Youth development is a central pillar of Philadelphia Union's philosophy. A long-term plan to evolve the Union into club that constantly infuses its first team with talent from the academy was accelerated under former Sporting Director Earnie Stewart, and that has put the onus on Academy Director Tommy Wilson to enact an ambitious project.
Wilson has led the Union's academy since 2013, and he has built it into one of the nation's best.
"Our mission is to try to get players in the first team, as you would see this year," Wilson tells me while sitting one floor above the field-turned-graduation-hall that recently saw Anthony Fontana's inspiring speech to the next generations of young talent.