Changes are meant to challenge us but learning to adapt is what helps us grow. Personal growth, both on and off of the field, is central to the mission of the Minnesota United Development Academy and it is watching that process play out with U15 defender Luke Yee Yick this season in the form of a position change.
After playing as a winger on the U14 team last year, Yee Yick was asked to transition to a fullback role. Yee Yick was not immediately sold on the switch, but he is blessed with maturity and work ethic beyond his years and Academy Director Tim Carter said that has helped him grow into his new position.
“He seems to have adapted to it pretty well,” Carter said. “I actually think the position fits his skills a little better. He has the physical and athletic tools to get up and down the field, which I think is a quality for a boy of his age to have that is quite good. He comes out to the field and wants to make the most of his time out here to make himself as good as he possibly can be.”
Yee Yick has been a bright spot on the field for the U15 Development Academy early on in its first-ever season of competition. He played all 80 minutes in the Loons’ season-opening 2-0 win over FC United Soccer Club last Sunday and showed the ability to go forward and add into the attack from his position.
The White Bear Lake native is described as quiet and thoughtful. He pays attention, listens carefully and understands concepts quicker than others. Carter said if you have to tell Yee Yick to do something twice, “you did not explain it well enough the first time.” He has diligently studied his new role, learning from goalkeeper Fred Emmings and others, and that effort is paying dividends.
“It is new for me and I am still learning,” Yee Yick said. “It has been a lot of watching and listening to where I should be from Fred and our center backs. They help me to be in the right position and figure out when to go where, when to check and when to go into space.”
Yee Yick is growing and adapting as a player right alongside the U15 Development Academy as a whole. Carter described the U15 program as the MNUFC DA’s “plow.” As that group ages up each year, it is creating Minnesota’s academy’s path forward and helping to connect the dots for the next generations of Loons. For the players, a big part of that is being pushed to their physical, mental and tactical limits each day.
Yee Yick has thrived amidst those expectations. He is a player that will always give you his best and he wants to help the U15 Development Academy make the playoffs in its first season, perform well in its showcases and stay at the top of its group. Yee Yick said MNUFC is the most organized soccer setting he has ever played in. He appreciates the heightened sense of dedication at the club and believes it is helping push him towards his potential.
“Everybody comes to training not to joke around,” Yee Yick said. “It is a much better environment, for sure. It has helped me challenge myself every day in training and be able to take it a lot more seriously. It has helped push the top level of my game a lot higher.”
