ADAM Wilson's professional football career began somewhat unexpectedly. Eligible for this month’s MLS SuperDraft after four years at college in the United States but not anticipating being selected, the one-time Rangers youth player was neither in the hall nor watching the live stream online as the draft unfolded.

It meant he missed the announcement that, with the 39th overall pick in the second round, he was now a Toronto FC player. Some four years after leaving Scotland for a new life in North America, the 21 year-old from Auchterarder is now ensconced in a month-long training camp in California preparing for the new MLS season where team-mates will include Michael Bradley, Gregory van der Wiel and Jozy Altidore. It has been quite a whirlwind few weeks.

“I wasn’t in the room when they called my name,” he admits. “I had started my first week of classes so I was back in Louisville. I wasn’t even watching the draft as I wasn’t expecting to get picked. And then one of my friends sent me at text saying ‘congratulations’. So that was how I found out.

“I got the call on the Friday and they needed me in Toronto by the Sunday to start training on the Monday. So it all happened so fast and I wasn’t expecting any of it either. I was thinking I would be going back to school to finish my degree.”

He has taken a circuitous route to becoming a professional but has no regrets about doing so. Having spent six years within the academy system at Rangers, this one-time team-mate of the McCrorie twins (Ross and Robby) and Ryan Hardie elected to join brother Jordan in electing to try a different path to the top.

Working with agency First Point USA, Wilson was placed initially at the University of Cincinnati where he spent two years, before switching to the University of Louisville with whom he recently won the ACC [Atlantic Coast Conference] championship beating renowned colleges such as Notre Dame and Duke.

Although the call from Toronto means he is moving on before he has concluded his finance degree, it was that opportunity to partner sport with education that proved the greatest pull in luring him across the Atlantic.

“I think getting drafted vindicates my decision to come over here and give it a shot,” he adds. “I always thought school was very important and so the chance to combine the two was a big part of the appeal. I’m now in the same boat as some of the guys in Scotland in that I’ve now got the chance to play professionally, but I’m now also 90 per cent through my finance degree.

“In Scotland it’s hard to do both. And when you’re 15 or 16 you don’t really know what you want from your life, but usually have to choose one path or the other and that can be hard.

“I’ve developed a lot as a person as well as a player over the last four years. You realise that football isn’t everything at times. Back home when things weren’t going well you’d sit at home stressing that training had been terrible. Here you might have a bad session but you’ve then got to go and focus on class or studying. That helps you get more of a balanced life and get over things quicker.”

Four years of college football also removed the annual uncertainty many young players face in Scotland as they wonder whether they will be retained by their club for another season.

“I think that Scottish system can bring the best out of some players but not in others. Some end up turning their backs on football entirely if they don’t get kept on as they feel they weren’t good enough. Maybe they were but just needed to go down a different path or needed more time to be ready. People become ready for different situations at different times.”

Wilson, whose uncle Tommy will be an eight-hour drive away in his role as Academy Director of Philadelphia Union, plans on staying in North America for the foreseeable future. But the box-to-box midfielder hopes it won’t harm his chances of one day playing for the Scottish national team.

“The only thing that would bring me back to Scotland at this point would be a really good football opportunity, but even then I’m not certain. I really like my life here, I’ve got my girlfriend and my family and I enjoy the lifestyle.

“But of course Scotland is in my thoughts. Anyone who plays football wants to represent their country. I’ve still got a bit to prove before I can think seriously about that, but if the opportunity presented itself then I’d love that.”