Soccer: San Rafael’s Anderson realizing his dream with Real Salt Lake

Owen Anderson has spent more than half of his life chasing his dream of becoming a professional soccer player.

San Rafael’s Anderson, now 17, spent many years commuting to the South Bay with parents Monique and Chris for several practices a week for academy teams. At the age of 14, he moved to Utah by himself to play for academy teams for Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer.

All those years of hard work and sacrifice paid off when Anderson – who played for RSL’s second team, the Monarchs, last season – signed a homegrown contract to join the first team in October.

“It’s insane,” Anderson said. “I’m just thinking about playing in front of the crowd and scoring a goal or helping the team or getting a win in Utah in Rio Tinto Stadium. I can’t wait for it to happen. I’m excited to have the opportunity now to do so.”

Anderson first landed on Real Salt Lake’s radar during his time with the U.S. U-15 national team.

“Owen’s always been extremely talented,” Real Salt Lake assistant general manager Tony Beltran said. “We first noticed him with the youth national team. At the time he was with the San Jose Earthquakes. Putting aside all his tactical and footballing ability, the thing we first noticed – which carries through to today – is Owen’s determination and conviction to compete jumps out at you.

“When the opportunity arose for him to come to RSL, we had to make it happen and are very thankful that it did.”

Anderson is an attacking midfielder by trade – a player who can help his team control the middle of the park, set up a goal for a teammate, or score one for himself.

“Owen is a born competitor and that’s palpable when you watch him play,” Beltran said. “His power, his frame, his level of ball security and directness in the attack is something that immediately jumps out at you. He’s extremely ball secure, very technical, but a powerful runner on and off the ball – one that can bully opponents on the field and make things happen in all phases of the game.”

Anderson will be one of the younger players competing to make an MLS first-team roster when the preseason begins in January.

“There’s not a lot. He’s definitely in a small percentage of players (his age),” said Gavin Mc Inerney, Owen’s agent at YMU Sports. “He’s basically a first-round draft pick, that’s how we look at him. He’s going into the first team. It’s a big preseason coming up for him.”

Anderson traveled to Utah in October for his signing day at Real Salt Lake’s stadium with his mom, plus siblings Lucq and Tait.

“The day we all went to RSL was so special,” Monique Anderson said. “Seeing him walk out there onto that beautiful field in the RSL jersey was kind of one of those moments that you know you will never forget. He was surrounded by his coaches and staff that have been so supportive to not only Owen, but our whole family. We were all so proud of him and so grateful to be there. He put in so much time and effort and now his dreams were being realized.”

Owen’s journey toward that day began in earnest when he was eight years old. Owen had been playing for Central Marin for about 2-3 years by then and had already developed a love and talent for the game.

“When I started loving soccer was when – I don’t know what age group I was – but when I was at Central Marin,” Owen said. “It was kind of just every day, I just didn’t want to go to school. I was just waiting for soccer practice. I was waiting to go to Pickleweed Park or Hall (Middle School).  … That’s when I started to fall in love with the sport.”

When Owen was 8 years old, a coach suggested he needed to join an academy team to fully realize his immense potential – a decision that would mean hours driving to practice and games every week. Owen played for De Anza Force for a couple of years before joining the San Jose Earthquakes academy at the age of 10.

“It was a really tough decision to switch Owen over to play in the South Bay,” Monique said. “It meant leaving Marin at 3 p.m. and getting home around 8:30 or 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday with games on the weekends. Chris and I had to constantly navigate leaving work early to get Owen to San Jose on time, it was tricky. It was definitely difficult for all of us to navigate, but I think it got Owen to where he is now. In the six years we did that drive, Owen never once complained about it. He knew it was what he needed.”

Owen made the move to join Real Salt Lake’s academy and eventually worked his way onto the club’s second team. Owen led the Monarchs with five goals last season and was named the team’s Young Player of the Month once.

“We had a rough start in the first half of the season,” Owen said. “We weren’t getting the results we wanted. Toward the end as a team, we started really coming together, started getting the points and the results we needed, and we had a good push for the playoffs. It came down to the last game but we didn’t make it. We needed a win but we tied. Personally it was really good. I had a good end of the season.”

That strong finish led to Real Salt Lake signing Owen to a homegrown contract after a lengthy negotiation with the San Jose Earthquakes to secure his rights.

After signing his deal, Owen spent some time training in Utah before getting an opportunity to go to England and train with Crystal Palace of the Premier League. Real Salt Lake and Crystal Palace are both owned by David Blitzer.

“It was amazing,” Owen said. “I didn’t get to play in any games because there weren’t any games I was allowed to play in. There were some scrimmages. I got to play with their U-18 team and their U-21s. The 18s and 21s are both awesome people. Coaches were amazing and they were at a high level. The 21s really pushed me. It was a good experience.”

As part of the excursion, Owen was able to take in a Premier League game between Crystal Palace and Fulham.

“(Palace) lost 2-0 but the crowd was insane,” Owen said. “It was a cool experience.”

Owen is set to spend the holiday season at home while he continues to train for the upcoming preseason.

“I could not be more proud of Owen,” Monique said. “Driving to San Jose for six years and him moving to Utah at 14 years old were big challenges for not only him, but for our whole family. I have never seen a kid work so hard and be so determined. He sacrificed a lot to get to where he is. He deserves it all and I cannot wait to see what he does next.”