By Mark Tienken

The New York Red Bulls were among the first professional soccer organizations to set the standard for player development in Major League Soccer. They were the first professional team to boast a satellite based, academy feeder system, known today as the Regional Development School (RDS). Recent years have seen an increasing number of players graduate from the RDS onto the Red Bulls Academy, and participation in the RDS is now widely recognized as the most successful route into the Academy teams.

Intended only for elite boys and girls aged 8 to 14, the RDS comprises the very best talent on Long Island born in each calendar year from 1998 to 2003, and only players actively registered with an LIJSL club are eligible to take advantage of this exclusive training opportunity.

In our efforts to make more people aware of the program, we thought the best thing to do was to let everyone hear from one of the player’s who is already in the program. Special thanks to Mark Tienken and his family for taking the time to share his experiences and put them down in words. This week is just a quick introduction to Mark. Check back later this month for stories from his summer soccer journal.

To Read Mark's first Journal Entry from earlier this summer click here.

My dream has always been to become a professional soccer player, but when I started playing, things weren’t easy.

I wish I could say that I come from a family with great soccer experience, but I don’t. A bunch of mistakes were made.

The greatest mistake happened in the very beginning, when I was five years old. My parents thought that I should be playing with the kids in my grade. Since my birthday is in August, I will always be one of the youngest kids in my class. When you are a little, skinny kid, a six month age difference really matters on the soccer field. If I was placed on the correct team for my age, I would have had a much better experience.

I really don’t like to remember those times. For example, there was a time when I was placed on the “B” team and I felt horrible about that. Another time I had a coach who got angry and screamed about EVERYTHING—even when we won a game!

Back then, there weren’t many pictures of me on the field. This was because my mom was too busy praying for me on the sidelines. I wasn’t too happy, but I wouldn’t give up.

My big break came at my friend’s soccer birthday party. One of the trainers noticed that I played fiercely and told my mom that he thought I had potential. So I started training. My mom placed me with the right age group and things started to change.

My dad stepped in and started researching which team would help me grow as a player. Each team that I played on helped me develop in a different way.

In the spring of 2010, my dad received an email from the Long Island Junior Soccer League explaining that the New York Red Bulls Regional Developmental School was coming to Long Island in the fall. We then found out that there were two Red Bulls summer camps that I could join in order to get some experience for the RDS try-outs. The first camp was held in Plainview, New York and the second camp was at Golden Goal (just outside of Lake George, New York).

I learned so much at both those camps. There was a hilarious surprise at Golden Goal last summer. I have to wait until I return this summer to see if it happens again, so I’m not going to tell what it was. I don’t want to ruin it for anyone else.

Fall came and I am really happy to say that I made the cut! Simon Barrow, Manager of the RDS, told all the players who tried out that even if you don’t make the cut, NEVER GIVE UP. We were told that Michael Jordan was cut many times before he was given the chance to play in the league where he wanted to be. Hearing those words are probably the most important lesson that I have learned so far. I realized that I will have to work very hard in order to participate in the Red Bulls RDS program. There is no guarantee that I will make future cuts if I don’t continue to train fiercely.

Since that time, I participated in the spring 2011 RDS program and the RDS Residential Camp at Peddie High School in Hightstown, New Jersey. This summer, I have kept a journal of my experiences at RDS. In the following weeks, I will share my memories from my time with the best trainers around.