When Trinidad & Tobago international forward Scott Sealy was drafted in the 2005 MLS SuperDraft in January out of Wake Forest University, he was a bit bemused.
"It was a surprise. There was a lot of speculation going on with the draft and the combine. A lot of people posted their draft, and I saw my name out there but never associated with Kansas," said Sealy. "But when I was drafted first round, I was quite happy.
"It was being drafted by a good team for my first opportunity as a pro which was most important. And then, I know [Wizards backup goalkeeper] Will Hesmer, he was at Wake Forest as well, so he was a familiar face. After talking to some people, I thought that it was a very good start to my career."
While it was actually Missouri where he made his MLS playing debut on Saturday night, his happiness lingers. More importantly, so does his coach's.
"There have been no disappointments up to this point," said Wizards boss Bob Gansler. "He's only been with us less than a week in Costa Rica and now about a week here [due to visa difficulties and duties with the Trinidad & Tobago national team]. That's why we drafted him, we thought Scott could play at this level; he's got the tools."
Early on, Sealy struck twice, once in each of two separate friendly matches, during his brief stay with the Wizards in Costa Rica. But his personal success could owe to his attention to and respect for primary forwards Josh Wolff and Davy Arnaud.
"I definitely watch those two guys. They are good -- their tendencies, what they like to do, how they work hard for each other. I think as long as I keep doing that, I will be fine," the 23-year-old Sealy said.
Watching and learning is one thing. Performing with and accentuating on a consistent basis are quite another.
"He's a good learner," said Gansler. "He reads the game. When I was watching Scott in college, I was most interested in and most impressed with his work off the ball. He's got a nose for it; he's got instinct. He shows up in good spots repeatedly, and he can find the next play. And the next play, quite often, is not you.
"The main thing applies to him as it does to someone who played in the A-League or any other guys coming from college -- it's the speed of play. Speed of play is the most important speed element on the soccer field," said Gansler. "When we say speed of play, it means technically being a little sharper, tactically being much more aware, and being psychologically strong enough to deal with all of that so you don't get down on yourself for screwing things up because you're going to have an opportunity before you know it.
"I think part of Scott's upside is that he can make that adjustment and is making that adjustment."
Sealy has figured out what he believes to be the best way to integrate into the way Wolff and Arnaud like go about business.
"From watching Josh and Davy play, they like to run off the ball a lot. I can give them a different dimension by staying higher and playing back to goal while they make runs off of me," said Sealy, who isn't necessarily the prototypical target player at 5-foot-10, 175 pounds. "I always considered it one of my strengths."
Gansler agreed: "Of the three guys, physically he is the strongest. Can the three of them play together as well? Of course they can. And then if the three of them are out there together, it makes most sense to play Scott up high and put the other two a little bit underneath. Maybe something else will develop as we progress, but it seems logical at this point."
Sealy made his debut at Arrowhead Stadium against the Colorado Rapids on Saturday evening, entering the match in the 81st minute.
"I was quite delighted. The fans were very, very enthusiastic," he said. "I felt I was going to get into the game at some point. It wasn't a long time, but I felt good."
Sealy has to feel good about being in demand. Like Wolff, and likely Arnaud, Sealy could be called away from the Wizards in to his native country's national team for which he had earned nine caps as of February. However, his status with the Trinidad and Tobago national team has grown uncertain.
"We just had a coaching change [Leo Beenhakker taking over on May 1]," he said. "The next game is June 4 versus Panama at home. With the coaching change, nobody really knows what's going to happen. It's sort of up in the air."
But back in MLS, the player who is second on Wake Forest's all-time scoring chart with 43 goals and 22 assists has high hopes for his rookie season.
"As a rookie coming in you want to play. Playing time is definitely first priority," Sealy said. "But [I want to] work hard, be consistent during practice and during games, and [achieve] team goals as well, like winning MLS Cup."