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When Aron Winter first took over as Toronto FC Head Coach and Technical Director over the most recent MLS offseason, the former Ajax Youth Team Head Coach came to Toronto with a reputation as a manager who was excellent at developing and coaching young talent. And with that pedigree many pundits expected that the 2011 version of Toronto FC would be peppered with talented youngsters from the TFC Academy.
As the 2011 MLS campaign enter its second half, it hasn’t actually turned out that way. Outside of a couple of starts for midfielder Oscar Cordon, Winter has essentially gone almost exclusively with veteran players. Or at least that was the case until recently when the Toronto back line was decimated by injuries and 18 year old Doneil Henry was forced by default to play as the team’s starting centre back in the TFC’s last three matches.
In a stretch of matches in which Toronto has lost one close match at home and earned two draws on the road, the first player ever to graduate from the TFC Academy to the Senior Team has been of Toronto’s most impressive performers. And in a season in which so many players have auditioned for starting roles under Winter and shown they are not quite up to the task, Doneil Henry has been a revelation and has taken the chance he has been given and he has run with it.
“I knew that playing time might be limited, but I knew that chances like this might come. And when they came, I knew I would have to step in and not be star struck or anything. I knew that I couldn’t be nervous and that I would just have to get in there and deliver performances. And even if I wasn’t perfect, I knew I had to give 100%,” says Henry.
The Brampton, Ontario born teenager has already won over one Major League Soccer expert in the form of former star MLS striker Taylor Twellman. The former New England Revolution stalwart was a guest television commentator for the recent Toronto FC – New England Revolution match broadcast and he was effusive in his praise for both the potential and current form that Henry has displayed as a young centre back. Ask Henry whether that type of praise increases his confidence as a player and the teenaged central defender is likely to show his respect for veteran professional football players while also reinforcing just how young he is.
“I’m not sure who that is, but I’m sure that if you say he is a veteran then he knows the game and, if he has high expectations for me, I thank people like that and it boosts my confidence for sure. I know that I just need to keep my head on straight and not only get my confidence up, but to just keep playing football,” says Henry.
While the mention of Twellman has possibly sent the TFC youngster in search of clips on YouTube, Henry is quick to credit the veteran defenders on his team like his recent central defense partner, Ty Harden, with both helping him in matches and on and off the training pitch.
“Ty Harden is a great leader in the back. He’s strong and he gives me great advice, just like all the guys. Even after the games, we talk and I ask what I can do to improve and be better, as the people I want to ask are the people who play my position.”
Ask the Canadian U-20 International about the most fundamental things he learned from experienced defenders like Harden, Adrian Cann and Nana Attakora and you will get the type of no nonsense answer that has exemplified Henry’s play over the last several weeks.
“Play simple, defend before everything else and just go into all your tackles hard and win all of your 50/50’s.”
Like many young players, Henry is quick to credit the return of the MLS Reserve League as one of the key reasons that he has been able to step into the first team starting lineup and perform at a high level.
“I think the reserve league is one of the key things about the league. It has come back and it gives the young guys who don’t get as much playing time a chance to get some quality minutes at a high level. It still keeps you fit and, when you get the call to come into the first team, you know that you are sharp and ready to play.”
The Toronto FC organization endured a lot of changes over the offseason and one of the most welcome developments for Henry was the one in which former TFC Academy Coach Jason Bent was promoted to be one of Aron Winter’s assistant coaches with the Senior Team.
“With Jason Bent moving from the Academy to being the reserve coach, it brings chemistry because I know how he wants to play. And before he became a coach, he was a role model and mentor for all the young guys, so it’s easy to ask him what we need to do and what need to improve on. He’s always there to give us advice.”
While only Aron Winter knows whether or not TFC fans will so more of the team’s young players given chances with the first team in the second half of the season, he has to be heartened by how well both Henry has done on the backline and how 19 year old Joao Plata has excelled up front. According to Henry, the success that young Plata has had has served as both a good example and an inspiration for the other young players on Toronto FC.
“Definitely, (his success is something the other young players have been watching). He’s a lively young player and he has shown that he can play and that his size does not matter. He’s just one of those players that every team needs to have.”
As for Henry himself, he’s too focused on proving himself on the pitch to even consider that much whether he himself is a player who is inspiring the next generation of TFC players. As a player who Taylor Twellman and many others believe has all of the talent and athletic ability to be a top notch professional footballer, Henry is a confident young man who knows what he needs to do to reach his full potential as a central defender.
“I just need to be more calm on the ball and to be a leader in the back,” says Henry.
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