DC United are proud to see two of their academy graduates now running around with the senior squad.

Goalkeeper Bill Hamid and attacking Andy Najar have been doing preseason with DC United's senior squad, with Hamid already contracted.

"It's fun to watch guys like Bill and Andy learn from the other players," said D.C. United technical director Chad Ashton. "You can even see it in their eyes at the beginning, stepping on the field with someone like Jaime Moreno and trying to be his equal. They tend to have stars in their eyes at first but once they became comfortable, it's been great to watch the progress they've made so quickly.

"We try and get the Academy onto the pitch at RFK and around the first team as much as we can," said Ashton. "We try to mirror the first team as much as possible and try to prepare these guys as much as possible to be able to have success within our system."