Injuries are always a cruel fate. Just ask Aaron Maund.
After a breakout season in 2015 that saw him start 21 times for Real Salt Lake, the center back had a starting position locked up for RSL in 2016. He would be battle-tested against Tigres in the CONCACAF Champions League Quarterfinals in preseason. He would stand toe-to-toe with some of the best strikers in Major League Soccer.
Then, in a brief instant in an inconsequential August training drill, it was taken away. Abruptly. Callously.
The resulting fracture in his foot would wipe out the rest of his season, but it hasn’t dampened his drive to continue to strive to be among the best defenders in the league.
“It’s really tough. It’s not something that I’m used to. My last big injury was maybe ten years ago,” Maund said after Real Salt Lake wrapped up the 2016 season with an early departure in the Knockout Round of the MLS Cup Playoffs. “This was definitely a setback, but it’s part of it. It’s alright to experience this side of the game and understand that it doesn’t always come easy. It’s part of the test that you go through as an athlete.”
That resilient attitude has carried Maund through his first five professional seasons.
As a rookie with Toronto FC in 2012, he started nine times in his 15 appearances. However, when it became clear he wasn’t in the club’s plans moving forward, he welcomed a new opportunity with Real Salt Lake the following season. In his first two seasons with the Claret-and-Cobalt, he saw limited playing time, starting just eight matches as he battled with RSL’s deep defensive core.
Rather than getting discouraged, he was sharpened by those rigors and in 2015 he finally saw the breakthrough he needed. The 21 starts he saw gave him the experience and confidence needed to make an impact as a veteran in 2016.
Things were looking up for Maund throughout the season and his partnership with 19-year-old Justen Glad caused RSL General Manager Craig Waibel to reassess his club’s needs to fortify the center back position. With another veteran presence in Jamison Olave and the return of Chris Schuler from injury after a brief stint with Real Monarchs in the USL, a unit that was a question mark entering the season had become a position of depth.
“Once you can visualize that success and you’ve been there before, I think it breeds more success and that’s what we’re looking for,” Maund said. “It’s been good getting all this experience and Justen’s been doing the same. The play of Schuler was really encouraging. I’m really excited for our center back core. That chemistry is there with all the center backs and that’s pretty dangerous.”
Now with just over two months before RSL begins preseason training camp for 2017, Maund has time to fully recover and build his strength and fitness to take the next steps in his evolution as a defender. Already back in the gym and fully entrenched in regular workouts, the optimism that he felt during the early stages of the 2016 season are back in his eyes and his voice.
“I’ve been training and feeling strong,” he said with an unwavering smile. “It’s all positive.”
