Bob Bradley drafted three talented teenagers in the 2003 MLS SuperDraft. (Andy Mead/YCJ Photo)

In 2003, the MetroStars (now the Red Bulls) took three highly touted players among the first dozen selections in the 2003 MLS SuperDraft — Mike Magee, Eddie Gaven and Ricardo Clark. On May 23, 2013, Michael Lewis, then the editor of BigAppleSoccer.com, kicked off a four-part series on the three players. This is a repost and a sidebar to the first part of the four-part series.

By Michael Lewis

Just drafting a talented player with loads of potential doesn’t mean he will make it in Major League Soccer.

You need the right coach who can work with young players, knowledgeable enough to teach them the game and have the patience to stick with them when they make mistakes.

So, it should not be surprising that three players who were selected by the MetroStars in the 2003 MLS SuperDraft — Ricardo Clark, Eddie Gaven and Mike Magee — were grateful they taken by Bob Bradley.

“It’s rare in this league for a young guy coming in and have a guy who believes in him,” said Magee, who was traded by the LA Galaxy to the Chicago Fire on Saturday. “There were times when I was playing and maybe I shouldn’t have and I had a ton of other buddies who went to other teams who were just randomly drafted by coaches who didn’t know them and didn’t really get a chance and their careers kind of fizzled. They lost love for the game and all these other things. I was so lucky for Bob to have drafted me and to take such good care.”

Clark said he improved greatly during his rookie season thanks to Bradley, a former U.S. national coach who is currently directs the Egyptian national team.

“Yeah, I definitely think I improved a lot during my first year and I think a lot of that was due to Bob Bradley, taking me in and giving me the pointers, the playing experience I needed in the first year and just the mentality that he had and instilled into the team,” said Clark, who plays for the Houston Dynamo. “That was somewhat what I needed in my first year. It helped. I definitely improved as a player. I had a lot of experience that first year. I think it helped boot my career.”

Ditto for Gaven, who will take on the Red Bulls at Red Bull Arena on Sunday, May 26.

“I think it was huge,” he said. “Bob was such a good coach. He was very patient with the younger players, which sometimes you don’t see with some of the other coaches in this league. He was willing to work with you. He wasn’t a guy who was going to yell at you if you didn’t have a good training session or didn’t have a good game. He understood that there were going to be some bumps with some of the younger players. But he definitely puts a lot of confidence in you as well, which I think is huge when you’re that young. I am very thankful he was my coach. I definitely learned so much from him in my first few years. Definitely a very big part of why I am where I am today.”

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 25 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams for Newsday and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at Amazon.com.