Joe Greenspan is set to pull on a Colorado Rapids shirt for the first time on Friday.
The 22-year-old center back has garnered an unusual amount of press coverage since he became the No. 26 pick at the MLS Superdraft last month. That is because he is a midshipman at US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland and is bound by military duty after his graduation in the Spring.
However, just at the moment, his 'daily drills' are very different in nature.
Greenspan is out in Las Vegas training with Pablo Mastroeni’s squad and, like any fresh face, is just trying to adjust to the sizable step up into full-time soccer.
“It is a bit of learning curve to jump from the college game to the professional game but the guys have been really accepting and welcoming,” he told ColoradoRapids.com.
“I am hoping to play against UNLV [on Friday]. I just want to get some minutes and mesh with the guys - see how they play, they can see how I play.”
Greenspan will not travel with the squad for the Desert Diamond Cup in Tucson next week. However, he will train with the Rapids during the Naval Academy’s Spring break and his post-graduation leave.
The six foot six inch defender has been assigned to the USS Sampson DDG 102, a destroyer out of San Diego, but his report date is still to be determined by the Navy. While respecting the demands of his military service, the Rapids Front Office are working with the Navy to maximize his playing time this season.
That effort and patience shows the esteem in which Greenspan is held by the Rapids technical staff. They targeted the NSCAA All-American player in the MLS SuperDraft and they got their man. Greenspan, on the other hand, was unsure he would be selected.
“It was great,” he said. “There were 20 or 30 people jammed in my room [watching] and wasn’t sure if would go at all. So I was a little nervous. But getting the call from Brian [Crookham] after being the 26th pick was like a dream come true so I am very excited.”
Not as excited as the Rapids fans will be on Friday when Greenspan wears burgundy for the first time.
