

Posted by

Steve Bottjer ,

July 14, 2014 Email

Steve Bottjer

On Twitter:

@BottjerRNO

While Designated Players Jermain Defoe and Michael Bradley have come through as advertised for Toronto FC as the club makes its way through what the TFC brass are hoping will be a breakthrough season for the club, one other thing that has become abundantly clear is General Manager Tim Bezbatchenko and company have made a number of canny moves in addition to the offseason signings of the team’s marquee talent.



In addition to having role players such as Justin Morrow, Mark Bloom and Bradley Orr play important parts in the team’s progress to date, recently acquired players such as Dominic Oduro, Collen Warner and Luke Moore have stepped right into the lineup and contributed.



Even more impressively, especially when compared to past years with the Reds, Ryan Nelsen has seen rookies Nick Hagglund and Dan Lovitz contribute in matches and deliver performances that have suggested that both youngsters can be key squad players for years to come.



While Hagglund arrived in Toronto with much fanfare as the 10th pick in the 2014 MLS SuperDraft, Lovitz came to the club as an unheralded second round pick and has in recent weeks has been a regular impact second half substitute for TFC Head Coach Ryan Nelsen.



Asked to describe his mindset over his first several weeks playing at the Major League Soccer level, Lovitz was quick to admit that he has been trying to keep the game simple and to play to his strengths.



“I need to make the most of every opportunity I get on the field and to make an impact every time I come on,” Lovitz told RedNation. “It just feels good to contribute.”



“I was a little bit surprised to get the call up so soon, but you can’t dwell on that or try to wonder what is going on,” the 22 year old winger added. “You just have to look forward and see what you have to do. I knew I was going to be here for a month or two at least, so I knew there would be time for me to impact the team and help it the best I could. I feel like I am taking the right steps to do that and I just want to keep a positive attitude and learn as much as I can while I am here.”



To date Nelsen has utilized Lovitz exclusively as an attacking option off the bench and the Elon University product has taken to that role exceptionally well as a young player who is both comfortable running at opposition players with the ball at his feet and as a provider capable of delivering a quality ball both during the run of play and on set pieces.



“I think it is just a lot of me doing my game,” Lovitz explained. “They know the type of player I am and, as long as I can get used to and acclimate to the style of play that we like to implement here in Toronto, the better I will able to fit in and start making a case to make some starts further down the line.”



While he has taken confidence from both his success on the pitch to date and the trust that Nelsen has shown in him, the Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania native was also quick to admit that every day is a learning experience for him.



“I’m still learning, progressing and trying to develop my craft,” Lovitz said. “The supporting cast here is incredible. The coaching staff has taken a lot of time helping me out and I couldn’t ask for a better situation.”



“By no means do I or any of the other young players on the team take for granted that we have guys like (Jermain Defoe, Michael Bradley, Steven Caldwell and Dwayne De Rosario) who we can feed off of and learn from every day,” he added. “It is really incredible and hard to put into words what you see and what you learn. I’m thankful to the club for bringing those guys in because it only speeds up my development and helps me to grow as a person and as a player.”



Lovitz also admitted that it has not hurt his development to have a Head Coach who was playing as a top flight defender in the English Premier League not that long ago.



“To be fair, that is where my game lacks the most,” Lovitz explained. “So to come here where there is such an emphasis on our defensive posture and mentality, it’s just great to immediately target a weakness of mine and immediately get it out of the way and to make sure that I can be member of team who can help the team with regard to how we defend. It’s been incredible for my development so far and every day in training I just want to learn as much as I can and to get better. The games are a great opportunity to implement what I am learning.”



Just as Doneil Henry and Ashtone Morgan have become symbols of the success of the TFC Academy program, Lovitz now finds himself as something of a trailblazer at the club given that he is the first player to have spent time with Toronto FC’s USL Pro affiliate the Wilmington Hammerheads and then returned to make an impact with the club.



“Wilmington has incredible set up and we were very well coached,” Lovitz said. “There is a lot continuity that comes with players going up and down. I might be the first player to show there is a positive alliance there but there are three guys there now who will be the same type of story and I can’t wait to see them back up here. Hopefully we can foster a great relationship with the team down there and can continue to pump out a lot of players.”