Tommy Redding needed a moment to himself. So he took a seat, contemplated the news and let the emotions wash over him — nerves, excitement and everything in between.
Barely a month after his 19th birthday, Redding discovered at the close of preseason that he had earned a starting assignment for Orlando City's MLS opener against Real Salt Lake on March 6. After making just two appearances during his debut MLS campaign in 2015, the Oviedo, Florida, native had relegated three-time All-Star Aurelien Collin to the bench.
"Going into preseason, I was not really thinking about winning the starting spot but just playing the best soccer that I can and working as hard as I can," Redding told Goal USA. "Hopefully with that comes the rewards."
Drafted into the Orlando lineup because largely because of his technical prowess, Redding has started all three matches of the young MLS campaign. Redding's 87 percent passing accuracy places him third among all starting center backs this season, and he helped shut out Spanish legend David Villa as Orlando earned a 1-0 road win over New York City FC in the club's last match.
With Orlando off to a solid 1-0-2 start, the homegrown signing spent the recent international break representing the U.S. Under-20 national team at the Dallas Cup. After a year spent toiling on the bench, Redding now finds himself a prized commodity for club and country.
"You need people to give you an opportunity," said Orlando coach Adrian Heath, recalling his own debut for English side Stoke City at 17 years old. "We realized it was a little bit of a leap of faith, but he coped well and we decided that we were going to keep him there. Tommy is very aware that I'm not doing this because I like him any better than anybody else. I just think he's the best player for that position at this moment in time."
Athletic prowess runs in the family for the 6-foot-2 defender. Redding's father Charles was a High School All-American basketball player who starred at the United States International University in San Diego before tuberculosis derailed his hopes of a professional career. But that didn't stop him from landing a spot in the Hall of Fame for San Diego sports, alongside Redding's grandfather and three uncles.
Although Redding played football and basketball as a child, his commitment to soccer grew hand in hand with the friendships he developed within the sport. Admiration for the Brazil teams of the mid-2000s — led by current teammate Kaka — helped fuel Redding's fervor.
"I loved just watching them, learning the tricks and little stuff from them," Redding said. "The rainbow flick — I remember seeing someone do that and I practiced for weeks to get it down."
After playing at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, from 2012 to 2013, Redding found himself drawn to an Orlando City organization rapidly making the transition from fledgling USL club to big-money MLS franchise. Although Redding attracted European interest and toured a dozen colleges — including UCLA, South Florida and Virginia — he ultimately signed with Orlando in March 2014, committing to play the club's final season in the third division before making the jump to MLS a year later.
"I thought it was important for me to start my professional career at home because I'm very family- and friend-oriented," said Redding, who logged 15 matches as Orlando won the 2014 USL regular season title. "Even if it wasn't the first division of professional soccer, it's still much different than playing academy soccer. Everyone is bigger, everyone is faster, everyone is more technical, they have better soccer IQs — all of these things tie into it."
Redding then found himself back in the USL last summer, when Orlando sent him on loan to the Wilmington Hammerheads for the remainder of the 2015 season — at least, that was the plan. He hadn't seen a minute of MLS action while sitting behind Collin, Seb Hines and Conor Donovan, and the signing of Real Madrid product David Mateos bumped Redding further down the center back depth chart.
The teenager had only been in Wilmington for a week when he was abruptly summoned back to Orlando for an Aug. 8 match against the Philadelphia Union following an injury to Hines. So Redding flew back to Orlando that Friday, figuring he'd sit on the bench for the Saturday night match and return to Wilmington in the morning.
But a knee injury forced off Donovan after just 14 minutes, and Heath called Redding's number. For 76 minutes, Redding partnered with Collin to keep Philadelphia off the board in a 0-0 draw.
"It was a very fast 48 hours," Redding said. "I had a lot of confidence after that game. There are always doubts when you haven’t played in the league yet. After that game, seeing how it is, I knew I could do it."
While Redding now has made the transition from untested prospect to valued starter, there is still plenty of room for growth. Heath hopes to see Redding bulk up to help deal with the physicality of many MLS strikers, and the defender's shy persona is gradually giving way to a more authoritative on-the-field presence.
"Obviously he got a little frustrated last year with his lack of playing time, but we kept working with him and we felt at some stage we were going to have to put him in," Heath said. "There’s a lot of potential there, but it’s still in its infancy. He needs to work hard and get his body in a little bit better shape and get physically a little bit stronger and mentally stronger, but these are things we can work on.
"The one thing that he does have — which is probably the most important thing — is he has ability and he has talent."
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