In 2014, Wil Trapp emerged as one of the best young midfielders in MLS. In 2015, he could be the driving force behind a Columbus Crew title run.

Thierry Henry is one of the legends of the sport of soccer, so his opinions tends to carry more weight than most. That made it extremely impressive when, faced with questions about the Columbus Crew after a match with the New York Red Bulls last Fall, the French star proceeded to utter one name over and over without even being asked about him.

"Wil Trapp. Wil Trapp. Wil Trapp," Henry told media that day, and he added a few more for good measure as reporters tried to ask about other players.

Henry was far from the only person to come away impressed last year with the young Crew midfielder. Trapp enjoyed a breakout 2014 as one of the key reasons for a dramatic turnaround by Columbus, emerging as one of the most complete, and unique, midfielders in MLS. Combining skill and vision with an edge and tenacity that has catapulted him into the conversation of best defensive midfielders in MLS.

Trapp's ability to effectively connect the defense to attack, stifling opposing attacks while sparking them for his team, helped turn the Crew into a playoff team that played some of the best soccer in MLS over the course of the last three months of the 2014 regular season. His play earned him a U.S. national team call-up this winter, and he made his U.S. debut in last month's friendly loss to Chile.

Not bad for a player who turned 22 just last month, and who left college soccer little more than two years ago.

Trapp's rapid ascent could be attributed to the work of several coaches along the way, but it was the efforts of two men in particular that have helped catapult Trapp's career. Portland Timbers coach Caleb Porter coached Trapp at the University of Akron, and was the most influential person in terms of moilding Trapp's game. Then you have Columbus Crew coach Gregg Berhalter, who arrived in Columbus before the 2014 season with a system and style of player perfectly suited for Trapp.

Porter saw something special in Trapp when he brought him to Akron in 2011, but he saw Trapp being perfectly suited for a position he had yet to really play in his career. Trapp reached Akron as more of a two-way midfielder, but more of an attack-minded player than defensive midfielder. Porter saw the qualities in Trapp to be an international caliber holding midfielder.

There was one problem though. Trapp needed to become tougher. He needed to be nastier. At least Porter felt so, and he spent much of the next two years pushing Trapp to improve and add some bite to his game.

"There were times I had to be brutally honest and tell him ‘Listen, if you’re not going to become a better ball-winner, nobody’s going to want a holding mid that can’t defend'," Porter told Goal USA. "It was never an attitude or a mentality or desire to defend that was the issue. It was just becoming a bit harder as a player, more tenacious. He needed a little more bite in the tackle, bite and fight in that role."

"I had to wrestle with it a little bit, for sure," Trapp recalled of his transition to holding midfielder. "It’s not easy to go from how you’ve played your whole life and then switching it in two months, but I enjoyed it. I like sitting a little bit deeper, seeing the passes, orchestrating the guys in front of me in terms of leadership both on the offensive side and defensive side."

As for the tough love Porter showed in pushing Trapp as a player? Trapp recalls the experience fondly, though he admitted it was tough to take at times.

“It takes a certain player to respond to (Porter's) coaching style, and I loved it," Trapp told Goal USA. "He puts you through the ringer, and it’s a test every day, and you have to be sharp. Some guys couldn’t handle it, and I was fortunate enough to be one that could. His coaching style is one that made me better in a way. He almost just pisses you off and you want to prove him wrong every day. You want to focus on your weaknesses and improve them so he has nothing to say to you at the end."

Berhalter's arrival in Columbus was a godsend for the Crew, and especially for Trapp, who fit perfectly into the system Berhalter wanted to employ, a possession-style approach that helped the Crew quickly become one of the best teams in the league at keeping the ball and dominating opponents with effective possession. Trapp and midfield partner Tony Tchani formed one of the league's best partnerships, and drove a team that finished the regular season on a 10-3-2 run.

"Gregg implementing a style that suits the way I play, and utilizes my strengths, was huge for me," Trapp said. "Having that confidence from a head coach, and playing in a system where I know what to do, I know exactly my role and the guys around me, has been one of the most fortunate things to happen to me."

Berhalter was well aware of Trapp's talent and potential when he took the Crew coaching job a year ago, but even he admits to having come away impressed with how smoothly Trapp adapted.

"It takes advantage of his really high soccer IQ, and his good vision and range of passing. That’s the most important thing. He’s confident, he has courage to get on the ball in difficult positions and he has leadership qualities. it’s one of those cases where the system fits the player and the player fits the system.

"The biggest thing that surprised me is his control. It’s been good watching that develop," Berhalter said. "There were those games early in the year where we felt he lost a little bit of control, but he was able to gather that as the year went on. He really understands the game. He studies the game and it’s good to have players like that. When you want to have conversations you want to give instructions, he picks it up very quickly, and it’s great to coach a player like that."

A longtime fixture in the U.S. youth national team setup, including as a key figure on the 2013 U.S. Under-20 World Cup team, Trapp had his first taste of the senior natonal team experience last month in U.S. camp and while he did have a shaky performance in his national team debut, he still left his first camp having impressed yet another coach.

"We are very, very pleased," U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann said of Trapp during the national team's recent camp. "He came in here very prepared, very focused and he's a sponge, but he's a proactive sponge. He speaks up. He's not shy. He's confident with himself and he got now the first introduction now to another level of speed and of all these elements that we're talking all the time and it was totally cool the way he introduced himself against Chile, that you are nervous, that you lose some balls. This is just normal. Coming back here, he's picked it up right away and everyday you see him grow."

"It’s a completely different animal than any youth national team game you’re going to play in," Trapp said of his national team debut. "There’s nerves when you play in your first game and all you can do is try and get that out of your system. I’m not too concerned about it. Obviously I wish I could have played better, and the team could have won, but all you can do is focus on the next game."

For Trapp, the focus is back on the Crew, and helping Columbus improve on 2014, when the team saw a strong finish to the regular season abruptly halted by a painful playoff exit.

"This past year was so valuable to us because we didn’t do well in the playoffs and we didn’t have a lot of experience at the end of the season and it hurt," Trapp said. "To come into that series (against New England) and lay an egg was so disappointing for all of us.

"I know it kind of haunts all of us. Now that the experience is past, and we know how to approach those games differently, and you know you have to be more locked in, we’re so motivated because of that loss so it’s great."

If the Crew are going to improve on 2014, Trapp will have a major part to play in that progression. He is already focused on areas to improve on in 2015, and the player Porter calls a perfectionist is poised to make the jump from breakout youngster to MLS All-Star and potential U.S. national team fixture.

Before he reaches those lofty goals, Trapp will need to continue evolving, and the fighting spirit forged during those years at Akron will continue to drive a player who is on the neverending quest to play the perfect match and be the type of player that can leave even the most demanding coaches satisfied.

“Wil would be the first one to tell you he needs to improve in a lot of areas, and I think that’s what makes him hungry and what gives him the desire to be at the next level,” Berhalter said. “This is just the beginning of the road for Wil, and he realizes that. He’s going to have a long career and he’s really just getting started.”