CARSON, Calif. – Bradford Jamieson IV is far from a finished product, but his first real foray with the LA Galaxy's first team suggests big things on the path ahead. Just be patient.
The 18-year-old forward has burst into the Galaxy lineup in the past three weeks, inserted as an injury crisis has forced constant change among LA's front six, and he's mostly done well. The highlight: a superb goal in a road draw two weeks ago with the New York Red Bulls.
He could get a fifth straight start when LA take on FC Dallas on Saturday night in Frisco, Texas (8:30 pm ET; MLS LIVE), and next week he's off with the US U-20 national team under Tab Ramos to Australia in advance of the FIFA U-20 World Cup in New Zealand, which begins May 30.
It's just the latest stop on a rapidly advancing career that's really just at its beginning.
His raw talent has been apparent since his early teens, but his understanding of the game and what is required to progress has just arrived. The Galaxy are understandably excited about what he could evolve into.
“We'll wait a little time before we are able to summarize him as a player,” said Galaxy coach Bruce Arena, who gave Jamieson a few MLS minutes last year – he assisted a Robbie Keane goal in his debut – and has used him up top and on the flanks this season. “He's still young and learning, and every game's a new challenge for him. So we'll give him a little time before we're able to analyze him properly.”
A season of enormous growth last year with Galaxy II, LA's USL-based reserve team, propelled him to the first team, and it's a rise he's anticipated since he was 8 years old and his AYSO coach, an Englishman, introduced him to the history and legends of the game and turned him onto Arsenal FC.
“B.J. decided around that age, in AYSO, that he loved soccer, and there was no turning back,” said mom Danica Jamieson, who served as his agent until he signed last week with Richard Motzkin. “He's been wearing Arsenal jerseys since he was 8. And he has a Brazilian nickname – Bejinho – he's had jerseys from the time he was 8 years old with 'Bejinho' on the back of them. He just decided that was what he was doing.”
It's been a wild ride since, with stops in the New York Cosmos' Southern California academy and in Chivas USA's academy, four semesters' residency in Bradenton, Florida, with the US U-17 squad, and a 2013 move to the Galaxy that quickly led to a contract offer. Now it's about weathering what Jamieson calls the “roller-coaster ride.”
“He has a good head on his shoulders and a fantastic family who are going to keep him in check,” said Galaxy Academy U-16 coach Mike Muñoz, a former MLS midfielder who coached Jamieson at LAFC, Cosmos Academy West and in Chivas' and LA's academies. “That's important, because it's not going to be all rosy for him down the road – I guarantee that – and there might be moments when he has to go back to Galaxy II for whatever reason. He just has to make sure he keeps pushing himself forward because the sky's the limit for the guy.”
Jamieson grew up in Baldwin Hills, a dozen miles or so northwest of StubHub Center, where his family runs a lighting company for film and television production. He was one of five brothers – he's third in line – to play soccer, and his real development as a player started at LAFC and then under Muñoz after the club merged with the Cosmos' academy.
“With Bradford, the first thing you notice is his height [now 6-foot-1], his build, his athleticism, his pace, his strength, and he was extremely technical,” Muñoz said. “He was able to do things with the ball at a very, very fast pace. He had a very attacking mindset, and when he got the ball, he wanted to attack, which is a fantastic trait to see from such a young age.”
Another merger placed the club under Chivas USA's control, and Jamieson worked with former MLS standouts Teddy Chronopoulos, Dan Calichman and Greg Vanney, trained at times with the first team and saw action in Chivas' MLS Reserve League matches.
He spent most of that time in Bradenton, where the US were preparing for the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup under Richie Williams, and when he didn't make the tournament roster, he returned home as Muñoz was moving his U-16 team down the hall to the Galaxy following a shakeup in Chivas' academy after Jorge Vergara took full control of the club.
That team also featured Adonis Amaya, Ryo Fujii and Elijah Martin, who have signed with Galaxy II. Jamieson was the standout, but, coming off the World Cup snub, “he was not enjoying his football at the time and his confidence wasn't where it needed to be,” said Galaxy Academy director Peter Vagenas, a former LA captain.
The Galaxy began working to rebuild his enthusiasm and confidence and advance the shortcomings in his game, largely about defensive presence and tactical acumen. LA started to talk Homegrown contract with Jamieson, who had committed to Cal, and his mother a few months later. Danica approved only because the Galaxy planned to start up their own USL side.
“They came to us with a reasonable situation, a three-year guaranteed MLS contract, an option [to play] with the USL ... side,” she said. “I wouldn't have recommended it if the USL ... option wasn't available, simply because it doesn't make sense to have a contract and not play. It doesn't help anyone.
“He was 17 when he signed. The worst-case scenario is you're 20 years old and they don't sign you, and you've taken a couple classes at [Cal State] Dominguez Hills, and you go transfer over to UCLA. That's not a bad worst-case scenario at 20 years old.”
Jamieson was itching to sign.
“I was 10 years old when I decided I want to do this for real,” he said. “This was my dream, so I was able to finally grab that dream. I didn't look back, and I told my parents I want to turn pro, and they were with me all the way.”
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Jamieson had much to learn, and head coach Curt Onalfo and his staff worked diligently during the Galaxy II's inaugural campaign.
“He was a really gifted athlete with very, very good feet, so very, very skillful but extremely raw in all aspects of the game, from a tactical perspective,” Onalfo said. “I'll tell you exactly how it was. He didn't understand what it took to play regularly. He didn't understand what it meant to be hard to play against, and he didn't understand the commitment you have to have to defend. ...
“But B.J. is one of these kids that you give him the information, and he's able to apply it very quickly.”
Onalfo spent the first couple months of the season getting Jamieson in tune defensively.
Then they amped up his attacking responsibilities, and he responded with a pair of two-goal games and “toward the end of last season became really our most dangerous player,” Onalfo said.
“He could have contributed last year [to the first team], but there wasn't the need there, just because of where the first team was,” Onalfo added. “So having said that, he's stepped in and done a good job, but he still has a long way to go in his development.”
Arena agrees, and is wary of the explosion of interest in Jamieson that followed his performance against the Red Bulls.
“Let's not get crazy like everybody does every time a young player does something right,” Arena said following that game. “It's a long haul in becoming a player. He's many years away from being where we would like him to be and where he's going to be. So let's just be patient and see what happens down the road.”
The next stage will be the U-20 World Cup, and Jamieson is excited to show what he can do.
“The U-20 World Cup is a platform for players to excel, and for some, it can make or break a player,” he said. “I'm excited to take what I've been doing these past few games and really implement that. I really want to do well and I want to bring us the furthest we can go.
“I think we can make it to the final. We can win the World Cup. I say that very confidently. I've been with these guys now for almost a year and have been with a lot of them before, in residency. I know how these guys think, and I know a lot of guys like myself who weren't able to participate in the U-17 World Cup, and that killed me. We're a gifted group, and we have all the components we need to be a championship team.”
