Now confident and in good form, You is looking forward to seeing his career begin in Belgium.

progress on the way 2022 MLS season, griffin yow At DC United, he struggled for playing time and stagnated. Although he enjoyed some aspects of the organization, he realized that he needed a change to fulfill his potential. That summer, he was able to secure a transfer to Westeros, and now, 18 months later, he is finally starting to show signs of breaking out.

Yow, 21, now believes he can start at Westeros after overcoming injuries and injuries to secure a spot in the starting lineup. His recent performances support this belief. This summer, the Clifton, Virginia, native was Westeros’ best player in the preseason, but a knee injury sidelined him until Oct. 21, when he finally made his season debut. RWD In his match against Molenbeek, Yo picked up where he left off when he entered the match in ’73.^rd He scored the equalizing goal in the 1st minute of stoppage time, resulting in a 1-1 draw.

“As soon as I got to Westerlo, they had a plan for me,” Yeo told ASN. “We saw it right away. We recognized your talent. You are a good player. You will always be training with the first team and you will adapt to the lifestyle here to some extent. Deaf, being away from your family, living alone and in another country will make you adapt. If you are used to the style of play in the Belgian league, you can gain confidence by playing in the U-21 team. I guess. I didn’t come to Westerlo from Washington, D.C. with a lot of confidence.”

Joh has continued to pick up the pace since then, currently making 10 appearances during the winter break in the Belgian First Division, scoring three goals and providing two assists in just 696 minutes. Although he is comfortable playing in any position up front, Westerlo utilizes him in the traditional right wing position.

Youth development is rarely linear, and there are many different paths that athletes take to reach their potential. What helped for Jo was that Westero had plans for him from day one, with him spending a full season with the club’s Under-21 team in 2022/23, with only sporadic first-team appearances. there were. It was designed to get his confidence up to where it needed to be.

“The biggest thing was definitely the U-21 game,” Yo said of his development.

During his time at DC United, Yeo never felt that he was never given clear instructions on what he needed to do to break into the first team on a regular basis. In four seasons from 2019 to 2022, Yoh only played a total of 946 minutes in MLS.His MLS debut was in jeopardy ben olsen However, the team was managed by Hernan Lozada For the last season and a half of Yo. Coincidentally, Lozada landed a job at D.C. United based on his success with Beerschot in the Belgian First Division.

Yo recalled his days there and was always told to be patient, but was never given anything concrete in terms of timelines or what he would have to do to get into the first team. said.

“Personally, I felt like a lot of what was being said to me when I was playing in D.C. was like, just be patient,” Yoh recalled. “The staff there was great to me. There were certain people and certain staff members that I really enjoyed working with. But a lot of it was just continuing to train and persevere. I had no choice but to be patient for a long time, especially when I didn’t see much progress in my own development. I felt like I was stagnant there. It was a difficult situation for sure.”

“There was a time in D.C. when I felt like I wasn’t really appreciated,” Yo added. “Being that person and being that person in DC.” [young] I was a player who didn’t know anything about it, so it was always on my mind. I came home from training and sat in my car in the driveway for two hours just thinking, what is going on? Where can we improve? How can I improve? Do they like me? Do they care about me? All these questions. No matter what I told management, I didn’t really get an answer. The players will give us the answers. However, when I spoke to management, I felt the same way. ”

However, once I arrived in Westerlo, I was pleased with the improved communication from upper management.

“In Westerlo, it’s quite the opposite,” Yow explained. “Two weeks ago, I was sitting by myself having lunch because I was staying for extra sessions due to a knee injury.Then the owner came over, sat down and had lunch with me, I’m talking about my feelings, what he sees in me, what he wants, how he’s happy with me, and about my life outside the field. So, he just sat down and had lunch with me and had a long conversation. I think for a lot of players, if you ask them, it goes a really long way.”

Now moving forward with Westerlo, Yaw is optimistic about what 2024 will bring. The club had a terrible start to the season, without a win in their first nine games. Eventually, Rick de Mille came in and there was a coaching change. This left everyone with a clean slate and Westerlo finished 2023 with three wins and one draw from their last four games, moving them out of the relegation zone and into mid-table.

In the club’s last match before the winter break, Yeo scored the opening goal against Molenbeek in a 3–0 win and was invited to lead the team’s cheer with the supporters after the match.

“The fans are top notch,” Yo said. “They are definitely American men, me and brian [Reynolds] That side. They make us feel at home. In my opinion, this is a good combination because there are so many distractions here in DC. It has nothing to do with the club. It’s my hometown team and it has something to do with me growing up in this area. There are many places I want to go and I have many friends here. In Belgium, to be honest, it’s boring. But in a good way. It’s a great place to concentrate and just put your head down and work. ”

The club will be back in action this weekend, with two matches taking place at Club Brugge and Ghent against two of Belgium’s oldest and strongest teams.

For Yeo, his rise was also a critical period for his international ambitions. He is eligible to play on the current U.S. U-23 National Team for the 2024 Olympics in France. Yoh last represented the United States at the 2019 U-17 World Cup, but was also part of the generation of U.S. players whose 2021 U-20 cycle was canceled due to the coronavirus.

So far, Yoh has not played with the U.S. U-23 team in either of their first two camps leading up to the Olympics.However, he has gained attention and is the head coach of the US national team. greg berhalter He told the media that he currently hopes to invite Yoh to the January camp, which will include many U-23 players and include the U.S. Olympic coach. Mark Mitrovic (to staff), but the release from Westerlo was refused.

There are only two U-23 camps left before the Olympics, the next in March and the second in June. Yoh is very motivated to get a chance to prove himself to Mitrovic, but he knows that will depend on his performance in Westerlo.

As such, he is not trying to put too much pressure on himself but considers that to be his biggest goal and has very limited time to break into the U-23 team for the summer. I know that

“That’s definitely something that drives me a lot,” Yow said. “It’s something you don’t want to think about too much, or go into every game, every workout and be like, this is the game I need to show that I need to be on that roster. You don’t want to. Then you kind of lose your spirit. It’s not just about scoring a goal and being happy, it’s about practicing that extra hour in the gym, pushing yourself and continuing on the path you’re on, and being satisfied. That’s what keeps pushing me to keep going. I’m happy to win the match. That’s a big goal for me, so I have to push myself full throttle and take big steps.”