Ex-Whitecaps Residency defender Hickson joins the FC Edmonton fold

Edmonton native Tim Hickson will spend the rest of 2012 trying to prove to his hometown NASL team that he deserves a spot on the senior roster in the 2013 NASL season.

Hickson, a 19-year-old who can play in the middle of the park or in defence, had been with the Vancouver Whitecaps Residency from 2009-2012. But FC Edmonton confirmed that he joined the reserve/Residency program on Monday.

“My intent is to give him a spot with the academy for this upcoming year,” said FCE Reserves coach Jeff Paulus. “Hopefully he will do well enough for a look with our first team in January.”

Hickson was with Edmonton’s Southwest United program and, like FCE’s Shaun Saiko, spent time with the Middlesbrough youth system. During the 2008-09 season, he had a one-month trial with Boro. In 2009, he appeared in the Whitecaps Residency’s five-game voyage to Spain, and has also been involved in matches against the youth wings of Bundesliga clubs.

Of course, seeing former Whitecaps Residency products make the move to FC Edmonton isn’t anything new. FCE roster players like Antonio Rago, Paul Hamilton and Alex Semenets are former Whitecaps Residency players.

And, Sadi Jalali, who was with FC Edmonton before heading to Europe for a trial this past winter, then came back to Canada and committed to the Whitecaps Residency. That came after his family fired the agent who had made the initial agreement with FCE that the striker would come back to his hometown if the European experience didn’t pan out. Since Jalali’s parents never signed the agreement, he came back to Canada as a free agent.

(Thanks to Benjamin Massey at Eighty-Six Forever; please check out the site)