Real Salt Lake's Nick Rimando has seen it all during 17 seasons as a professional, but MLS's all-time winningest goalkeeper clearly remembers the first time he laid eyes on a 15-year-old Justen Glad.
"We were in training camp down in Arizona," the U.S. national team goalkeeper said. "He was still in the academy. We had some guys hurt and were resting some others and he came in to train with us and fit right in. I knew right then that he was going to be a good defender."
Four years on, Rimando's eye for talent has proven keen. Now 19, Glad is a full-time starter who has helped keep rebuilding RSL in playoff position in the stacked Western Conference. He's also a rising star in U.S. Soccer's player pool.
Glad's roots in the sport can be traced to the 1994 World Cup, an event that occurred three years before he was born. His parents weren't soccer fans, but they lived in Pasadena, California, and took Justen's older brother to a game at the Rose Bowl during USA '94, sparking a love for the game that spread to his sister and, eventually, Justen.
The family moved to Seattle when Justen was a baby and then to Tucson, Arizona, when he was 12. RSL's academy in Casa Grande -- just over an hour's drive away, opened the following year. Glad enrolled in 2012 and impressed quickly, eventually earning invites to the U.S. U-17 and U-18 squads before signing a pro contract with the club in early 2014.
"We were comfortable with his maturity that he could handle the professional game mentally," RSL coach Jeff Cassar said in a phone interview. "He's gotten stronger and stronger every year."
Cassar was speaking both figuratively and literally. After Glad made his MLS debut and played in seven games (six starts) last season, he was challenged by the third-year boss Cassar to pack some extra muscle onto his 6-foot, 145-pound frame over the winter. He did. The benefits became apparent almost immediately.
"You notice it every day in training when you're going shoulder-to-shoulder with someone," Glad said. "I still have work to do on that front but going up against really physical forwards like (Portland Timber striker Fanendo) Adi, it definitely helps."
The rest of Glad's game was already sound. His positioning is good. He's technical and quick enough to play anywhere on the backline. "When you look at them, you don't think massive athleticism," Cassar said. "But he doesn't get beat for speed, he doesn't get beat for balls in the air, he never shies away from challenges."
Glad was able to work himself into Cassar's lineup by the fourth game of the season, and for the most part he's been there ever since, at times keeping former All-Star Jamison Olave on the bench.
"He has earned everything that he has achieved so far this year by what he's doing in the weight room and what he's doing in training sessions and how he's performing in games," Cassar said, taking care to note that Olave had played a big role in helping nurture Glad's progress.
"Jamison has really taken him under his wing," Rimando said. "I see them talking all the time before games after games, during halftime, about positioning or tactics or how to play against certain players."
As much as Olave has helped, there's no shortage of mentors in Salt Lake. Glad has developed a strong partnership in central defense with 25-year-old Aaron Maund. Captain Kyle Beckerman started three games for the U.S. at the 2014 World Cup. Then there's Rimando, who also went to Brazil. "Playing in front of Rimando is a gift," Glad said. You can get away with things you might not be able to get away with a younger keeper because he has so much experience. He knows what forwards are going to do. He knows their tendencies. He's always in my ear, but he's always super positive about everything. There's no better guy to learn from than the all-time wins leader in MLS."
Glad takes any harsh critiques the right way, according to Cassar. "Justen's personality has really helped him out," he said. "He doesn't just hang out with young players, he hangs out with the veterans, too. The veterans love him. And they love him because he works extremely hard in training sessions."
He's still got lots to learn, to be sure. His body will continue to fill out. But Glad is also starting to get recognized for his potential. Last month, he started in the Chipotle Homegrown Game during the league's All-Star festivities. And he's put himself squarely onto U.S. U-20 coach Tab Ramos' radar for the team that will attempt in February to qualify for the 2017 FIFA U-20 World Cup.
"I've seen him come along pretty far this season," Ramos said of Glad, before noting that several other highly touted central defenders -- including Porto's Erik Palmer-Brown, Orlando City's Tommy Redding and Tottenham's Cameron Carter-Vickers -- could all be in the mix if the U.S. reaches South Korea.
"He happens to be in an age group where we have a lot of center backs that of good quality, but hopefully at some point he'll be able to be involved with us and he'll be competing for a position."
Cassar and Rimando are both convinced that if he continues to improve, Glad has the tools and the temperament to even crack the senior national team one day.
"The way he's handled the pressure, the games, the whole commitment to being a professional has been well beyond his years," Rimando said. "He's going to get faster and stronger. If this is where he's at right now in his career at 19 and he can learn from his mistakes and get better, I think the sky's the limit for this kid."