SJM_BrendenAaronson_People_7_19_Reg1_Dept 6 / 28 / 19 9 : 50 AM Page 1 but in a good way , and it happened for the better for me . I took the chance and it’s been going really well . S J M | P E O P L E Competing against grown men … I think the physicality is the biggest P thing . These guys are a lot bigger and stronger so I have to use my body in a different way . I have to think the game and not get in these physical battles . I’ve always been small for most of my life , so it’s something I got used to at a young age . I’ve had to learn the game Teenage through thinking and not just using my physical attributes . His mentor on the Union … Dream Haris Medunjanin ; he’s the 6 for us . He’s AT JUST 18 YEARS OLD , MEDFORD’S unbelievable . We were roommates in the preseason and he’s helped me so much . BRENDEN AARONSON IS LIVING OUT HIS I can’t thank him enough . He always FANTASY AS A PROFESSIONAL SOCCER gives me tips and we’re super close . PLAYER FOR THE PHILADELPHIA UNION . by Matt Cosentino Scoring a goal in his first game … Coming from a kid who grew up having here are times , Brenden Aaronson admits , when he thinks about what it season tickets and going to every single would be like to be a “ normal teenager . ” As the friends he grew up with in Union game when I was little , it was def - Medford were spending their final year of high school doing fun things like T initely surreal . In the moment I wasn’t senior trip and prom , he was going to work every day . even thinking about it , but afterward it But it helps that his job just so happens to be the one he has been dreaming about hits you . It’s like , ‘ Oh my God , what just since he was 5 years old . A professional soccer player , Aaronson is in his rookie happened ? ’ Then I was getting all these season as a midfielder for the Philadelphia Union in Major League Soccer ( MLS ) . text messages telling me ‘ Congrats . ’ It hit So while he certainly missed out on certain experiences had he stayed on the tra - me that I just scored a goal for the team ditional path , getting the chance to play the sport he loves in front of thousands of I’ve been playing for since I was 13 years fans is a pretty good trade - off . old and going to their games since I was “ I think if you want to be a pro at something , you have to leave some things 10 . It was pretty crazy . behind , ” Aaronson says . “ You have to leave the social life behind you and all the other fun things that you’re going to have throughout high school . You just have to take that Attending Union games as a kid … step . There were some nights I was missing all of those things ; I felt bad and I wanted I think they played their first season at to go back . But it was worth it because of where I am . You just have to shake the other the Eagles ’ stadium , but I was at the first stuff off and follow your dream . ” game at Talen [ Energy Stadium ] , which Aaronson has been standing out from the crowd since his days playing for Med - was PPL Park at the time . I remember ford Soccer Club and Real New Jersey , a South Jersey club led by his father , Rusty . He going to the games and how awesome it eventually became one of the first players accepted to the Philadelphia Union was . Soccer was finally becoming big in Academy program and went on to star as an amateur for Bethlehem Steel FC , a pro - the U.S . When I was younger all I used fessional club affiliated with the Union . Last September , about a month before his 18th birthday , he signed a homegrown contract with the Union and he made his MLS debut in March , scoring a goal against Atlanta United FC . He has emerged as a starter at central attacking midfield , all while completing his senior year at YSC Academy , the school he transferred to after spending his freshman year at Shawnee . South Jersey Magazine recently caught up with Aaronson to discuss the highlights of his rookie season , his future goals and his favorite Jersey Shore town . Adjusting to pro soccer … It’s kind of been crazy , because it all came out of nowhere , I guess you could say . Going into this year as a rookie , I didn’t really think I would play this much . Things didn’t work out in the way we planned , SOUTH JERSEY MAGAZINE volume 16 issue 4 SouthJerseyMagazine.com 36 |