Matt Kassel was back at Montclair State University this week, back training with the New York Red Bulls as he did last summer. The 19-year-old midfielder is bigger, stronger and has an NCAA national championship under his belt since he was last here.
"It was good to get back on the field, with a lot of new guys but a good core of the same guys," Kassel said. "It was welcoming when I came in, it was a fun time."
Kassel said the experience of training with the Red Bulls first team last summer was incredibly beneficial as he entered his first season at the University of Maryland. He started 19 of the 23 games he played for the Terps and was tied for the team lead with seven assists.
"I'm fortunate as not every college player, or not many people can do the things I'm able to do here with the Red Bulls ... really what the Red Bulls allow me to do," Kassel said. "Obviously it helps me. You can't get better competition than playing professionally. Obviously its better than college or anything else you could possibly do. It keeps me fit, it keeps me in shape and it keeps me sharp."
Kassel was one of the standouts on a team that featured first-round MLS SuperDraft picks Rodney Wallace, Omar Gonzalez and Jeremy Hall, with whom Kassel was reacquainted with this week.
"Me and Jeremy go back," Kassel said. "I even knew him before I went to Maryland and he was there. We had a good conversation. It was good. I'll see him again and we'll probably hang out a little bit more now that we're both in the same area."
As for Kassel's plans this summer, he'll attend summer classes at the University of Maryland and play for the Red Bulls under-20 academy team.
"In the past year in college, he's grown physically and with that he's become a better defender in terms of being more responsible," New York Red Bulls director of youth development Bob Montgomery said. "I think one of his best strengths is that Matt is a very well-balanced, mature and disciplined young person and he carries that on to the soccer field. With our academy teams through the years, Matt was always an extension of the coach, he was a real leader on the field."
Kassel has been the jewel of the Red Bulls academy system, considered one of the best in Major League Soccer. He was a two-time NSCAA High School All-American and was named New Jersey Player of the Year by the NSCAA and Gatorade Player of the Year as a senior at Bridgewater-Raritan High School.
"Matt's been one of the top players in the East region through the years as he's grown and developed," Montgomery said. "He's technically very sound, he's got good vision for a midfielder, he serves great free kicks. As a young player growing up, he's always been able to score from the midfield."
Kassel, who turned down a developmental offer last year, said he's planning on returning to Maryland for his sophomore year. But training with the Red Bulls certainly has piqued his interest about a professional career.
"Obviously you look at it and say I want to be here at the end of the day," Kassel said. "I know at some point in my career hopefully I will be here, or anywhere in a professional environment and then I'll have the opportunity to help younger kids like myself build up from the footsteps that I've been brought up into."
Dylan Butler is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
