training with USL Championship side Philadelphia Union II to help the academy fight toward the GA Cup finals in Dallas.
It was not a long conversation, because both men share a guiding principle: "Always with development as the focus."
Wilson emphasized this after the Union U15s and U17s both came agonizingly close to making the GA Cup finals following penalty shootout losses to New York Red Bulls.