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Portland Timbers Academy Director Mike Smith gives directions to members of the club's U-18 academy team at training Monday, March 21, 2016.

(Jamie Goldberg/Staff)

In 2015, Gavin Wilkinson sat down with the Portland Timbers academy staff to discuss ways in which the organization could enhance its development academy program.

Over the previous four years, the club had created a structure to develop talented youth players in the community through the academy, but now the Timbers wanted to build on that foundation in hopes of turning the program into an effective pipeline into the first team.

They made the decision to set a new goal. The organization would increase its investment in the academy with the expectation of developing a player capable of contributing to the first team each year from 2020 on.

"Last year, we took a deeper dive into the academy," said Wilkinson, the Timbers president of soccer. "We looked at where we were letting ourselves down and what we needed to do to raise the expectations."

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In 2008, Major League Soccer made the decision to begin incentivizing teams to develop talent through their academy programs and grow youth soccer in their communities.

The league developed the "Homegrown Player Rule," which allows clubs to sign players from their academies directly to their first teams through special homegrown contracts. Every team in MLS has a homegrown territory that it can draw players from for its academy program.

U.S. National Team players Bill Hamid, Gyasi Zardes, Wil Trapp and Jordan Morris are just a few MLS academy products that have become starters for their respective MLS clubs. One of the most notable academy products of recent years was DeAndre Yedlin, who moved to English Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur for a $4 million transfer fee after strong performances in the 2014 FIFA World Cup and with the Seattle Sounders.

The Portland Timbers signed Brent Richards as their first-ever homegrown player in 2012. He now plays for the club's USL team T2.

The Timbers have signed just two homegrown players in Brent Richards and Steven Evans and acquired another homegrown player from D.C. United in Michael Seaton, but have yet to sign a player directly from their academy since starting the program in 2012 or have a homegrown player become a serious contributor with the first team.

They are taking steps to change that.

In just the last six months, the Timbers have brought in former Chicago Fire academy director Larry Sunderland to serve as their youth technical director, hired a full-time fitness coach, equipment manager and athletic trainer to work with the academy teams, instructed their college scouts throughout the country to start scouting youth players and added a U-14 academy team to go along with their existing U-16 and U-18 teams in hopes of impacting players at a younger age.

"All of what we're going through now, where the Timbers academy is now, it's an evolution that many of the MLS clubs have already gone through because they've been around longer," Sunderland said. "It's really critical to understand that player development is a long-term process."

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The Timbers currently have just over 60 players competing in their academy system, though the program extends much further than the three academy squads.

The organization now has relationships with seven alliance clubs (up from five in 2013) across their homegrown territory in Oregon and southern Washington. These clubs work with the Timbers to bring Portland's style of play and training methods to their players and help identify athletes that might be good fits for the academy. In addition, the Timbers now have seven regional training centers across Oregon and in Vancouver, Washington where talented players as young as 11 can receive training close to home from the Timbers organization.

"We felt that we could have a bigger influence on players by training them when they're a bit younger and having them in our system for five or six years," Timbers academy director Mike Smith said. "With our professional coaching staff and with the professional environment, we can exert a bigger influence on their development."

Timbers Academy Director Mike Smith is working hard to try to grow the Timbers academy program and development structure.

The alliance clubs and regional training centers are the first rungs on the Timbers developmental ladder. The club can scout players in the training centers and alliance clubs for the academy team. The top players could then eventually move through the academy program to the club's U-23 PDL team then to their USL team, T2, and then finally to the first team.

If players aren't ready to make the jump from the academy to the pro level, the Timbers help them through the college process. Some players might return to the Timbers after further developing in college, while others will move on to different careers.

"For the vast majority who are not going to turn pro, we want to give them the best opportunity to go to college," Smith said.

Along with expanding their influence in Oregon, the Timbers have also benefited from the recent growth of their homegrown territory.

Portland, which had the smallest homegrown territory in all of MLS when it started its academy in 2012, was granted two satellite homegrown territories last year in Idaho and New Mexico where it can identify even more talented young players for the academy program.

While the Timbers are still working on building their footprint in New Mexico - where they share a homegrown territory with the Colorado Rapids - the organization has already made inroads in Idaho.

They have developed a relationship with the Idaho Youth Soccer Association, created regional training centers in the state, are in talks with possible alliance clubs in the area and are building their brand by sending T2 to play a game in Boise, Idaho in June.

"Our homegrown territory is still smaller than other MLS teams and there's a constraint there, but it's definitely something that we will overcome," Sunderland said. "It's just about having the right mentality. We just have to keep grinding away at what we're doing."

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It's a slow process, but the Timbers have already begun to see their additional investment in the academy pay off.

The organization has had two players relocate from Idaho to join the Timbers academy in Portland and the increased emphasis on scouting has helped the club attract a deep pool of players to its U-16 academy team.

U-16 academy player Adrian Villegas, who was first identified by the Timbers when he was 11 through a regional training center, has received multiple call-ups to the U.S. youth national teams.

Still, the Timbers are continuing to look at more ways to enhance the academy program moving forward. They are hoping to further strengthen their development structure and give their players the best opportunities to succeed by bringing in more coaches and setting up individualized development plans for some of their best players.

"Without a shadow of a doubt, we can always get better at it," Smith said. "We're still fairly young in the academy process and we're evolving."

-- Jamie Goldberg | jgoldberg@oregonian.com

503-853-3761 | @jamiebgoldberg