After six years as a pro, Jack McInerney grows up

MONTREAL - If you think a long time has passed since the Union traded Jack McInerney away, you are not alone. Even though it has been just 19 months, so much has happened to him that his tenure at PPL Park feels like a distant past.

Back then, McInerney was a proverbial baby-faced assassin. The Chattanooga native was drafted by the Union at age 17 ahead of its inaugural season team in 2010, and made his professional debut in the team's first ever Major League Soccer game. He had no choice but to grow up quickly.

At times, he did so - especially during a from late June of 2012 to early June of 2013 in which he scored 18 goals in 36 games, leading to a place on the U.S. national team roster for the 2013 Gold Cup.

At other times, McInerney was still a kid, and it showed. He suffered a 14-game goalless drought after returning from the Gold Cup. He was prone to temper flashes on the field, and like many U.S. youth national team phenoms had a bit of cocksureness off it.

He also earned a pretty big salary as a Generation Adidas player: from $116,000 as a rookie in 2010 to $230,000 in 2014. A looming bill for over $334,000 in 2015 was one of the many reasons why it wasn't surprising that the Union shipped him to Montreal last year.

That move started a whirlwind period of his career. First came the culture clash of adjusting to a new team, city, culture and language. Then he was part of the Impact's historic run to the CONCACAF Champions League final, scoring big goals in the semifinal and final rounds.

But just over three months after stepping onto one of North American soccer's biggest stages, he was deemed surplus to requirements and dealt to Columbus. And he has made just five appearances in black and gold, with just two starts.

Riding that kind of career roller coaster would be tough for any MLS player, never mind one who turned 23 the day after Montreal shipped him out. Spending much of one's career as a backup striker burdened with the label of "unfulfilled potential" only makes matters worse.

Yet as I approached McInerney in the visitors' locker room at Stade Saputo last Sunday, I could tell that he has legitimately grown up. That once-young face is now a bit more grizzled, that once-small frame has more muscle on it.

Even though he didn't play in Columbus' 2-1 loss to the Impact in the first leg of their Eastern Conference semifinal playoff series, he was no less visible a presence postgame than anyone who did. So while the rest of the team focused on the night's result, I sought him out to chat for a few minutes about the bigger picture. He didn't hold back.

McInerney's time with the Union clearly still means a lot to him. He remains close with former teammates, especially Amobi Okugo and Zac MacMath.

"It's everything - those are guys that not only I played on the Union with, I played before [with] coming up in residency and youth games," he said. "We'll be friends for as long as we're around the league and still in touch. We talk every other day in a group chat, fantasy football, stuff like that."

That all three men are no longer with the team that first brought them into the professional ranks is not lost on any of them.

"You never know when you're going to run into each other," he said. "It's a small world and trades happen every day. We could all end up on the same team again one day, you never know."

The world may be small, but there are still a lot of different parts within it. McInerney has seen almost the full range, from Philadelphia's size to Montreal's flair to Columbus' homeliness.

He has also seen the highs and lows of each city's soccer culture. The change from the Union's lack of local recognition to the Impact's prominence was especially sharp. It hit him right from his first practice in Montreal, when he was greeted by a flood of reporters and cameramen the likes of which he never saw in Philadelphia.

"Going from Philly to Montreal was definitely a culture shock," he said. "You have 20 or 30 reporters in front of your face after a game... You can turn on the TV at night and your Tuesday training session is going to be on TV."

McInerney admitted that he " never knew what to expect" as he made his way through the city. Part of that came from not knowing French, the city's dominant language, when he arrived. But he said he and other Americans who've played for the Impact appreciate the diverse city's passion for the world's game.

"It's definitely something the players enjoy," he said. "They like the pressure that comes with playing in a city [that] has such a different culture, a European culture. They enjoy their soccer."

He admitted, though, that life in Columbus is a lot easier. McInerney has relatives in the region, and it's an easy flight to his longtime hometown of Atlanta.

"I'm definitely happy," he said. "I've scored a couple of goals and the team is doing well, which is a big part of why."

McInerney praised Columbus coach Gregg Berhalter and the team's front office for building a culture "that makes the transition easy for you."

He has also learned how to make transitions easier for himself. That has been a big part of his maturation.

"There's things you have to do, things you have to adjust to on and off the field that you don't experience anywhere else," he said. "In this league, you have to expect anything. With these trades it's just really about getting an opportunity and making the most of it. Anything can happen."

McInerney has matured on the field as much as he has off it. The best example is this: Even though the Impact and Union were built on lone-striker formations, with both teams he publicly stated that he wanted to play in a 4-4-2 because he felt it suited him best. He gave the impression of not wanting to adjust his own game.

In both situations, he hadn't earned the right to dictate those terms. With the Union (whatever you might think of John Hackworth as a coach), he was young and unproven. With the Impact, he was just a backup to Marco Di Vaio, the team's on-field leader and biggest star.

At some point during his time in Montreal, McInerney finally put his personal desires aside and went to work. Because of that maturation, he's now just fine flying solo up top in Columbus.

"They like the forward to sit up top, be on the opposite side of the ball, and when the ball's in the box you do your thing and make your runs," McInerney said of Columbus' tactics. "It's all about movement here, and I think whether we're down 3-0 or we're up 2-1, [Berhalter] still wants us to move the ball and pass it out of the back no matter the result. That puts a lot of pressure on the players to have a good touch and move and pass and play a pretty, attacking style of soccer."

For as well as McInerney has fit into Berhalter's system, he is still a backup - this time to likely MVP runner-up Kei Kamara. But unlike those previous years, McInerney isn't complaining now.

"My opportunity will come when I have a chance to be on the field full time," he said. "I've just got to keep my head up and keep playing."

That opportunity might not come in Columbus, because McInerney's contract expires at the end of this year. It is another sign of his growth that he's willing to face his uncertain future head-on.

"I don't know if I'll be here next year, but the team is doing well and I've contributed, and whatever happens, happens," he said. "So going forward I'll be happy to be anywhere, really. I don't care."

The last question I asked McInerney was one of the simplest I put to him, but also the toughest: what are the most important things he has learned since leaving the Union?

He paused for a moment.

"Different styles of play, learning different ways to play the game, and how to be a professional," he said.

That last word is the one that sums up so much of his career to date: professional. Being professional is about more than just getting paid to play a sport. It's a state of mind. Over the years, McInerney has learned some hard lessons about what it takes to get the mental side of things right. And because he has done so, he's finally in a position to head back toward the potential that so many once saw in him.