The Seattle Sounders Academy U-15 team is in Oceanside, Calif., this weekend for the annual end-of-season USSDA showcase. Since there are no playoffs at this age group, the young Sounders will look to put a bow on their fantastic inaugural development academy campaign by taking on some of the premier teams from around the country.
“We’ve tried to treat this like we have three playoff games in terms of our preparation,” said U-15 Head Coach Sean Henderson. “We play two MLS teams and then another top DA team, so it’s very similar to what it will be for the next 3-4 years for these kids.”
With the season wrapping up, the tournament will serve as a litmus test for the development of the team and individual players. After scoring 23 goals in their final 10 league matches, despite missing several key players through playing up with the U-17s, Manchester City Cup and U.S. youth national team duties, the U-15 showcase will give the young Sounders an opportunity to demonstrate their growth since the start of the campaign.
“The team has continued to get better all year, and we finished the season really strong,” said Henderson. “We had a tough schedule at the end of the year and we only lost one of our 10 final games. So, we expect the players and the team to finish off the season strong at this showcase.
“We continue to push our best players out of their comfort zone by playing them up,” he added. “The second big takeaway from the season has been that things we’ve been preaching in terms of how we want to play — number of entry passes into the box, the number of shots inside the box, ball recoveries in the opponent’s half — we’re in the top three in the entire country in every category. So, the kids are doing what we’ve been asking them to do.”
Academy U-15s celebrate a goal at Starfire | Quinn Width
Finishing the season as the second-ranked team in the USSDA Northwest Division, the Rave Green actually have one of the youngest U-15 squads in the country, with the likes of Angel Martinez (CB), Connor Tollan (LW), Oscar Rincon (FW), Austin Brummett (FW) and Juan Alvarez (CM) all playing 1-2 years above their age group.
Since the primary mandate of Sounders Academy is to develop players that can one day contribute to the First Team, it’s important to evaluate the season based upon the development individual prospects, as well as the overall success of the team. From that perspective, the 2017-18 campaign was a resounding success, with seven players from the U-15 pool receiving U.S. youth national team call-ups in the past nine months. Four players on the squad have also already begun training with S2.
One of the more endearing narratives for the U-15s this season has been the role of David Estrada as the assistant coach. In addition to signing a contract with S2, the veteran forward has become further immersed with the organization, as he’s helped mentor and coach some of the brightest prospects in the pipeline.
“It’s been so good, I’m really happy the club decided to bring him back because he’s such a good influence,” Henderson said of Estrada. “He’s been a fantastic influence for S2, both as a player and a mentor. And he’s been a really good role model to the Academy kids in that he’s still currently a professional soccer player and he’s able to spend night after night teaching these 13-, 14-year-old players.”
Schedule
June 21
- Sounders FC 0 vs. Colorado Rapids 0 | 11 a.m. PT, SoCal Sports Complex
June 22
- Sounders FC vs. North Carolina FC | 1:15 p.m. PT, SoCal Sports Complex
June 24
- Sounders FC vs. New York City FC | 9 a.m. PT, SoCal Sports Complex
