TUKWILA, Wash. – After a strong run in the USSDA Academy playoffs, the season has ended for all four of the Rave Green youth teams. However, standout players from Seattle’s player pipeline will continue their development by training and playing with S2.
Now that colleges and high schools are out for summer vacation, S2 stands to benefit from increased integration of players from the Sounders Academy program. Several players such as Tobi Jnohope, Habib Barry, Lorenzo Ramos, Henry Baldwin, Nick Hinds and Tor Saunders just finished up their Academy careers and are now training with the second-team as they prepare for the transition to the college game.
The U-18 standouts were joined a couple of other potential future Homegrown signings such as University of Denver defender Tosh Samkange and University of Washington Midfielder Henry Wingo. Furthermore, a couple of talented players from the U-16 squad, such as Stanford commit Kei Tomozawa and striker Wilson Harris, gained valuable exposure to the speed of play and physical demands of the USL.
For Samkange, these training sessions offer an opportunity to build upon his own development after a successful freshman campaign in Denver. Meanwhile, increased involvement with S2 will provide U-18 United States national team midfielder Tomozawa with ample time to adjust his unique skill set to the speed of play he will face at Stanford University.
“The intensity and physicality is much higher here at S2, and overall it’s just a great experience,” said Tomozawa after the session. “Each level you go up [through the Sounders player development pipeline] the intensity is just higher and the speed of play is much higher. It takes a little bit of time to adjust, but once you get it, it’s really fun and [it] definitely helps my game.”
Junior Gonzalez, the assistant coach for S2 who also works closely with the Academy, sees these training sessions as mutually beneficial for current members second team, as well as potential future Homegrown signings from the youth system.
“It was a really good session. The topic was changing the point of attack and creating fluidity with our midfield spacing and playing. In each drill, that topic came out little by little, and the final game [at the end of practice] showed that the guys are trying to implement what we’ve been working on.”
Building attacks from the back, unbalancing opponents with effective possession and intelligent movement off the ball are all key constructs of the Sounders Academy curriculum. As a result, a number of Academy players performed admirably despite training with established professionals that are several years their senior. However, the massive step up with respect to physicality and speed of play intrinsically forces the young Sounders to be more proactive and efficient in each phase of the game.
“It was nice to have bigger numbers with more Academy guys out there now that the [USSDA] season is over,” added Gonzalez. “I think it puts a bit more pressure on some of the signed S2 players to perform.”
Gonzalez’s comment shed some light on one of the more surreal aspects of the training session for Sounders supporters: the opportunity to measure up potential Homegrown signings against established professionals, as well as current Homegrown players like Jordan Schweitzer and Darwin Jones.
At one point in the session, Tomozawa and Schweitzer exchanged several 1-2 passes as they carved through the opposition midfield. While both players are still young and have plenty of upside, the potential for this future midfield pairing is truly tantalizing. Moreover, the coming months will provide numerous chances for potential Homegrown signings to fortify these relationships and improve together.
Fans love seeing local players – such as DeAndre Yedlin, Aaron Kovar and Jordan Morris -- pull on the Rave Green jersey. The feeling is mutual for Academy alumni that developed their passion for the game in the Pacific Northwest.
“I’ve grown up in Seattle my whole life and it’s always good to be back,” said Samkange. “It’s good to be with the organization that I’ve been a fan of since I was little. There’s nothing quite like coming back and training with S2.”
With increased involvement for Academy standouts with S2, the organization hopes to give more local players the chance to suit up for the team they grew up idolizing.
