“Don’t get mad, get Glad.”
It’s been the slogan for the super-stretchy garbage bags for years. Soon it could be the cry of Real Salt Lake fans.
About the only thing that’s slowed defender Justen Glad’s rise up the soccer food chain is knee surgery. And the former Catalina Foothills High School star is working on putting that problem in the trash bin.
The former Tucson resident has gone from being on the Arizona Daily Star’s High School All-Star team as a freshman in 2012 to being on the U.S. under-17 national team to one of the players they talk about when assessing what Real Salt Lake’s team will look like in the future.
While he continues to recover, his Real Salt Lake teammates will face Sporting Kansas City at 8 p.m. Wednesday at Kino North Stadium in the finale of the Desert Diamond Cup’s Day 3.
While his kicking is pretty limited, the Star kicked around a few subjects this week with the 17-year-old, who turns 18 on Saturday, the final day of the Desert Diamond Cup.
1. His toughest game: The waiting game. Glad tore a meniscus in his left knee and is now making his way back through rehabilitation.
“Usually they just cut it out and it’s three weeks to recover, but for me they sutured it back together so that in the long run it would pay off,” said the 6-foot, 145-pound Glad. “So the recovery time is four months for that.”
“I hope to be back running by mid-March. I’ve been out for three months, just going through physical therapy five times a week. I just started kicking the ball two days ago.”
He’s been on the touchlines at Kino, tapping the ball back and fourth while the rest of the squad pushes toward RSL’s opener March 7 at the Portland Timbers.
“I think it’s the watching, watching other people play,” Glad said when asked about the hardest part of his hiatus. “It’s always tough — seeing your friends go out there and start kicking a ball around.
“It’s alright. I’m lifting every day, and school is taking my mind off things. Staying positive is really the key to all of it.”
2. He’s still hitting the books, or more like hitting the computer keyboard. Glad is now a high school senior and his family has moved to the Sugar House area of Salt Lake City.
“I go to the American International School of Utah,” Glad said. “What they have is kind of an online curriculum, but you still have to attend school. So it works for preseason. When I’m in Tucson for two weeks, I can just do the online courses to try and graduate on time.”
When he’s not rehabbing or studying, Glad has connected with folks from his past, even if that past was just a couple years ago.
“It’s always good seeing old friends,” said Glad, who reminisced with FC Tucson coach Rick Schantz last week about pick-up games in town. “Thursday nights, we would just have a random group of guys from a bunch of local club teams just play 3 v. 3, 4 v. 4, small-sided games. Coming back and seeing Rick and seeing all of my old soccer buddies is fun.”
“I do enjoy myself some ranch fries” from Eegee’s, he added.
3. When he returns isn’t the only conundrum that will need to be solved. He’ll likely play for the Real Monarchs, a USL Pro team that RSL is debuting this season.
“Honestly, I’m not 100 percent sure,” Glad said. “But the Monarchs is a great way to get games in and get back to that 100 percent level. Prove myself there and move up.”
He says those in charge of the U.S. national team programs have been supportive.
“They’ve told me, ‘Work hard and come back strong. There’s always opportunities — play well and you’ll get a call in,’ ” Glad said.
RSL coach Jeff Cassar anticipates a strong return by Glad.
“The future is extremely bright for Justen,” Cassar said. “He did extremely well in our academy. Two years ago, I was the head coach of the reserve team and we used to bring him in for all the reserve games. It was like he was on our team. He was able to hang with the big boys at an early age. Once I got the (first-team) head coaching job, we made a hard push to have Justen in our group.
“Last year, he made big strides in his playing even though he joined us halfway through the year. Obviously, it’s a little setback with his injury. But I know he’s been working hard. He’s getting stronger, getting more muscle. I’m really excited to have him back into the group very soon.”
Cassar says Glad will likely see time at center back, right back and defensive midfielder when he returns.
“We’re going to give him the opportunity to excel in a few different areas, and then I think it will start to show what position he’s really going to go forward in,” Cassar said.
No matter what position, you can expect the man named Glad will be ready to cinch up the defense and dispose of his foes.
