KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Until last year, Michael Harrington wasn’t accustomed to watching Wizards matches from the bench.
Kansas City’s first-round draft pick and the third overall pick in the 2007 MLS SuperDraft was thrown into the fire immediately as a rookie, starting 27 games in year one for former manager Curt Onalfo and all 30 of his sophomore campaign.
But after a disappointing 2009 season stunted by a hamstring injury and the inability to break back into the team cost him his spot in Kansas City’s starting lineup, Harrington made himself a promise.
He’s not about to go through all that again.
“Coming in this year I wanted to come in, earn my spot and make sure I kept it,” said Harrington, who has played a team-high 1,977 minutes this season. “In my third year, I realized what it was like to lose it, so now I take it one game at a time and not get complacent.”
[inline_node:301670]He has done just that, starting all 22 of the Wizards' games this year at right and left back while staying healthy and, more importantly, putting in consistent performances on the field.
“Personally, it’s been a good year as far as growing up and realizing that now is the time to take ownership of the position and of the team,” Harrington said. “Just figuring out what it takes to be a really good pro in this league and getting better every day.”
The versatile defender credits the work he did in the offseason as well as a revamped mental approach to the game for the way he’s bounced back.
But lack of talent has never been a problem for Harrington. He was one of the inaugural members of the U-17 Residency Program at the Bradenton Academy in Florida, and he played in the 2005 U-20 World Cup in Finland for Sigi Schmid.
But even after four successful years at North Carolina and a promising first few seasons in MLS, last year’s rough spots taught him that talent alone would only get him so far. And that attitude is what has endeared him to Wizards coach Peter Vermes, who says he sees an ambition in Harrington now that is a rarity.
“He is definitely a guy who wants to be good,” Vermes said, “and he works at it. He’s ambitious from that point of view. He is actually a pretty quiet guy with the rest of the team, but he wants it. There are some guys that talk about it but don’t necessarily go after it. He goes after it.”
And unlike some, Harrington gets after it on both sides of the ball. He isn’t having the same kind of offensive season statistically as he did his rookie year (he had three goals and four assists in his first season), but his pace and tenacity marauding up and down the right flank gives the Wizards a supporting piece to overlap forward Kei Kamara and send in service.
He has also taken more of a leadership role on the team, further cementing his worth and making 2009 look more and more like an anomaly turned into a lesson learned.
“It’s his fourth year, so obviously there is some responsibility now that has to fall on his shoulders,” veteran defender Jimmy Conrad said. “He’s notched quite a few games, and I think he’s done well taking the responsibly that we’ve given him.”
Harrington wouldn’t have it any other way.
