When the San Francisco Glens FC joined USL League Two, it opened a new pathway for the players within the club’s SF Glens Evolution academy program to compete at a higher level alongside current collegiate athletes.

Last week, the club announced the first three players who had earned that opportunity as it signed Xander Sagatelyan, Kevin Estrada and Diego Grande to its League Two squad for the 2019 campaign.

“It’s a proud day for the club and myself to see our youth players get this opportunity. This is the reason behind why we added a USL League Two team to complete our pathway pyramid,” said Glens team president Mike McNeill, who also runs the Glens’ Celtic Academy. “As the only club in San Francisco with a direct pipeline to this level, we’re fortunate to have a board of directors that is forward-thinking and shares this vision.

“These boys have grown up playing here in San Francisco and are a huge part of the youth scene in The City. I’ve coached these boys personally and know firsthand how driven they are, constantly seeking additional training opportunities, working out on their own, putting in the work on days off. This will be an incredibly challenging experience for each one of them, but one where they will learn and grow exponentially.”

Using the development pyramid in this manner has already been seen in the USL Championship over the past six seasons, where academy players have been allowed to retain their amateur status by signing USL Academy contracts with professional clubs. The access to higher levels of training and competition has helped accelerate the development of those players. While the trio from the Glens won’t be competing alongside professionals yet, they will get a similar opportunity as they train and compete against those looking to make the professional ranks their home.

All three of Sagatelyan, Estrada and Grande were appreciative of the opportunity this summer will offer them.

“Making the USL League Two first team is a journey that I have been striving for since the Glens announced they were having one last year,” Sagatelyan said. “To be a part of this now is surreal. The Glens are doing something really special because they’re giving their youth players a huge goal to reach for.”

All three were informed of the club’s decision by Technical Director and former United States international Jimmy Conrad, who also captured the reaction of all three on video that was subsequently posted to the Glens’ social media accounts. As someone who came through the lower divisions himself, Conrad was thrilled to help set the trio on the Path2Pro.

“I’m absolutely buzzing to be able to make these calls, and to be a part of something where we’re giving youth players the opportunity to take steps and move up the ladder,” Conrad said. “That was a big reason why I joined the Glens.”