

Posted by

Steve Bottjer ,

January 27, 2013 Email

Steve Bottjer

On Twitter:

@BottjerRNO

With Toronto FC signing two Designated Player strikers in the same offseason in which he has signed his first professional contract, 17-year-old forward Jordan Hamilton knows that first team minutes could be scarce for him during his first MLS campaign.



However, Hamilton, who recently earned his first call-up with the Canadian Men’s National Team, sees the presence of forwards such as Dwayne De Rosario, Jermaine Defoe and Gilberto as not just a positive for TFC as a team, but also for him as a talented but still developing striker.



“Being able to play with De Rosario was a big factor (in deciding to sign with Toronto rather than attend college in the United States),” Hamilton told RedNation Online. “Also being at home and being able to attend school and finish university part-time.”



Asked what he hopes to gain from playing and training week in, week out with players like De Rosario, Defoe and Gilberto, Hamilton admitted that he will be exposed to learning experiences that just aren’t available to young strikers plying their trade in the NCAA.



“I will be able to learn everything that a seventeen year old striker who has not trained with them won’t have,” Hamilton explained. “It is going to be amazing to learn all of their little tips and tricks to get free from the centre back, how to finish and different techniques on how to be a striker.”



The Toronto native, who cites Thierry Henry, Mario Balotelli and Adriano as striker influences, has plenty of respect for the forwards who sit above him in the pecking order at the striker position. That said, the 6 foot tall athletic left footer still has his eye on earning as many minutes as possible with TFC in 2014.



“I want to make the eighteen as much as possible,” Hamilton said. “And once I get my opportunity, I want to cement myself and show what I can do. That’s my goal this year, to make the eighteen as much as I can. I will also being working as hard as I can in training and I want to learn as much as I can in every training session.”



With Jermaine Defoe, Gilberto, Bright Dike and Andrew Wiedeman likely ahead of him on Ryan Nelsen’s striker depth chart and with TFC recently signing a one-year partnership agreement with USL Pro Club Wilmington Hammerheads FC, many have pointed to Hamilton as one player who could be loaned to Wilmington at some point so he can play regular minutes.



While his preference is to be scoring goals at BMO Field in 2014, Hamilton, who is the ninth Homegrown player in club history to sign for the first team, admitted that he would not be strongly opposed to anything that will benefit his progression as a young and up and coming professional player.



“Everything is about development at this stage right now,” Hamilton added. “I don’t know what their plans are right now. I’m going to go in and hope that the coach has the faith to keep me around and let me be an impact player who can have a positive effect on the team.”



Of course, Hamilton’s development in 2014 likely won’t only be limited to his club team. The young striker who just completed his first training camp with the Canadian National Team under the watchful eye of Head Coach Benito Floro will likely continue to be involved at various age levels with the national team program over the course of the current year.



Ultimately, Hamilton has his eye not just on success in 2014, but also in the years to come, as the much lauded youngster sees himself as one player among a group of rising Canadian players who have the potential to excel for both club and country in the coming years.



“It would be a dream to be a hero for Canada and score a lot of goals,” Hamilton said. “But a striker can’t score without his teammates and I know we have a lot of good young talent. I hope we can all come together and stay positive. As you have seen over the years, a lot of young talent fizzes out, so I hope we can really come together and do something special.”



Follow Jordan Hamilton on Twitter at @jayhams.