Sounders FC captain Brad Evans can do it all.
The midfielder has always been known as a versatile player. That has been no more evident than over the first two weeks of the 2015 preseason, where the 29-year-old has been seeing time at a new position: center back.
“The whole preseason I’ve been playing that position and obviously training against Oba [Martins] every single day, and Lamar [Neagle], and Chad Barrett, those guys who are known for their goal-scoring abilities and their movement,” said Evans of making the switch to the center of defense. “So it’s been difficult, but it’s also been a good challenge that I’ve been looking forward to.”
Having previously seen regular minutes for the club (and the U.S. National Team) at right back, center midfield and the wings, Evans is no stranger to learning a new place on the pitch.
Entering his seventh season in Seattle and ninth in MLS, Evans is willing to do what it takes to get the most out of his playing time.
“I think there’s a lot of things you can take from just being tactically aware and that’s kind of been the M.O. as of late,” said Evans of the move. “The last couple of seasons I’ve been switching around a little bit. So the opportunity, at the end of the year, was kind of talked about a little bit."
“And then I called [Sounders Head Coach] Sigi [Schmid] in early January and said, ‘What’s the plan? Because I want to get mentally prepared. I want to play one position, and I want to play it well.’ And I think this will give me the best chance moving forward. Only time will tell how it goes.”
For Schmid, there was no better time than the present to get Evans some reps at the heart of his defense.
”It was just my feeling that if we were going to make that switch, now might be the right time to do it,” said Schmid. “I didn’t want to wait until he was older, because then learning the nuances of the position would be more difficult. Some of the things he brings are he’s still got a great work ethic, and he can still cover a lot of the field.”
Since he made the switch to the position, Evans has only seen 90 minutes of game action in the back, with 45 minutes coming against UCLA and the other 45 against the LA Galaxy while in California.
A two-week stint in Tucson for the Desert Diamond Cup should provide an additional test, one that his head coach is eager to assess.
“It’s still a work in progress,” said Schmid of how things are coming along. “We’re looking at Brad back there playing next to Chad [Marshall]. He’s always dropped back there at times in practice. He’s played there at times even in training with the National Team, way back with me as well with the U-20s. So it’s just a matter of getting comfortable.”
With this new challenge still in its infancy, Evans already has his eyes on a bigger prize before he hangs up the boots - some time between the pipes.
“Goalkeeper,” Evans quipped as being the only position he hasn’t played for Seattle. “Hopefully in my sendoff game, that’s what I’ll sub on as when we’re winning 3-0. Throw on the gloves and come on as goalkeeper – that’s the dream.”
