Academy Update
It was an exciting summer for the Sounders FC Academy. Academy product DeAndre Yedlin became the first MLS Homegrown Player to represent the United States in the World Cup. Yedlin made his debut against Portugal and saw minutes against eventual champions, Germany, as well as in the round of 16 versus Belgium.
In addition to Yedlin’s incredible achievements, Academy players Jordan Morris and Victor Mansaray also received monumental U.S National Team call-ups. Jordan Morris received a first-team call-up in early September to participate in a friendly against the Czech Republic. He earned a roster spot in the team’s first international match since World Cup action, making him the first active college player to be called into one of Jurgen Klinsmann’s squads.
Current U-18 player Mansaray competed with the U-18 U.S. National Team, winning the 21st International Tournament of Vaclav Jezek in the Czech Republic. Mansaray’s regular participation in Sounders FC first-team training helped prepare him for the challenges he would face at the international level, and the Academy is excited to have Mansaray in this year’s U-18 squad as it competes in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy (USSDA) 2014-2015 season.
The Sounders FC Academy also has some new additions to the coaching staff this year. Shannon Murray, a member of U.S. Soccer’s National Instructors Staff as well as WYSA’s District 1 Director of Education, will assist both the U-16 and U-18 squads.
Sounders FC Kicks Off Discovery Program
This year marks the inaugural season of the Sounders FC Discovery Program. In an effort to achieve the club’s ambition of identifying and developing future first-team players, the Sounders Academy has added a Pre-Academy Discovery Program to its collection of youth program offerings. The program replicates the Academy training environment that challenges the area’s best, most ambitious youth players.
Once a week, 30 players in the 2001-2002 age group participate in competitive and fulfilling training sessions. Program staff execute fun, educational, and challenging sessions encouraging player development and evaluating the top prospects in the age group. Throughout the year, Academy staff will survey local matches, identifying quality players for the program. The Sounders FC Discovery Program gives ambitious youth a taste of what it means to be a part of the Sounders FC Academy, while also discovering the future Sounders.
The Sounders FC Discovery Program works in partnership with area clubs and club directors. All developmental players attend one session per week in conjunction with their full-time commitments to local club teams throughout the year. Maintaining consistent club participation helps players foster their own unique technical and tactical skill-sets.
U-18
Former Sounder Dick McCormick will once again coach the U-18 age group. Coach McCormick hopes to build upon last season’s successful playoff run and quarterfinal appearance. Players at this critical age group are working hard to reach the next level in their playing careers. Most of the players in this age group have committed to top NCAA Division 1 programs as they continue to pursue opportunities to assert themselves at the professional level.
Select Academy players have the unique opportunity to train with the first-team players and coaching staff. This inclusion gives Sounders FC Head Coach Sigi Schmid the chance to evaluate players within the first-team environment.
Last season, the U-18s won the USSDA Northwest Division with a 17-4-6 record, including a plus-40 goal differential. They advanced through the playoff group stage with a 3-0-0 record before falling in the national quarterfinals.
U-16
Former Sounder and longtime professional Sean Henderson serves as head coach for this year’s U-16 age group. Henderson brings a wealth of knowledge and experience having played professionally in both MLS and Germany. This squad promises to be an exciting and competitive group that looks to prove itself among the nation’s best in the USSDA and the exclusive MLS Generation Adidas Cup.
The U-16s finished third in the Northwest Division last season with a 13-5-9 record and earned a spot in the USSDA playoffs.
U-14
This marks the second year of the Under 14 Program’s existence. The program gathers the best players within the 2000-2001 age group in a full-time training environment. The U-14s are treated as young professionals, experiencing a combination of training and film sessions four times a week with matches on weekends.
This season the U-14s will compete in the Far West Regional League as well as selective U.S. Soccer and unique MLS events. The U-14s are coached by Head Coach and Academy Technical Director Marc Nicholls. Nicholls is assisted by Michael Morris and Brayton Knapp.
