In his rookie season, Danilo Acosta heard a lot of advice from a lot of different sources.
He played for five different teams this year. Whether it was with Real Salt Lake in a friendly against Internazionale or with the RSL U-18 Academy team in the USSDA National Tournament, with the Real Monarchs or at the Chipotle Homegrown Game or in his 10 appearances with the U.S. U-20 National Team, he got a similar message from each coach.
Be yourself.
While the message was delivered from different voices each time, it was clear to Acosta and he remembers particularly the words of U.S. U-20 coach Tab Ramos.
“I don’t expect you to try to impress me each camp,” Acosta recalls Ramos telling him. “I know what you have and I know you’re capable of. When you come over here, do your best and try and be a leader.”
Those were welcome words to Acosta, who appeared only in the friendly with Inter Milan for Real Salt Lake, but got plenty of experience in his first year as a pro after he played 18 matches with the Monarchs, 10 matches with the U.S. U-20s and several more with the RSL U-18s.
It made for an up-and-down year, but one full of valuable lessons that only come with experience.
“I was 18 at the time and nobody would expect an 18-year-old to play that many games. Even though I played different positions, I felt comfortable and Freddy gave me confidence because he believed in me,” he said. “During the week, I just keep working hard and try and do my best in practice. When the opportunity comes for a position I have to play, I just mentally get prepared for it.”
In a year when most of his development has come behind the scenes, out of the spotlight of sellout crowds on Saturday nights at Rio Tinto Stadium and instead in front of much smaller USL crowds, Acosta has managed tremendous growth that has him ready to play a key role for the U.S. U-20s in the coming months.
“For him it’s a matter of continuing his development. He had a good year and sometimes it’s hard to see from the outside because not everyone can see his day-to-day,” RSL General Manager Craig Waibel said. “His speed of play got better. His strength got better. His decision-making got better. Was it enough to put him into a first-team game? No. But we saw great steps being taken. All of our players go through this process and it really is good for him to come in and have that first full year.”
With the 2017 CONCACAF U-20 Championships in February and March and the FIFA U-20 World Cup to follow, it has the potential to be a big year for Acosta and RSL teammates Justen Glad and Sebastian Saucedo.
“It’s always been my dream to be on the national team. I’m blessed that Tab Ramos has believed in me ever since January,” Acosta said. “I feel strong about our team. Once we play with each other a little bit more we can do a lot of great things.”