Sean Rea knows how this works. A guy can spend hours and hours and hours on the pitch practising to perfect his craft, but without real minutes in real matches his work never gets evaluated, let alone noticed.

That’s why when Valour FC recently inquired about another loan agreement for the 2022 Canadian Premier League season with CF Montreal, his parent club, the 19-year-old midfielder couldn’t pack his stuff quickly enough for a return to Winnipeg.

“I was still keeping an eye on Valour and who they were bringing to the club and with Montreal I wasn’t going to get the playing time I wanted and, I think, needed at this time in my career,” Rea told valourfootball.club. “My agent spoke to Phil (Valour GM and head coach Phillip Dos Santos) and he said they wanted me back and I was excited to see who they already have coming back.

“It would be a good fit to pick up where we left off. Hopefully we can have a really good season and I think we can make the playoffs this year. Our goal is to win a championship because I think we have the team to do it.”

Rea, along with fellow CF Montreal goalkeeping prospect Jonathan Sirois, help bolster a Valour roster that fell just one point shy of a playoff spot last year. Sirois’ impact was obvious, as he was named the CPL’s top goalkeeper, but Rea’s contributions were also significant – even if they did come in flashes.

He scored two goals and added four assists in 25 appearances, including a pair of Canadian Championship matches, with the four helpers one shy of the club record of five, set in 2019 by Michael Petrasso.

“At our age – I’m almost 20 and Jo’s almost 21 – these are critical moments in our career,” Rea said. “If we don’t play, things can go downhill. And if we do play, our value goes up because people see us play and Montreal will be happy with our production. That’s the goal: just playing, being on the field and progressing as players.”

Rea’s addition strengthens a solid crew of midfielders and his speed and vision offers Dos Santos & Co. an attacking threat. The key for the Montreal product is to now make those great moments into regular occurrences.

“He’s a young player and often young players in his position, that’s what you’re going to see: you’re going to see flashes,” said Dos Santos. “He has a lot of quality. He’s an exciting player who likes to have the ball at his feet and take players on, but also understands when to attack the space.

“But with those players, especially when they’re younger, there’s often a lack of consistency and the decision-making isn’t always clear as to when they should try and go and take guys on or just help the team be in possession. Those are things we’re all going to work with him on. We know he has one under his belt and now another MLS preseason. He’s growing and we’re happy to have him back. This team is going to give him that platform to do that be able to impose himself in the league on a consistent basis.”

The 2021 campaign represented a big leap for Rea. Not only did he play in his first professional matches and score his first goal in a Canadian Championship win over Atlético Ottawa

https://twitter.com/onesoccer/status/1429227992048361484?s=20&t=EYSVU1C4ziV8zMamULidjw, he grew up off the pitch, too.

“I learned a lot. It was my first professional season,” he said. “Things were a lot faster, and I needed a couple of games to adapt before I got into it. Once I did, I was really happy to see the level was so high.

“I know I progressed and that’s part of why I came back because I want to progress even more. I think I can bring my game to the next level and then hopefully next year I can break into the first team and get some minutes in the MLS.

“It was a big change in the first year after living at home all the time. I was living alone, getting all my groceries, cooking… I enjoyed it. It was like going from a teenager to a man. Nobody was looking after me so I had to take care of myself and learn to prepare myself off the field so I could perform on the field. At the end of the day, it’s all about eating well, sleeping well, drinking a lot of water, being in the gym all those things you have to do otherwise someone will take your spot.

“And that goal against Ottawa,” Rea added with a grin, “that was a special moment with my family there and everything. Moments like that just make you want to have more and that’s what I’m hoping for this season.”