What a difference a year can make.
“Twelve months ago, I was running around a track about five minutes from my house preparing for my senior season.”
Fast forward a year and Keegan Rosenberry is now training in state-of-the-art facilities and quickly becoming one of the most recognizable faces for the Philadelphia Union.
Just a few months ago, Rosenberry had finished up his senior season at Georgetown University and headed into the MLS Combine and SuperDraft not knowing what the future would hold. To his surprise and delight, he now finds himself out west, ready to help represent Philadelphia Union in the 2016 AT&T MLS All-Star Game in San Jose, Calif. His journey from a student-athlete to All-Star rookie didn’t happen overnight; in fact the work ethic that has brought him to this point has been evident from a very young age.
“Keegan always wanted to be like his dad and I believe that’s what drove him,” Candy Rosenberry, Keegan’s mother, recalls.
Striving for perfection at a young age, Candy remembers her young son waking up at 5 a.m. during elementary school so that he could run with his dad Rob before he left for work.
“Ever since I could remember, I wanted to do everything just like my dad. How I wore my socks, how I carried myself, my routine in the morning… So much of my personality comes from how I was raised, and I am extremely thankful for that,” Keegan remembers.
That work ethic carried over to Keegan’s athletic endeavors as he got older, applying his drive to wrestling, basketball, and baseball, before solely concentrating on soccer in middle school. But it wasn’t until junior year of high school that Keegan really started turning heads on the field. When college coaches began expressing their interest in the Ronks, Pa. native, Keegan and his family began to realize that he had an opportunity to turn his dreams into a reality.
“He has had some great coaches along the way that have helped him develop and created opportunities,” said Candy, noting the huge amount help they received from Jim Curtin and Brendan Burke at both the Union Academy and Reading United levels.
Keegan took his competitive nature and ran with it during his college career, earning an invitation to the MLS Combine and eventually being drafted No. 3 overall in the 2016 MLS SuperDraft. And while his professional career is still very young, Keegan has made impressive contributions to the Union this season. Starting all 21 games for the team so far, he is the only rookie in the league and only player on the team, to have played every minute of every game.
The excitement of his rookie year hit another spike as it was announced that Keegan, alongside teammate Andre Blake, had been voted to the All-Star Fan XI.
“That was crazy!” Candy said looking back at the voting results. “In the whole league, people were voting for our son!”
And with all of the nationwide attention, it might be hard for a young athlete to stay composed, but not for Keegan. The capability he shows on the field is only matched by the maturity he shows off of it, enjoying the ride but always remaining focused and level-headed. He is gracious and thankful for the opportunities presented to him and acknowledges the help he’s received from his teammates.
When questioned about the attention, the rookie defender calmly echoes sentiments similar to head coach Jim Curtin; team success brings individual success, and Keegan always puts the team first.
“I think when we get points, individuals are going to get recognized, and I’m just lucky to be one of them,” he said. “Just the way the team has performed so far, I’m happy for that first and I think individual awards are a byproduct of that. I’m just very lucky to be in the situation I’m
