Justen Glad: from the Academy to the Armband

April 5, 2023 – MLS NEXT Pro (MLS NEXT Pro) – Real Monarchs News Release

On April 1, 2023, in Columbus, Ohio, 26-year-old Justen Glad became the first Real Salt Lake Homegrown to walk out of the tunnel with a captain’s armband around their bicep before a Major League Soccer match. Glad, who signed his first professional deal with RSL nine years prior, made history, while also encapsulating the development pathway each and every RSL Academy player hopes to play through.

From beginning in the Academy, cutting his teeth with Real Monarchs, to becoming RSL’s seventh ever Homegrown signing, making his first team debut at the age of 18 back in 2015 to now wearing the captain’s armband.

After the match, sitting in the postmatch press conference room, he took a moment to reflect on what it meant to captain the Club he grew up with.

“It’s a huge honor,” Glad said. “It’s something I’ve dreamed about since I was in the Academy so I’m honored that they bestowed me with it.”

Glad has been leading the torch of RSL Homegrowns for a while now, last season becoming the first Homegrown to be named Club MVP, just the third ever defender to win it, and the first domestic player since former RSL Captain Kyle Beckerman to be named the Club’s most valuable player. Additionally, he was the first RSL Homegrown to eclipse 100 appearances and will become the first to reach 200 when he does so later this summer.

“All the captains before me, I’ve looked up to and have been mentors, and incredible leaders so I’m honored to be in the same sentence as them. Hopefully there’s more to come and I can carry that torch like the captains that I’ve grown up with and watched and played with.”

When Glad was first breaking into the team, he credited previous captains like Kyle Beckerman and Nick Rimando with helping him grow.

“They help me a lot,” said Glad back in 2016. “Even just in practice they’re always telling me little pointers. Even if you’re just looking at them the way they take care of their bodies, the way they are professionals off the field as well, you pick up a ton of stuff.”

Now, nearly a decade into his career with Real Salt Lake the tables have turned, and he’s the one giving out said pointers, helping out the younger players developing behind him.

This includes up and coming Homegrown defender Bode Hidalgo who in many aspects resembles that of a young 21-year-old Glad.

From Beckerman and Rimando to Glad and now Glad to Hidalgo, the leadership of those before is paying…