|
|
With the dust still settling on Toronto FC’s 2014 campaign, much of the recent punditry surrounding the club has focused on the Reds inability to achieve their primary goal of qualifying for the MLS postseason.
However, amid that larger story, it is also clear that there were encouraging individual success stories that played out among various players on the TFC roster.
One of those encouraging stories came in the form of rookie midfielder Daniel Lovitz.
Drafted in the second round of the 2014 MLS SuperDraft, the 23 year old Elon University product began his professional career playing with Toronto's USL Pro affiliate the Wilmington Hammerheads and then later worked to establish himself as an important squad player with TFC.
Reflecting on his first Major League Soccer season, Lovitz was open in admitting that he was generally satisfied with both his individual performances and his growth as a player during his rookie campaign, even considering that TFC’s season as a whole ended on a sour note.
“I think my progression has been immense,” Lovitz told RedNation. “I knew coming in that it would be, but I did not know that I would have this much of a role with the team. If you would have told me back then that I would have appeared in 13-14 games and had a few starts along the way, I would have jumped at the bit before the season.”
“But once I got in I then just wanted more,” he added. “I’m very happy with how I did this year personally. However, you also want to impact the team and to have things end well for the team. Unfortunately, this year there will be no postseason, so that is a tough pill to swallow.”
“I’m extremely confident here at the end of the year,” Lovitz continued. “I think it is hard to see that given the status of the team and what has been going on. But when you look at the big picture in terms of where I started and where I was drafted, I’m extremely proud of what’s happened this year from a personal standpoint. I just want to make sure that I never stop growing and improving. Hopefully next year I can bring better things to this club and impact the team even more than I did this year. Generally, I’m very happy with how my year has gone and my contribution.”
With TFC recently having experienced yet another change at the heading coaching position, not to mention all the ongoing drama that has surrounded the team’s biggest name player, it is obvious that there will be some roster changes made towards getting the Reds over the hump next season.
However, like many people within the team and surrounding it, the hard-working Lovitz is hoping that TFC’s current core group of players will be given a chance to grown together next season and in the years to come.
“I think the mix of players we have is fantastic,” Lovitz said. “I think it is unique in this league to have such a wide range of players with different backgrounds and different levels of experience. I think continuity is huge in this league and think we need to quit the revolving door thing that I understand has been here for a number of years. I think that is huge in terms of the development of players like myself and also just having a group of players who have been together at the start of a season.”
Looking forward to next season on an individual level, the attack-minded midfielder is firmly aware that he won’t be able to rest on his laurels in 2015. As a wide player who showed himself adept at both whipping crosses into the opposition box and taking on players 1v1, Lovitz has a strong idea of the areas of his game that he want to take up a level in his sophomore MLS campaign.
“That part of my game is what I can be known for – getting out wide and going at players,” Lovitz said. “However, I want to threaten the goal more myself and to create more goalscoring opportunities for myself, whether that is the positions I take up in a game or the runs I make throughout the game. I want to be aggressive and to really allow the fullback on my side to give the width and have myself being more central around the opposition net and picking up more goals and assists. That is something I really want to capitalize on next year and moving forward.”
While his breakthrough as a professional player with Toronto came when Ryan Nelsen was the Head Coach at the club, Lovitz was also quick to stress that he is already feeling quite comfortable playing under new Head Coach Greg Vanney.
“I came to know Greg when I first came in,” Lovitz explained. “He was always around and it is my understanding that he was at the draft. He knew me and I knew him, so there wasn’t a lot of catching up to do (when he became Head Coach), especially given that when I was at Wilmington I was in contact with him a little bit. So he was kind of a familiar face when he took over.”
“Just as a person, Greg’s great,” he added. “He brings a lot to the table and he makes me feel confident when I play. I think he is trying instill ideals of how we should play into this team that I really take to heart. I think the sky is the limit for me personally and for the team with him at the helm.”
Ultimately, while he learned a lot as a still developing player both from the veterans on the TFC roster and via the minutes he played over the course of the season, Lovitz admitted that two of the biggest things he learned from TFC’s 2014 campaign centered on how competitive the North American top flight is and how much potential the current Toronto FC squad has with respect to achieving success within that same ultracompetitive league.
“I think the disparity is very small at this level and I think any little bit of edge can be gained or lost within a week or even a day,” Lovitz stated. “Any result can happen on any day and some teams can pick up momentum and sustain it and that is what makes teams great."
"It is also all about the timing of that. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to get on the better end of a good swing of wins and good form at the end of the season, but I think we showed glimpses of that throughout the year and that is something to take note of moving forward.”
|