By Ed Shepherd
SPORTS CORRESPONDENT

Darwin Jones has made it to the point that hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of youth league soccer players in the USA want to make it to but do not.
Major League Soccer.

"Overwhelming, exciting feeling, knowing that the time has finally come," said Jones, who just finished, in November, helping the University of Washington men's team play in an NCAA Tournament Elite 8 game against Michigan State, a 3-2 loss, but not before going into overtime and a shootout.

And Jones, the leading scorer on the Huskies in this his senior season, made it to the professional ranks in the best way possible -- getting signed by the home team Seattle Sounders prior to having to enter the MLS draft.

"Home" because Jones is from Des Moines, having played soccer in high school for Mount Rainier, having helped lead the Rams into the playoffs each of his four seasons there, including the championship game when he was a sophomore.

But it's finally here for Jones, the big-time of Major League Soccer, as Jones, earlier this week, was signed to a Homegrown Player Contract, which means he gets picked up by the team that he played academy soccer with and owned his rights, and that team is the Sounders.

Terms were not disclosed of the contract, but Jones stands to make some nice coin for playing the game he loves. Salaries were listed for HP contracts, and, for the Sounders, Aaron Kovar, a 2011 standout at Garfield High School, in Seattle, made $48,700, signed HP style at this time last season. But here's a kicker, that's just the Sounders' HP player deal, as other 2014 signed MLS players to HP contrats like Tommy Thompson of San Jose signed for $145,000. The highest salary was given to HP-signed, Gyasi Zardes, to the LA Galaxy, who inked a $198,000 deal.

So, for playing on the bright-green uniform team, with 'XBOX' in big letters on the front of the jerseys with their biggest sponsor Microsoft, and with playing in front of the highest average attendance of any MLS franchise, around 40,000 per game at Qwest Field, Jones is with good company. He's on the cutting room floor of where greatness can begin.

Hard to see, starting out, if Jones will see a whole lot of playing time on the Sounders this coming season, as, comparing Jones to Kovar, the 2014 HP signee with the Sounders, as aforementioned, Kovar received limited playing time last season. And Kovar played fullback a lot of the time, only entering games in any duration for the dog days of summer, when the Sounders Reserves get extended action. That's because the Sounders have a lot of games bunched into the schedule of its 60-game season that starts up in March and ends with the MLS Cup in October.

Jones is a forward, a more valuable player, in some respects, than a defender, on a soccer team, because a player with a knack to score goals is just an intangible and, of course, tangible asset to a team.
Jones was looking to enter the MLS draft, which just happened last Wednesday, if the Sounders and Jones, and Jones' agent, could not agree to terms.

"The Sounders made a wise decision," said UW mens soccer coach Jamie Clark. "Don't let top 10 talent go to the draft."

Jones, perhaps, made the wisest of decisions way back when, like, when he started playing soccer, at age 11, for a rec team, The Crushers. He was good at football, playing for the Des Moines Rams of the Junior Football League. He quit that to concentrate on soccer full time, but, he had help in making that decision from someone else.

"Mom didn't like all the contact, so I quit playing," said Jones.

Good decision?

"I think it was a good decision," said Jones, voice perking up, adding, "because I probably wouldn't be where I'm at now."

After rec ball, U-12, U-13, teams played on by Jones, he moved on to play for Highline Premier, a select soccer organization that the best players in the Des Moines, Burien, Sea-Tac, even, sometimes, far away as West Seattle, or Federal Way, or Kent play on. That was U-14, U-15 seasons. Then, U-16 and U-17, he played for Washington Premier Academy, which is kind of like the Washington State ODP (Olympic Development Program) but, a different team. Then, at U-18, Jones made it on the Sounders Academy team, for the very best Washington state players to play soccer.

But soccer took an unsightly direction for Jones after that, because of school things, because of things in his past.

When soccer friends were getting all geared up to go to universities on scholarships, for athletics, for academics, Jones was not.

"I had a lot of friends that went straight to college. I had grade issues," said Jones.

Jones' reason for getting left behind by college scouts and coaches, and, he could have gone to UW on a full-ride scholarship, likely, for soccer, or any number of big programs in NCAA, if not for grades. And, that problem with grades didn't happen his senior year, or junior year, or even sophomore year, the problem happened when he was way young in high school.

"I failed a lot of my classes my freshman year, and I didn't think it would catch up with me," said Jones.

"But, it did."

In a very real way, Jones' just must have been crushed, tears coming out of his eyes from the news he heard when he was a senior and ready to play soccer in college, and so many more hopes and dreams than that, too.

"I was denied by the NCAA," said Jones.

Why was that? Why did that kind of situation become real in your life, failing grades and all?

"The transition to high school was one thing, and the crowd I was hanging out with," said Jones. "I got caught up in that. I turned it around my sophomore, junior, senior years."

But, that accumulative hurt of his freshman, bad grades, could not be overridden, the indelible mark was stamped, reverberating all through Jones' bones for three years in high school.

So, OK, that was painful, but what about at Highline Community College? Didn't Jones just get to playing soccer there and smoothly go to the UW?

"No, it was, just--," said Jones, pausing. "Different. I had to become a student and really take things serious."

So, Jones did play soccer at Highline but it was not anything good, as, he didn't even wish to speak about it. Not many highlights, because Jones was needing to concentrate on really upping his grades and g.p.a. to get accepted to the U of W.

"I was thinking to myself, at Highline, 'I don't know how I am going to get out of here'. I definitely, doubted myself," said Jones.

But, he did get out. Jones pushed the books, did the required math, English classes, and, went to be a Husky the next year.

"I had to take the next step and prove to me I wanted to be at that next level," said Jones. "I've seen a lot of youth players that had a lot of talent.

And, didn't make it?

"Yeah," said Jones. "I didn't want to waste that talent."

So, from Highline and UW success, including first-team all Pac-12 this past season, Jones is on the Sounders now. And, for that success, Jones noted some folks that helped him in life to make good decisions.

"All my youth coaches saw talent in me that I didn't see at the beginning," said Jones.

"Aaron Soloski, director of Highline Premier and Sounders Academy, helped me a lot," said Jones. "My premier coach, Thiet Nguyen, and Dave Hanson, and Jimmy McAllister."

What did Nguyen say?

"Pretty much told me not to depend on my athleticism," said Jones. "Told me to evolve into a good player. Make sure growth is with technical ability, too."

And, Hanson?

"He taught me the game of soccer," said Jones of Hanson, who coached the Thomas Jefferson Raiders, in nearby Federal Way, to a 4A state championship. 'He helped with both athleticism and technique."
The majority owner of the Sounders is Drew Carey, host of ever-popular CBS morning game show, The Price Is Right, which makes billions, and, Carey, of course, one can guess, makes millions.

So, have you met Carey yet?

"Yeah, I've shaken his hand before," said Jones. "I don't know. It's like, you're in shock. It's Drew Carey.
So Jones is on the Sounders now, and, probably the best insight into how successful Jones could become in the future is who coached him the past three seasons, Clark, his UW soccer coach, who led the Huskies to the NCAA Tournament each of the last two seasons and has seen many college players he's coached go on to MLS playing careers. And Clark has coached the last four seasons at UW but before that at East Coast schools, Creighton and Harvard, a few seasons cumulative with success there, too.

But, what about Jones, does he have a chance to play more than as a reserve this season? To play more than, say, Kovar, who was a National Gatorade Player Of The Year his senior season at Garfield High.
"Darwin ranks right up there with the other MLS players I've coached, around 30 players, he's talented as any I've coached," said Clark. "That sort of power, ability to threaten, able to make runs, to play wide, on the wing, as well as central."

But, does Jones have a chance to play this season, in March, with the Sounders?

"He does (have a chance to play right away," said Clark. "If he comes in, does well, I think, he will be top 16 and getting in games with regularity."

Best player to compare Jones to? Deandre Yedlin?

"He has a lot of the same tools as Deandre," said Clark. "Physique. Strong. Athletic. Yedlin transitions to defense more. Darwin is an attacking player."

Jones knows Yedlin, first-hand, even though, the Sounders star and USA World Cup team member went to play for England after doing good things the big boys in Europe saw and wanted to reward him with a nice contract there.

"We talk pretty often," said Jones. "Good friends. He tells me to be working hard going into preseason and everything will pan out," said Jones.

And since his UW coach, Clark, was just mentioned, too, not far back, what of Jones' success has his college coach had?

"Jamie is one of the most influential people in my life the last few years," said Jones. "He's taught me to be a great player, person, student, man -- everything."

Jones is already at a pretty big point in his life, but there's more to go and more goals that he wants to accomplish.

"I've always wanted to represent the US National Team and play in Europe," said Jones, and though MLS contracts can be quite lucrative for players these days, the best dollars are from Europe.
"I also want to leave a legacy in Seattle, especially being a hometown player," said Jones.
With Yedlin in England now, and friends and all, is that good reason why international soccer is off in the distance?

"I'd like to because of good friends," said Jones. "But my commitment is to the Sounders."
And what about kids that want to make it to the level Jones is at now?

"Really work hard, don't take it for granted," said Jones. "You never know who is watching you."
And, back to mom, and dad.

"My parents played a big role in making sure I got to and from practice, made sure I made right decisions throughout my whole career," said Jones.

Brothers, sisters?

"I have a brother, Haywood Jones, he tells me to stay humble, work hard."

What about Sounders coach Sigi Schmid?

"Over the last couple years, we built a good relationship with each other," said Jones. "That helps a lot. I've been out with him in person a couple times."

Getting signed now means the UW degree gets put on hold, albeit Jones was asked to sign last season by the Sounders , too, but chose to hold off and get more of his education in.

"Really haven't thought about it," said Jones. "I know there is life after soccer. It's going to come, but I haven't got to that yet. I'm living the moment."