A conversation with New York City FC Homegrown, Andres Jasson

Andres Jasson signed a Homegrown contract with the New York City Football Club on November 19, 2020. He is the club's fifth Homegrown after winning back-to-back U-19 national titles with the New York City FC Academy.

Jasson is a freshman at Yale University where he was planning to play last fall before considering a deal with the first team at NYCFC. But the pandemic struck and things changed for the 19-year old native of Greenwich, Connecticut who went to high school with fellow Homegrown, James Sands.

Here is my conversation with Jasson who lists his influences as Lionel Messi and Stephen Curry and he continues to take classes at Yale in the midst of preseason training in Florida.

NYCFC Homegrown, Andres Jasson, has started all three scrimmages for the club and played a role in three of the four goals scored for City.

Glenn Crooks: You intended to compete at Yale last fall. When did things change as far as New York City FC?

Andres Jasson: Originally my plan was to play soccer at Yale and develop both physically on the field and also in the classroom and I thought that was something that could be really useful for me, then obviously with the pandemic the season was canceled and that kind of made me rethink my plans and the process that I saw for my development.

GC: So, that kind of accelerated the Homegrown process. Is that where the discussions started to get a little bit more serious? I know Ronny Deila had you in preseason last year and was encouraged.

AJ: It's kind of been an ongoing conversation that I've had with the club just throughout the academy and I think it was always something that I really wanted to do, but I also always valued education and I thought just try and get some school in first and develop a little bit, get stronger, and then come and do it. With the pandemic it kind of changed a lot and it became possible to do both at the same time. It was really a no brainer if I could come develop and still do school.

GC: You are involved in on-line classes while you're trying to train so what's that like?

AJ: I think it's being proactive really just understanding that I'm not going be able to be at every class but most of them are recorded. So, it’s just finding times to watch classes whether it's after training or at night in between meetings - make sure that I just stay on top of it because as soon as you kind of have a tough day of training get in bed, take a nap and then next thing you know you're three classes behind so just make sure I stay on top of it.

GC: That must be difficult with your teammates probably playing FIFA and other games while you've got to buckle down and study.

AJ: Yeah, I think I've been able to have a pretty good balance. Making sure that I do pick days where I have a bit more free time and spend that time with teammates, just get to know them and bond. And then when I am in my room just be in my bed and relax or doing something that doesn't take up energy.

GC: How much did being part of the 2020 preseason help what you're going through now?

AJ: I think it helps a lot. Knowing the other Homegrowns but also knowing some of the other guys on the team being more comfortable with them, talking to them, kind of asking their opinions.

GC: Who do you find that you hang with mostly on the team. Is there someone you've connected with or a group that you've connected with a little bit more?

AJ: I've known James (Sands) for a really long time, I went to high school with him so definitely James, and then Justin (Haak) Tavon (Gray). But then also, Keaton (Parks) and Tony (Rocha). I think they kind of had similar backgrounds to me and they can really give a lot of advice on school and also just the soccer side of it.

GC: Tavon along with Joe Scally and Gio Reyna – all former NYCFC Academy players. You all played in the U17 World Cup together.

AJ:  It's amazing to see that we all came from the academy, training at St John's every night to then seeing Gio at Dortmund and Scally with Borussia Monchengladbach so it's been really great to kind of come up through the ranks with them and experience all these things together.

GC:  James has been very much transparent about his desire to play in Europe. Do you have those same dreams? (Sands recently signed a new five-year contract extension with NYCFC).

AJ: I’m just starting so it's important to focus on one season, one game at a time. A long range goal of mine has always been to play in Europe and I think most players in America and around the world that's really the end goal. My main goal right now is to do well here and establish myself here and then if I am doing well try and make a move to Europe like some of my former teammates.

GC: Your father is Argentinian and your mother is from Spain. Your father played rugby not soccer, I didn't even know that rugby existed in Argentina.

AJ: Yeah, he played a bit of rugby and a bit of soccer. He kind of did it all growing up and when I was younger I used to play a bit of rugby until I was about 10 or 11. So, I was influenced a little bit there.

GC: When I look at your major athletic influences, one is Leonel Messi which makes sense. But the other one is Steph Curry. Are you a hoops guy and was there ever a time where you looked at hoops, like maybe this is what I want to do. Although at five-foot eight or nine maybe that was holding you back?

AJ: When I was younger I wasn't too into basketball but in high school I got into it a little bit more. And just watching with my friends but I never played too seriously. But I love watching and I think Steph is a big role model just because of his size, his technique and what he's done in the league. I think it shows that with hard work, anyone can be at the top of their game.

GC: His specialty is three pointers so are shots outside of the area one of your specialties?

AJ: I would say that's something that I think I can definitely improve on. Every once in a while I can have a nice shot from distance but I think for Steph what I look at a lot is just his technique and how good he is at those little details and making the right pass and I think that's something that I really take to the soccer side of it.

GC: Were there any other sports where you excelled and would have fit in before soccer?

AJ: Never before soccer. Soccer has always been my favorite sport. Growing up I played a lot of different sports like lacrosse, tennis, squash all those different types of sports which I think in the end have helped a lot with footwork and being able to just kind of handle different situations.

GC: Messi is another athlete you look up to. That's not unusual, especially for an attacking player but you've indicated that you watch him closely and really have picked things up from him.

AJ: I think when you when you look at Messi there's never a time when you can't learn more from him. He's the best in the world for a reason and I think for me personally seeing someone who's a smaller guy who's able to receive the ball in a pocket and keep a touch super close - I think that's one thing that I've learned is that his ability to keep the ball super close at all times is what gives him that ability to go left or right. And I think another thing that I've learned from him is timing. It's not IF he's going to drop the shoulder, but when. He knows that defenders are waiting for it but he uses that ability to make it at the right time when the defender steps or when the defender off balance.

GC: For those who haven't seen you play a lot, what are some of the things that we could look for in your game?

AJ: I think we see a creative player who loves getting on the ball and loves trying to create different things whether it's on the dribble or through passing or shooting and I think I'm a hard working player offensively and defensively. I love to work hard defensively. I love learning and I think Maxi on our team is someone who I really look up to day to day. He's someone who's really at the top of the game and really understands everyone's positioning on the field.

GC: You started the first preseason scrimmage wide. Do you see yourself there? There is not much depth behind Maxi at the No. 10 so are you getting reps on the inside as well.? (Note: Jasson has started three scrimmages, all wide left – he’s drawn two penalties and an assist),

AJ: I think it's important to be able to be versatile be able to play out wide or playing in the middle. I think right now for me it probably is wide but I think as I develop and as time passes, maybe move a little bit more towards the center.

GC: Unless a transfer comes in, it would appear you're in the mix to get some minutes. You’ve earned a starting spot early on so good things must be happening in preseason.

AJ: I think it all starts with feeling that trust from the coach and the staff and I think when you reward the coach also by doing things that he asks making the runs that he wants. I think that always helps. Really, it's just making sure that if I do get opportunities to play I make the most of them and then go from there. Obviously, being a young guy, I have to be patient.

GC: If you are given a regular chance to play, whether it's in a starting role or in a significant reserve role, what's the expectation for supporters? How many goals do you have in you for 2021?

AJ: Hopefully, I can score a few. That's definitely a goal of mine to be productive and get on the scoresheet. I don't want to give a number but hopefully there's a few this year.

GC: You speak three languages – English, Spanish and French. Why did you learn French?

AJ: I obviously spoke Spanish and English growing up and in school we had a choice of couple different languages. I didn't want to take Spanish because I already knew it and it wasn't really going to be useful, so I took French. I think it came pretty easily just because I knew Spanish. I worked pretty hard to just make sure I could use the language speak the language. Sometimes with Maxime (Chanot) just speaking French for fun and making sure that I kind of keep using it.

GC: There are benefits to speaking Spanish on NYCFC, right?

AJ: I think it helps a lot, especially when you want to ask questions and want to learn from guys. You know they can take the time and speak in Spanish but also in a game when you need something like a quick movement. You can say it in Spanish because some of the guys don't understand all the English terms so it's definitely very useful to be able to communicate with them in Spanish.

GC: How is your on-field relationship with Taty Castellanos developing?

AJ: I think a lot over the first few weeks. I've kind of just been getting used to his runs in the box especially when I'm on the ball to cross. And that's something that after practice, we'll talk about based on where the position of the ball is where the center backs are. He kind of tells me what runs he likes to make so I have a good idea of where to put the ball.

GC: Your father grew up in Buenos Aires – so is it Boca Juniors or River Plate?

AJ: He's a River fan so I'm a River fan.

GC: Okay, you’ve got no choice there. Is there any player that you watch on a regular basis that you feel like is similar to your style?

AJ: When I watch Manchester City, I think Bernardo Silva is a big player that I can kind of try and look at and emulate. And Phil Foden is unbelievable at playing between the lines. So, I think looking at those guys and just picking up little things that they do and just trying to see why they do them and try to implement that into my game.