The Seattle Sounders Academy Sounders Discovery Program U-14s returned to Seattle this week after another successful stint at the Manchester City Cup in San Diego, Calif.
Competing in their first event as a team, the SDP standouts compiled an impressive 4-1-1 record as they went up against some of the top USSDA teams in the country, as well as Liga MX side Club Tijuana. Outside of Seattle’s bracket, the tournament field was comprised of top-class international academies representing the English Premier League, La Liga and Liga MX.
“We threw the players to the wolves a little bit at Man City Cup, as it was their first event together,” said Sounders FC Director of Player Development and Academy Director Marc Nicholls. “They came out of it with lots of promise and they achieved good results. They played the Sounders way, which is a great indicator for us in terms of the work of SDP, the role of Partner Clubs and our overall ideas for developing players at these younger ages.”
Aimed at improving the quality of player identification and development for local players between the ages of 10-13, SDP invites the top talents from around the region to train twice per week with the Sounders Academy coaches, which increases the efficacy of scouting and reduces the learning curve for players who join the Rave Green youth system full time.
SDP also allows the Academy coaches, who’ve been working with this particular group for two years, to increase the players’ technical ability and tactical understanding during critical stages of their soccer development.
“It was a good experience for the boys to play against other MLS academies and some good DA teams, as well as Xolos, a Mexican team,” said SDP Coach and Head of Affiliation and Club Partnership Development Dan Lock. “They’re a new team, so we got a glimpse of what the overall competition level will be next season.
Sounders Academy player Connor Tollan | Quinn Width
“It was also good for them to go through different tests in terms of being behind in games and having to come back and being in the lead and maintaining the lead,” he continued. “We played an entire half with 10 men [against Club Tijuana] because we had a guy sent off. We won a game on penalties against LAFC. Those experience will serve them well going into future events and next season.”
With Man City Cup providing the coaching staff a glimpse of the future, the event revealed several positive trends within the group. The young Sounders adopted a defend-from-the-front approach each game, pressing opponents into mistakes before launching quick counterattacks.
The four full-time Academy players from the U-15s who joined the group performed well, with defender Angel Martinez,13, scoring two goals, including the game-winner against San Diego Surf. Striker Austin Brummett, a regular with the U.S. U-15 boys national team, tallied four goals and four assists, while his USYNT teammate, Juan Alvarez, pitched in two goals and two assists. Midfielder Connor Tollan dictated the tempo each match, spraying passes and linking play through the middle.
“It’s an exciting group in terms of the different strengths we have within it,” said Lock. “We scored a lot of high-level goals through combination play. From my perspective, we got a clear picture that the work we do in SDP, in terms of the identity of all of our Academy teams, showed that there is a consistency there in how we want to play in the attacking third. So we’ve got that foundation laid early.”
Man City Cup, and the performances of some of the youngest players in the pipeline, showed that the future of Sounders Academy is truly bright.
Results
May 24
- Sounders SDP [U-14] 3 vs. Arsenal FC (Nor Cal) 0
- Sounders SDP [U-14] 1 vs. LA Galaxy 2
May 25
- Sounders SDP [U-14] 5 vs. Real Salt Lake 0
- Sounders SDP [U-14] 1 vs. Club Tijuana 1
May 27
- Sounders SDP [U-14] 1 vs. San Diego Surf 0
May 28
- Sounders SDP [U-14] 2 vs. LAFC 2, 5-4 on penalties
