Sporting Kansas City is seeing healthy competition at certain positions this preseason

Sporting KC brought back stalwarts Tim Melia, Graham Zusi and Roger Espinoza this offseason, but all three men — for the first time in a long time — face direct competition for playing time.

Part of that’s owing to their age (Melia, Zusi and Espinoza are all 36), and part can be explained as the simple and proper evolution for a Major League Soccer club.

All three deserve credit for working to keep their bodies healthy enough to experience this sort of longevity in MLS, but Espinoza, for one, knows the clock is ticking.

“I’m not here to play every single game,” he said.

The 36-year-old midfielder’s love for the soccer hasn’t waned. He still wants to be competitive. And he showed at times last year that he’s still got it — like when he scored the club’s Goal of the Year.

But …

“I’m here for the young kids,” Espinoza said. “They’re doing well, and they should be starting. They deserve to be starting, a lot of these guys.”

Felipe Hernandez, Kayden Pierre and John Pulskamp are waiting in the wings — Pulskamp behind Melia, Pierre behind Zusi and Hernandez the heir apparent to Espinoza’s playing time. And, as Espinoza indicated, Sporting KC manager Peter Vermes recently reiterated his desire that each veteran help his eventual successor continue to improve.

Let’s take a look at each of the up-and-comers:

• Pierre filled in incredibly well for Zusi during the latter stages of last season. Vermes revealed to The Star that the organization effectively made a bet on Pierre’s continued development when SKC traded away a highly regarded prospect at the same position, in Jaylin Lindsey.

• Hernandez flashed his brilliance before entering a gambling addiction-rehabilitation program and enduring a suspension in 2021. He began to re-establish himself through the middle of the 2022 season, scoring twice and assisting three times against MLS competition and adding two goals and an assist during Sporting KC’s Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup run.

• Then there’s Pulskamp. The large and loud goalkeeper earned a lengthy contract extension last offseason, proof that Sporting KC sees him as its goalkeeper of the future. He also acquitted himself well when Melia was forced to miss much of the 2022 season with a hamstring strain.

All three are expected to be players of the future for Sporting KC, but their goal is to make themselves part of the present, as well.

That means one thing: competition. As for Vermes’ approach to doling out playing time? He keeps his mind, and options, open.

“If somebody steps up and starts playing really well and they win a spot, they win a spot,” the manager said. “I don’t go in with this preconceived notion right now like, ‘Hey, this is the goalkeeper.’ I know everybody can play these positions, but it’s up to them to now show that they’re the best guy for that position and (that) they’ll give us the best chance week in and week out to get the desired results.”

Depth means competition for playing time, and competition for playing time should bring out the best in everyone involved.

“Just to remind you, Zus and I were technically in the same position in the middle,” Espinoza said, “but we were both doing well during that time, so Peter had to find positions for us.

“So, I always tell the young guys, ‘If you do well, and you play the same position as me, Peter’s going to find a way to play both of the players because that’s what’s gonna give him the best outcome on the field, and the best outcome for the team to win, and for our fans to be happy.’”

He added, “They’ve got to keep going and show it every day. This is a sport that you have to be consistent.”

Pierre learned that the hard way early last season. When Zusi had to be held out due to injury last spring, Vermes chose to play other guys out of position in the veteran’s spot because Pierre just hadn’t proven himself yet in training.

It cost Pierre a spot with the U.S. U-20 team in its run to the CONCACAF Championship and qualification for the 2023 U-20 World Cup. But he earned that spot back with Sporting, playing well down the stretch. And now he understands the importance of intra-squad competition.

“Everyone is always fighting for spots, and it’s good competition,” Pierre said. “It brings the best out of everyone in fighting for your spot, and I think it gets the best out of me.”

Still age-eligible for the U-20 squad, Pierre’s sights are now set on the U-20 World Cup, which arrives in late May.

“A lot of things are going on this year, so it’s just a big year for me,” he said. “So I’m trying to make sure preseason goes well so that I’m up and running when the season starts.”

Sporting KC is currently in the Phoenix area, staying at the same hotel as the Chiefs, who are preparing to play the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII on Sunday.

Sporting recently came from behind to draw Racing Louisville 2-2 thanks to two goals from Remi Walter. The squad’s next preseason match is against Real Salt Lake Wednesday afternoon.

Sporting’s regular-season MLS opener, meanwhile, is set for Feb. 25 at Portland.