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Inside the Sounders Youth System with the Seattle Sounders Technical Director
3 Plays1 minute ago
Seattle Sounders Technical Director Henry Brauner speaks with Lobbing Scorchers about Generation Adidas Cup, Sounders U15s, Young Honduran star Christopher Batiz, Snyder Brunell breakout, Paul Rothrock and Peter Kingston stories, plus youth soccer access and affordability.
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Lobbing Scorchers is a Seattle Sounders and MLS focused show brought to you by Sounder at Heart. Hosted by Major League Soccer's Ari Liljenwall and Producer Noah Riffe. Join us as we lob our scorching takes on the American soccer landscape, Seattle Sounders, Major League Soccer, USMNT and more.
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Transcript
Introduction and Guest Introduction
00:00:00
Speaker
Well sir, we got a scorcher today. Gonna be real scorcher today. Quite the scorcher today. Well it's gonna be a scorcher.
00:00:21
Speaker
All right, we are very excited to welcome in our next guest. It's a returning guest to Lobbing Scorchers, and we're very excited to catch up with him on the Seattle Sounders Youth Development Program, and he is the best person to talk to about
Henry Bronner's Role and Youth Development Insights
00:00:35
Speaker
that. We have got Henry Bronner, Seattle Sounders Technical Director, joining the show right now. a new title. He used to be the Director of Development. Now he is the Technical Director. Henry, we have got a lot to ask you about GA a Cup and all things Seattle Sounders Youth Development. But ah first of all, thanks for joining the show. We really appreciate you hopping back on. How are you doing here this evening?
00:00:56
Speaker
um I'm good. i'm I'm glad I got invited back. That was something that I was a little bit nervous and anxious about coming out of the last one that we did at Starfire. So I'm happy to have have passed the initial test screening.
00:01:09
Speaker
so Oh, you're always welcome on Lobbing Scorchers, Henry. But yeah, we had we had a great interview out at Starfire last season during the U.S. Open Cup. And we're looking forward to catching up with you again because there is a there's a lot to talk about as far as the Sounders youth development
Exploring the Generation Adidas Cup
00:01:26
Speaker
right now. And we wanted to start with the Generation Adidas Cup, which the Seattle Sounders Academy was competing in. last month a great run for the U15s which we wanted to talk to you about but ah to start off Henry I was hoping you could give our audience just a quick nutshell on what the GA Cup is what the tournament is why it's considered as such a premier showcase for youth development and kind of just the type of emphasis that the organization puts on a good performance at that tournament.
00:01:54
Speaker
Yeah so GA Cup stands Generation Adidas that's the ah that's the what the acronym stands for it's just a It's a event that MLS in collaboration with Adidas put on and they invite obviously all the MLS clubs go to it, plus a few select academies within the ecosystem that compete in the um MLS Next platform. And then they bring in the international competition from all over the world, predominantly, you know, Adidas based. clubs. So you'll see a River Plate, you'll see a Bayern Munich.
Sounders U15 Success and Development Philosophy
00:02:29
Speaker
It's a good benchmarking event for all the um MLS clubs because we're able to kind of test our best talent against their best talent and kind of gives us a good idea of where we are, both from a you know competitive perspective, but also like a player profile perspective. What is their center back look like versus our center back? you know Consistently you'll see, you know even within our in our groups, the 15s and 16s that both you know got it through to the semifinals and the 15s obviously making the final. um A lot of those kids play against each other in international competition. So a lot of the guys that are in the U16 national team for us, they're playing against guys that they're playing against in Argentina's youth national team or Germany's youth national team. So it's a good moment to benchmark one, our guys against the world, but also kind of see where we are at from a competitive perspective when it comes to these level of competitions.
00:03:23
Speaker
Yeah, we wanted to ask you about the U15s because like you mentioned, made it all the way to the final this year where they eventually fell to Valencia, which is a Spanish side. ah But they really, the U15s were turning heads, incredible performance throughout the tournament. Before we ask you about the specific player we want to talk about today, could you tell us just about this U15 side that you guys put out there this year? What made them a special group and did they exceed your expectations at all? Or was this an age group you were looking at like, okay, we could be really onto something with these kids.
00:03:56
Speaker
Yeah, I think, um and it's true for us, you know, one is when the talent development and the talent identification kind of work hand in hand, then then you're able to have a, create the right environment for the players that are incoming to the club. I think Ethan O'Neill,
00:04:13
Speaker
who is the U15 head coach, did a fantastic job, not just at the event, but for the entire year. You know, this is, GA Cup kind of comes towards the, it's one of the last events of the year. So, you know, Ethan's been able to work with them, you know, predominantly throughout the last eight, nine, 10 months, even proceeding to that moment to bring them into this event. And then also David Lara, Being our head of recruitment within the academy side, you know being able to identify, bring in the right players for you know that long-term projection of you know we're picking potential at this point. We're not picking performance. We we exist in a...
00:04:51
Speaker
We exist in a learning environment within the development side. So you know we're always looking for the future and in how we project the players forward. But you know when that talent ID from Bingy and that coaching and that development of the players on the field within the idea and way that we want to see young players play within you know the space that they're in, Ethan O'Neil does a wonderful job of that. And you know he's supported by ah an incredible cast of people as well to to help support them. so You know, I think, again, there's no such thing no such thing as a good surprise. We talk about it all the time. it's It's systematic in their strategy, and we make sure that we're taking the right steps and not prioritizing a result over development.
Sounders' Winning Culture and Player Highlights
00:05:32
Speaker
And because of those moments and because of the, you know, hard work and effort that the development side put into these teams, then, yeah, they they got to the final of the G.A. Cup. And that's also the standard um for this club, but also within this development side at this club.
00:05:47
Speaker
having previously won GA Cups in 2019 and 2022, the expectation is that they do well at these events. You know, and the expectation is that, you know, every generation of players has a chance to play in a GA Cup final. And, you know, a lot of the homegrown joke about it, the ones that have won the GA Cup and the ones that haven't.
00:06:04
Speaker
And some of these homegrowns have won Leagues Cups and some of these homegrowns have won MLS Cups and they still ah kind of pull punches on the homegrowns that didn't win a GA Cup. So it's it's ah it's a good culture that has been created um and we're happy to you know provide that environment and that culture within within the club not just the development side but all the way through into the second team and the first team so yeah Absolutely. Well, Henry, let's get into the main topic that we wanted to ask you about today. This was the reason we requested this interview. And I think a lot of the fan base is wondering about this player as well. But we were hoping you could tell us a little more about Christopher Batiste from that U15 side. He's obviously drawn a lot of attention for his career. attacking flair and his performance at this GI cup this year was truly incredible. It wasn't just the fact that he was the leading goal scorer, I believe for anybody in the, in the tournament, but some of the goals he was scoring were very eyeopening. I think the, the free kick that he hit comes to mind. That was an unbelievable strike. He was a lot of fun to watch. And you know, we were watching this happen and you're like, we don't really know.
00:07:14
Speaker
who this kid is or where he came from. So we got to ask Henry about this because, ah you know, and a player, a young player coming up with this type of attacking talent and upside, that's always going to be intriguing for us. And I think the fan base as a whole, but ah yeah, we, I'd love to just hear about Christopher, his background, how you guys found him. Where did, ah where did this kid come from and how did he end up sort of at the forefront of this run that the U15s went on at the GACUP?
00:07:42
Speaker
Yeah, chris is look Chris has been with us for probably over about 12, 18 months now. um Lives in the area. His brother lives in federal ways, so he's you know familiar with the area.
00:07:56
Speaker
You know, Chris has a wonderful story, ah integration. You know, he's he's a Honduran. You know, his family is from there, and and he was here. And by chance, we were able to have the opportunity to kind of give him an opportunity where, you know, he was training with us part-time, but also playing with Seattle United. Seattle United's U14s at that time. We we have a good...
00:08:18
Speaker
working relationship with that club and they have over the years been fantastic about promoting players within their environment to us and understanding that, yeah, even though it might weaken their team in the short term, it's going to be able to excel that player for the future, you know, i.e. Jackson, Reagan, Soda Kitahara, all these guys that have come from that space. And Chris is one of those. we you know We were able to work with them and provide Chris a meaningful training environment while he was training part-time with us as a U14 player. And then once he kind of graduated into that U15 age group, then we were able to bring him in full-time with us. And again, you know currently he goes to, still has school.
00:08:55
Speaker
They all still have school, but he is still going to school like a normal eighth grader. And then he comes to us around 12 o'clock during the day, finishes up his schoolwork. with Diane Carney. And then he's training with either the 16s, 18s, sometimes the 15s. But yeah, he's a player that, like you said, it can be very eye-catching at times. Some of his highest, highest moments that we're seeing on social media. I mean, again, during GA Cup, I think every Instagram post I saw had him tagged in it and he's he's scoring these incredible goals. But
00:09:29
Speaker
you know The good thing is we we have to remember that you know he is a young kid. He's 14 years old, 15 years old, and he he is transitioning into you know learning the language. he he He is an environment in this space now that I feel will help accelerate his development and help him succeed.
00:09:47
Speaker
um And yeah, we see the the highest level actions from from Chris at GA Cup, scoring free kicks, assists, all the things that you want to see from him. but Again, we've also, you know, not a lot of 60 yard defensive runs get posted on social media.
00:10:03
Speaker
um And he's also doing that. And not a lot of things on social media show kind of the hard work mindset, the, you know, the hard running, the dirty running. And and he does that very well as well. And we're going to continue to instill that.
00:10:19
Speaker
mentality into him. We don't believe in a silver spoon within the development side here, but we do believe a little bit in the the silver shovel. You know, we're going to give them the resources they need to succeed and meet their dreams, but it's going to come through hard work, you know, and if they don't put the effort in,
00:10:37
Speaker
They're not going to get there. That's the reality. There's a big difference between effort and direction. And we feel within the development side for us, we can provide the player with both. We can show them the pathway through to the first team, but we're also going to give them that shovel because they're gonna have to, they're going to have to get there themselves as well. And it's going to be hard and it's going to be tough. And our job within this club is to make it the most difficult and the most challenging for the highest potential players. And if you can do that,
00:11:00
Speaker
then they might be able to withstand the rigors of the professional game. And when they get to Brian Schmetzer's environment in the first team, you know they they we need to arm them so that they are ready for it because when they enter into that performance-based environment where the result is the most critical thing on the weekend, we have to ensure that they're ready to step into that to contribute
Youth Development Challenges and Strategies
00:11:20
Speaker
and help. So...
00:11:21
Speaker
Chris is at the very, very beginning stage of his journey. He is, again, learning everything he needs to learn. He is learning the language as well. So there are some external factors that he has to also compete with. The one thing we forget about when we're dealing with high potential players is that their talent is also matched by their vulnerability. So the more talented they are, the more vulnerable they are. And we have to ensure that we're protecting them in and giving them the right experiences when those experiences need it and making sure that
00:11:52
Speaker
We are patient with them and how they grow and how they we can accelerate their their pathway. If we accelerate it too quick, you're not going to get the highest potential. If we, again, if we if we rush it, he's not going to take the steps needed.
00:12:08
Speaker
He's going to miss out on certain moments, certain moments where he needs to struggle. um But again, we surround these players from everybody from the development side into the first team with people that have a massive compassion for the young player.
00:12:21
Speaker
um And we're also very well supported by the club as well in the endeavor of producing players and making these players our own. Again, every dollar that's spent in the development side of the club, all that is is a future investment in the first team.
00:12:36
Speaker
So future investment in the first team can look like a $20 million dollars transfer from somewhere this player coming in, or it can look like a sustained approach and it can look like $20 million dollars of investment over four years You know, it's the same amount of investment in your first team. It's just done in different ways. So we believe that and we are supported by Adrian and the ownership group within this club. And again, the money they spend in the development side is just a future investment in the first team. And so every dollar spent on Chris at this moment, again, we're hoping that he can one day be there, impact, score goals in Lumen. And, you know, now he's getting some highlights in Lumen Field as opposed to Florida.
00:13:17
Speaker
Is there an added challenge that comes with developing an attacking player like this? You know, we've seen you guys have had a lot of success with the Obed Vargas's of the world. We've seen what Snyder Brunel has done this year, Danny Leyva, Josh Atencio. You could go down the list, but further further up the field, there maybe hasn't been as many guys that have broken through. You could go back to Jordan Morris, but it does seem like just in general and league wide,
00:13:44
Speaker
ah You don't see as many players with these dynamic attacking traits maybe as you do in the in the midfield. But looking around the league in the last couple years and this year, you know, I'm thinking Nico Securus in San Jose was having a fantastic year before he got injured in the last couple weeks. But that kid looked like a genuine carry the load number 10 player. in Major League Soccer. Brian Gutierrez is another name that comes to mind, but they're they're fewer and far between, I think it's fair to say, compared to other positions.
00:14:14
Speaker
What are the challenges that that come with that? And is it i mean is it as simple as you know scoring goals is the most difficult thing to do in the sport, and so it's the hardest thing to develop, or is there anything else like more to it than that?
00:14:26
Speaker
Yeah, I think, again, another player that's probably on that you know early pathway, Xavier Gozo, obviously, from AFL at the moment. He's he's having a a wonderful year. With the attacking players, again, the hardest thing to do in a game is score goals. and you know Especially at the Sounders, this is a place where you know we've had some wonderful, wonderful attacking players. So you know the responsibility and the expectation on a young attacking player can be very, very high.
00:14:52
Speaker
ah Again, that goal scoring quality, you know there's some innate features and innate qualities that go into producing a good attacking player. um Ultimately, there's probably more opportunity, though, in regards to that because, you know, let's look at, you know, producing a young center back, producing a young goalkeeper, producing, you know, a young holding midfielder, you know, or outside back.
00:15:12
Speaker
You know, it's it's not as easy to throw Stuart Hawkins into the end of a game to to protect the 1-0 lead away away from home as a center back, right? Their loading and their sprinkling of minutes is a little bit more systematic, and and it takes a lot of, know, you know, time and, you know, the best players in those positions don't come on, you know, until a little bit later. They they age a little bit more like wine, whereas attacking players, again, maybe we're down 1-0, down 2-1. You need a spark. You need to see something. you can You can throw a young attacking player into a game, you know, with 20, 30 minutes left and see see if they can create a moment, you know, and that's that's ultimately what they do. is it Is it harder to create or harder to destroy? You know, those are two things that, you know, depending on what position you play as a player, you're going to argue against it, but...
00:15:56
Speaker
you know, producing a ah highly talented attacking player is one of the hardest things to do in the game. And that's why they're the most valuable and the most, you know, they go for the highest price tags across the world. Right. So, um,
00:16:09
Speaker
The innate challenge ultimately is going to be, can we give Chris Batiste every moment he needs before he is asked to to carry the burden and responsibility of goals within the first team?
00:16:19
Speaker
And we feel that we we have the structure and the system to be able to do it. You know, everything Wade is doing within that development side and supporting everybody there from, you know, Apollo and our second team, you know, to the academy coaches, you know, to Brayton, to Craig Dalrymple, who's our head of professional player development. You know, Chris chris has a very clear panel and that we have to get to, and it is a very,
00:16:38
Speaker
call it robust plan over 36 months, you know, that have to, he's got to hit some benchmarks. He's got to be exposed into the right spaces. He, he has to do everything. everything that is asked of him, you know, because Wade says it very well, you know, at at times you you don't necessarily score your way into the first team. You kind of have to defend your way into the first team. So he's going to have to give, you know, that level of resistance that is expected from a young player against the ball, you know, but what we're confident in is that his quality when we do have the ball is going to be able to shine through. So,
00:17:09
Speaker
Again, he's he's going to be surrounded by some incredible people. you know Obviously, Precky works you know very, very well with some of these young players and being an attacking player, left-footed himself, Chris might benefit from watching some of the old highlight videos there. But um yeah, he again, we have a we have a staff of people and the environment will always produce the player, not one individual. you know and We feel we have the right environment that surrounds these high potential players like Chris.
00:17:35
Speaker
like a Stewart, like an Obed, like a Danny Leyva, like an Intensio Reed, you know, the list goes on. But the environment and the ability to kind of plan their pathways and give them the right moments and give them what they need when they need it and take away certain things to create a little bit more of a struggle and create more of a challenge when we need to, it's it's something that,
00:17:55
Speaker
we feel we're ready to do. And again, um, if you look at the experience we have within the club from a youth development perspective, you know, you, you have a head coach like, you know, Brian Schmetzer that that's able to trust and, and give that opportunity, you know, and be brave with those, those decisions that he's made in the past. And it's just wonderful to see. And that's, it's also the rarity. You don't always get that, but his, uh,
00:18:23
Speaker
His willingness and his perseverance within giving those opportunities has been incredible. And we're so thankful for that. You know, again, we also have two other former um MLS head coaches that are in that staff and Precky and, you know, Freddy Juarez and Freddy obviously coming from ah RSL and beginning his coaching journey, you know, in New Mexico, going to RSL's academy, going through to being the head coach of the Monarchs, being an assistant within RSL's, you know, first team and then becoming the head coach of the first team at RSL. Like he has a wealth of knowledge within that. Preki also, like not a lot of people remember this, but he was one of the first coaches to be playing young homegrowns at Chivas when he was there as the head coach. So, and his willingness to work with young players and his like compassion that he has for young players is something very unique that we, that is something we can never, you know, discount. And then again, yeah we also have head coaches of MLS clubs of modern day in our development side, right? So Paulo Nagamura, you know, is somebody that,
00:19:21
Speaker
when he was done as a player at SKC, went into their second team and was coaching in that space in the development side, got his opportunity obviously in Houston as an MLS head coach. And now we're so fortunate to have him within our development side, you know, leading
Coaching Influence and Collective Effort
00:19:35
Speaker
Defiance. And then look, Craig Dalrymple, our head of professional player development, he was a head coach in MLS as well at the Vancouver War Caps for that interim period. So, you know, we're able to, we have five MLS head coaches basically in our club, you know, from the first team all the way through to development side.
00:19:51
Speaker
that's we're only one has that, you know, and that experience and that knowledge and that willingness to, you know, grow and help develop, not just like a young player, but like a young man, that's something that you don't find. And we, we,
00:20:05
Speaker
We believe that those two things have to work. They're symbiotic. you know your When your best players are your best people, then you have something unique. you know And you see that in the homegrowns, like a Danny Leva, like an Obed.
00:20:17
Speaker
Not only were they wonderful players, but they were also wonderful people. And we have to ensure that whoever's coming next, Seba Gomez, first year, and now, Chris Petit, hopefully in the future, that they they have to have that quality within them as well. you know ah The way the game is going,
00:20:33
Speaker
you're a young attacking player in this country, somebody will give you a contract. um If you don't have the character to go with that, that's the only contract you're going to get You know, so we got to ensure that we're we're producing a player that's able to sustain themselves in this game. And, you know, talent gets you your first contract, but character gets you contract two, three, four, five, six. You know, it's it's endless. And then it probably gives you more of a future in the game after you're done playing as well.
00:20:59
Speaker
You know, so if you look at Jao Paulo, the Tacoma Defiance assistant, obviously we know what he's done for the club here. But. ultimately what an incredible human being. and And that's who we want to surround our players with just like our first team staff that are so geared towards youth development. Now they got to win games on the weekend, obviously that's their focus, but the compassion Ricardo and Freddie and Precky and Brian and Tommy and Johnny and all the people that are working in that space have it's, it's, uh, it's, it's incredible to see. And that, it just, that goes beyond the technical staff too. Like if you see how Grant is so invested in the players and you know, all the things that surround it, it's, it's, uh,
00:21:36
Speaker
it's we we We are very fortunate that we exist in the space that we do because Not a lot of places are like this and the people make the club. That's the reality.
00:21:47
Speaker
And we have some pretty, pretty incredible people here. And because of that, we're able to have the success on a first team level, but also from a development side perspective as well. And also our sporting director was once the U15 coach within the academy and Sean Henderson. So, and Craig Weibel, our GM, you know oversaw one of the most ah bountiful times of RSL's homegrown producing
Supporting the Podcast and Merchandise Promotions
00:22:10
Speaker
history. so
00:22:13
Speaker
it's It's an incredible space to to work in, and we're just so fortunate. So I just want to say that.
00:22:22
Speaker
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Speaker
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00:23:15
Speaker
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Speaker
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Speaker
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Speaker
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00:25:24
Speaker
Real quick, just the last thing on him. Could you tell us like how you found him? What was the backstory? He's from Honduras, I believe, originally, if I'm not mistaken. So how do the Seattle Sounders go out and find an attacking prospect with this much upside seemingly from Honduras?
Chris Batiste and Snyder Brunell's Journeys
00:25:45
Speaker
Yeah, so he was here. So his family lives here. right His brother, Nelson, is is he's the one that's basically taken him to to games and trainings. And you know he's a big part of what how Chris has been able to have these opportunities. and you know Nelson's here. And again, the exact, exact story. I think Brayton Knapp probably has the best best ah way to look at it. But you know Chris kind of found us a little bit.
00:26:07
Speaker
um And you know Chris was here and asked to train. And and you know we obviously brought him out. And and yeah, we we were able to then help guide his pathway from that point forward. And you know the the top, top players, they they seek opportunity. And he was definitely one of those that seeked it. and happened to be here at the moment, the timing was right.
00:26:27
Speaker
And yeah, again, we were able to kind of bring him in and it was more, you know, again, we've created an environment where good things kind of happen over time. And so I don't wanna say Chris fell into our lap because we wanna make sure that Every player is given the same struggle and and challenges that we give every player and to see who comes out of it. um So, yeah, chris ah Chris has as much to do with his journey as we have to do with it. And when there's that balance created, and then then we can have, then the player you know is going to have the success that you want to see.
00:27:01
Speaker
Henry, we got to talk some Snyder Burnell with you. You know, he's been, i would say, maybe maybe the most unexpected breakout character on the team on our show this year. i think we all love what we saw from him last year, scoring a couple MLS goals, looking very acclimated and comfortable with the first team. But I got to say, this year he is shown i think to me that he's on an even different level than any of us could have thought or imagined every week it seems like every game he does at least one or two sometimes even three or four things where you're just watching it you're like wow how did he do that the footwork the technical ability the chops as a facilitator the work rate it's all fantastic uh what have you thought of the snyder brunell breakout this year
00:27:48
Speaker
And what can you kind of tell us about Snyder's journey specifically from when he arrived to where he is now looking like kind of the next breakout homegrown star for this team? Yeah. Yeah.
00:28:01
Speaker
Snyder was was probably more of a just needed a little bit longer of a runway in the beginning before he he was able to get the plane off the ground, i think is what you're seeing now. um Obviously he came in in that U14, U15 space, you know, took steady steps, consistent steps.
00:28:18
Speaker
um Again, always had that little bit more, i think, i don't know, feel for the game, the brain for the game. a little bit extra level of texture and quality. He also worked extremely hard at it, you know, to to get to that point. it It doesn't just happen naturally. Look, every player, and again, you can compare this to academics or any other discipline, that you know, you go to school, high school, all these things, you're given the same curriculum, you're given the same opportunity, you're in the same classroom.
00:28:51
Speaker
And then it's the players that are willing to take advantage of those opportunities and the resources that they're given that they eventually, they're the ones that end up at different universities or in this case in professional sports, they're the ones that make it through into the first team or the ones that make it into a professional pathway within the club. Again, every player is given the same level of coaching. Every player is given the same amount of opportunity. Every player is exposed to the same environments, the same games, multiple GA cups, international competition, youth national teams.
00:29:18
Speaker
And then it's the ones that really embrace it that are able to continue to excel and take those resources and really turn that into something that provides direction for them in their and their pathway. And they take they take a massive amount of responsibility and autonomy in terms of how they're going to get to that point.
00:29:33
Speaker
We can give them, again, we can give them the shovel, we can give them the resources, but they're ones that got to you know dig their way through the tough moments and and and do everything they can to work hard for the opportunities that they ultimately get.
00:29:44
Speaker
But for Snyder, was a little bit longer of a burn, a little bit longer runway. You know, he took steady steps going from the U15s to the 16s to the 17s into Tacoma Defiance, you know, transitioning at a time when Wade Webber was the head coach. And Wade did a wonderful job of overseeing his, you know, first minutes, his debut in the second team.
00:30:03
Speaker
Steadily grew him all the way through. Snyder got opportunity within the Open Cup to play with the first team. Did wonderfully. You know, he's taken every opportunity. He is a little bit, again, we talk about these entry windows into professional soccer. So the first entry window, you know, it's kind of like 15 to 17. That's the first window that a player can most likely enter into a first team environment and to be able to excel. That's kind of, that was ah Obed's entry point was that first window. You know, that second window kind of comes in that like,
00:30:34
Speaker
maybe 18, 19 to 21, 22 period. So maybe if they're a little bit later of a developer or they're not quite physically ready to handle the demands of a first team environment, that's where you know, some of those players come a little bit later in that sense. So Snyder was kind of in that second window where he needed a little bit more time, need a little bit more growth, needed a little bit more, you know, physical maturity and physical, you know, built more physical capacity into him so that he could handle a first team environment. And now, yeah, finally, not finally, but he's very young. We're seeing the fruits of that, you know, more long-term vision with him.
00:31:10
Speaker
Um, Again, he was he was consistent in all aspects. he you know Sometimes a player has to have an elite quality to be able to make it in in that first window. you know Now we're starting to see Snyder's kind of elite qualities come out a little bit more now, and that's something that's going to be able for him to survive. Again, his highest his highest level actions are very, very high. I think that's that's something that's going to allow him to consistently take next steps into different environments and especially having the role he has within the team. He's still he's still in that integration phase. You know, there's multiple phases that a player has to go through to establish themselves in the first team.
00:31:44
Speaker
He's in that integration phase right now where, again, He's still a very young teenager, getting youth national team opportunities, but he's also you know fighting and competing and you know holding his place within the first team. So the more consistent he can be and the more opportunity he gets within that space, the easier it is going to be for him to integrate, and then we can accelerate that integration to get to a point where, okay, maybe he's a little bit more established now, and then once he becomes an established player, you know then you're able to work on different things. You're able to do develop kind of different qualities within him.
00:32:15
Speaker
The good thing about Snyder and these young players coming through is that because they're you know still in that age spectrum where they're potentially going to be going to U-20 World Cups, Olympics, things like that, um it's important that they do get those exposures within their own age category as well you know because it's seldom that you know Snyder gets to wear the captain's armband. Well, when he's with the youth national team at the U-19 and U-20 level, he is the captain of that team, and that's something that When they get to play in their own age category, they get to now be the leader. They now get to understand that, oh, my performance will dictate how well this team does.
00:32:50
Speaker
Right now, he's a supporting role within the first team, and he's helping support the players around him, and he's doing everything he can. He's doing a wonderful job of it. But that leadership quality, that demand that he has to put on himself as probably the leader within that team, those are still able to come when he's playing in those on-age hopefully U20 World Cup in the future teams.
00:33:09
Speaker
And so those are critical moments for his development as well. Sometimes, you know, when you accelerate the pathway too quickly, or again, if they're good enough, they're old enough. That's the reality. If Chris is ready, 15, 16 years old, okay, then nobody at this club is scared to to give that opportunity.
00:33:25
Speaker
When they're good enough, they're old enough. the Age is not a chronological dictator of when these players enter, it's the quality and the and the you know in the character that the player has within themselves. That will ultimately tell you when they can enter the first team and MLS environment on a consistent basis. you know so Wade also says it very well, quoting Wade a lot. um You don't become a pro when you sign a contract. You become a pro when you start acting like one. And much like Obed and Chris and all these guys that have come before him, Snyder was acting like a pro from the minute he stepped in. And, you know, so those decisions kind of make themselves pretty clear over time.
00:34:00
Speaker
um But again, Some of his highest level actions, they are they are they are fun to watch. And again, he has more in the tank. um The coaches, you know, work so well with him.
00:34:12
Speaker
You know, Preki obviously has that strong affinity for that young player and he's working pretty consistently with him. So you're seeing a lot of, you're seeing the environment's hard work, you know, on that match day and and it's it's wonderful to see.
00:34:26
Speaker
Absolutely. Yeah, we've had a blast watching him this year. You know, it's funny going into the season. We were debating what exactly his role would look like. And it's always tough. You haven't seen him that much in MLS. And we were debating, you know, is this is this someone that we trust as a starter for the first team? That's a big responsibility. And it became apparent very quickly where we we were like, I think Snyder absolutely should be week in, week out starter for this team. And he's he's proven that every week. Uh, shifting gears a little bit, Henry, we got Seattle Sounders technical director, Henry Bronner, joining the
Reclamation Projects and Overlooked Talents
00:35:02
Speaker
show. Uh, we wanted to ask you about a couple of players that you guys have had success with that were written off by other teams at different points in their careers. And the names that come to mind with that are Paul Rothrock and Peter Kingston. Paul Rothrock was a pretty late super draft pick of Toronto FC, and he sort of got a last gasp attempt with Tacoma Defiance and then worked his way up, and now he's a star player in MLS. And then I think the Peter Kingston story this year is almost crazier. You know, this guy's played at every level. of Seattle soccer um Ballard FC Tacoma Defiance you dub Seattle you he's played for all of them and no one at any point I think ever said once that this was a guy that was a future regular contributor to the Seattle Sounders first team. And to his credit, he was given the opportunity and he's maximized it. And now not only did he make the first team, but he's been one of the first guys off the bench the last few weeks. I think, he yeah, he got his first MLS start.
00:36:07
Speaker
What goes into kind of evaluating and finding a guy that, Everyone else has written off, but maybe you guys see something in him that other people don't. Or how do you how do you kind of tackle a reclamation project? I guess i don't know if that's a fair word for it, but someone I think it is fair to say that both Paul Rothrock and Peter Kingston were written off by most by both scouts, by most people who study these things. And you guys have been able to put them on a path where now they're plus contributors to the first team. What do you think goes into that?
00:36:41
Speaker
Yeah, i a couple of things. Look, ah Peter and Paul both both were in our academy, you know, so we know them, right? We we know them from when they were, you know, young, vulnerable, 16 year olds, just trying to have fun in the game and and take next steps. And, you know, they both come from,
00:37:00
Speaker
They both come from different eras in that sense. So, you know, the development side of the club wasn't as robust and built out as it was when Paul was kind of like graduating out of Paul and Jackson played on the same academy team, you know. So, you know, we we where it was at that point wasn't established and built out to the level of like, oh, can we can we actually support a high potential player? Can we give them.
00:37:23
Speaker
the right people around them, can we support them in the right way? It was very, very much in that kind of embryonic stage of like developing the identity of like what the development side was gonna look like, what what was expected from the development side and kind of establishing those those pillars and that framework to to then in the future, be able to sustainably produce more and more homegrown. So Paul was coming out of that space at that time. And you know he he eventually went to Notre Dame, Georgetown, you know was able to you know have success you know, in that pathway then at that time. And again, the game accelerates itself so fast every year, every six months, it's, it's ah you know, the game is always growing. And so, you know, at that time, a college pathway was still, you know, the college pathway was was still something that, okay, maybe they need a little bit more development from a personal perspective. Maybe they need to have a consistent amount of games and and they they got that, you know, and and from Paul's perspective, then coming out of that,
00:38:21
Speaker
being at TFC, you know, having those opportunities to train with them and their first team. And look, sometimes it just doesn't, it's not the right timing. that You know, it's it's not always about the quality of the player, but also the timing of the moment. And,
00:38:36
Speaker
You know, the timing just wasn't good. You know, maybe just didn't work out the way he was hoping for there. But the good thing is Paul was a sounder and always was a sounder and in and was in the academy. So, you know, again, Wade coached him in that U-19 team, him and Jackson. And so at that time, Wade was the Tacoma Defiance head coach. and You know, when Paul had reached out and was like, oh, I'd love to come back. And is there an opportunity there? And yeah, because he was he was once one of us and we knew what he was and we knew knew that Paul does so many things that don't always show up on the stat sheet, if that makes sense. And and in in this heavily driven data environment that we work on, sorry, live in um looking for the finite qualities that don't always come up.
00:39:20
Speaker
that's maybe where you can gain an edge, you know, and that personal feel and that understanding of the game and understanding that he's going to do everything he can and give everything he can from like his physical perspective and then add in goals and add in assists and add in what personality he brings to the team.
00:39:36
Speaker
You know, these are things that we already knew about Paul because he'd come from us. So it was an easy decision. Oh yeah, absolutely. Second chance here, whatever you, maybe a last chance, not even a second chance, but,
00:39:47
Speaker
you know, we don't believe in the second chance, we believe in the last chance, and Paul came back to us as his last chance, and did so well in defiance, and then within the Open Cup that year, he had some wonderful goals, he scored at Houston and at Galaxy, and he made the most of his moments being able to play in that competition, um and that ultimately then, you know, springboarded him into the first team, and yeah, again, like the the people that you know, work in that defined space and work and helping build that roster like Corey Sinzer and, you know, the VP of strategy. And he he's somebody that, you know, finds ways to make it work with players that are coming in from these outside areas into that second chance, last chance opportunity. And, know,
00:40:29
Speaker
Paul was in that space and look again, maybe he felt a little bit backed into the corner. Maybe he felt like he had to fight a little bit harder. um But those qualities that Paul was forced to embrace, that's what you see on the field with him.
00:40:43
Speaker
You know, it seems like every run is his last run. every opportunity, every tackle, it it feels like it's his last thing. He's going to make sure he wins every duel. He's going to make sure he does everything for the team. He's going to bring a level of personality that you just don't see um from that, you know, that spectrum of player, you know, and we talk a lot about,
00:41:03
Speaker
two different things. There's a positional profile and there's a there's a player profile, you know, sometimes the player profile won't always match what the position demands. But because of a unique ability that the player has because of a unique skill set that maybe doesn't always show up on the stat sheet and it's something that is intangible and it's something you have to see and you have to feel, you know, Paul has that. And that's what allows him to be so successful within the first team because, you know, the moments he creates, they're through a lot of the hard work. Like I'm going back to the one of the first goals of the year where he, you know, saves the ball on the line, smashes himself into the sideboard, zips in a cross. We score a goal like, i don't I don't know if I'll see another goal like that this year in MLS for somebody who's willing to sacrifice himself like that for an assist.
00:41:49
Speaker
Yeah, yeah. And there are so many of those that you could name with Paul Rothrock. I mean, the one that comes to mind for me is the one against ah LA Galaxy last year where he creates a Pedro De La Vega goal by just making a charging run into the box and springing the ball loose and De La Vega finishes it. But it's like, you know, he doesn't get an assist on that play, but that goal is all Paul Rothrock. And, you know, I'd say... between Pauly primetime and, uh, King Pete, we call him King Pete on our show. They've just been such fun storylines to follow because as Seattle guys, uh, I think the fact that they're local and doing it for the city, it just kind of adds to the stories that they've created for themselves, which were really fun and honestly kind of inspirational for me watching, uh, Watching Pete Kingston's trajectory, especially some of those videos that he was putting up on his YouTube channel where he's just grinding at Cal Anderson by himself with a Seattle U teammate and a bunch of cones. like That's the type of stuff you got to do to make it. And the fact that he he did all that stuff, I think yeah it's just such a credit to to
Player Versatility and Growth Opportunities
00:42:53
Speaker
him. like Not just him as a player, but his his work ethic. no yeah yeah it's Pete's interesting too because, I mean, again, another academy player came through system, went away to college. That was, you know, in the in the time that they were coming through and graduating out and transitioning from the academy, um that that this was a more clear pathway at times. um Again, Pete came through at a time where there were some very, very talented players coming through as well, right? Like, you know, he existed in that midfield with the Josh Atencio and Danny Leyva and, you know, a lot of guys, Soto Kidahara, a lot of
00:43:25
Speaker
A lot of players that um you know he was there to compete with, support with, and maybe at that time Pete was also um a little bit of a late developer, right, in that sense, that you know wasn't reaching his full maximum physical. i don't think we see his his maximum capacity yet from like a physical standpoint as well.
00:43:45
Speaker
he's still growing and he still has some, some more robustness from an athletic perspective. That's going to go into him, you know? So again, his talent hasn't stopped growing and his potential hasn't stopped growing yet. You know, he's also, again, we've seen him play in the midfield and as an outside back within, you know, the first team and the second team as well, you know, again,
00:44:07
Speaker
player profile, positional profile, sometimes what the player is from ah from a player profile perspective, you know it might actually match what we might need or might want from a player that's playing maybe in a wide area. Kalani, again, Kalani played a lot as a center midfielder within UW system. And now he's predominantly you know starting to play more consistent minutes as that outside back. you know Peter got that same opportunity.
00:44:31
Speaker
The other player that's the outside back that was also a midfielder, more attack minded was Alex Rolden. Right. Like so at SU, he was Pete Feuings starting number 10. And again, from a player profile, what he had and what that position demands within the tactical setup that we are asking the players to do his player profile.
00:44:52
Speaker
actually matches more of what the outside back might look like, you know? So those two things always have to be, you know, separated from what the player is to what the position demands. And we're fortunate to have players that, again, what our outside right back is asked to do from a positional perspective is very demanding. And so that comes with a very demanding skill set from a player profile perspective. So It's nice to see that you know Alex has made that transition smoothly. Kalani seems to be making that transition very smoothly. And now Peter is getting those opportunities and sprinkling in those opportunities to be able to kind of show maybe he has quality there as well, as well as the midfielder.
00:45:29
Speaker
know And he's done both roles. I think he went in as a winger in Spokane, you know got the assist, did well. you know So again, he because he was willing to find the game, if that makes sense, and chase the game,
00:45:41
Speaker
he's given himself a level of opportunity that maybe others that weren't willing to do it didn't. And that's all credit to Peter. That's all credit to Paul. And that's going to be credit to hopefully Chris Batiste in the future. And you know, that's the, again, every, every moment that these players find to better themselves is another moment they separate themselves from their peers. And again, grinding it out at Cal Anderson park with some cones and some buddies,
00:46:10
Speaker
that's just as critical and just as valuable as playing the minutes he played in Defiance to get the the opportunities that have afforded him. It all weighs the same, you know, and that's the reality is that every opportunity you give to yourself or that we're able to give to a player, you know, they, they, they've embraced it and it's just, it's just wonderful stories to see. And it's also wonderful that we're so close to it and,
00:46:33
Speaker
We get to see the emotion of it from them. I think sometimes as the fans and people that look a little bit from the outside, they don't really see how much it means. i think they can have an idea, but for us to see these players come through in the way that they've come through and the opportunities that we were able to afford them, but also opportunities that they garnered for themselves,
00:46:58
Speaker
I don't know, it's pretty unique.
Access to Youth Sports and Sounders' Commitment
00:47:00
Speaker
It always kind of makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up a little bit, get a little bit emotional. So it's nice to be a part of a club that's willing to do that for the community.
00:47:10
Speaker
Absolutely. It's been fun to watch. Henry, I just got one more for you and then we'll let you go. We don't want to keep you all night. But ah this one, this last one is from ah my co-host Noah. I asked him if there's anything that ah he wanted me to ask you. And so he wants to know, with youth sports increasingly becoming more and more expensive, are you seeing an impact in who has access and who is getting seen?
00:47:37
Speaker
I think so, a little bit. But again, we
00:47:45
Speaker
we cast a very wide net with what we do in the recruitment space and the development side. bingy David Lahr does an incredible job of you know not always going to the more prestigious, established,
00:48:03
Speaker
places to find players, but just as important as it is to go to community places to go to, you know, leagues that are maybe a little bit underfunded to find players in different places to find players that maybe don't have the right access, you know, at the right time, you know, he does an incredible job of that.
00:48:24
Speaker
Um, Again, just as ah just as much as we have players that are coming from very resourced areas, we have just as many that might come from very under-resourced areas. and Again, an academy should always reflect its community. that That's something that's pretty clear around the world, wherever you go.
00:48:44
Speaker
and I think our academy and that development space, we reflect the Seattle community very well. And that's something that is very important because the ability for an academy, especially a professional academy within a city or state or whatever, and I'm not just talking about us, I'm talking about what it looks like at Boca River, Byron, you know these places.
00:49:05
Speaker
it should be a reflection of your community and i think if you look at our academy is a very accurate representation of of what seattle is you know um so as much as the driving factors behind you sports and the maybe entitlement and the money that goes with it we ensure that Wherever pathway you're coming from, you know, you're going to have to have some clear characteristic traits, whether you come from a wonderful resource place, wherever that is. Well, you're still going to to work as hard as possible, you know, and hard work has no barrier. You know, you have it or you don't. It's it's finite.
00:49:46
Speaker
And again, the quality of the player can come from all different spectrums, all different places. And yeah, it's... ah I think we do a good job of that.
00:49:56
Speaker
So I'm happy to say that again our academy is a reflection of our community and our community exists from underserved section 8 all the way to whatever it is in terms of resources and all that. Everyone exists in our academy from all those different demographic spectrums whatever you want to call it so and once they're in here they have every opportunity to succeed so yeah I'm happy to say that Yeah, it it is getting increasingly,
00:50:26
Speaker
ah maybe more, i don't want to say difficult, but sometimes you're scouting bias. And that's the club's bias or whatever that player is coming from.
00:50:37
Speaker
um What those coaches liked maybe is then the pool players you're choosing from. But we're able to go beyond that into different parts of the greater Seattle area and find players, you know, that come from all different. And they don't always come from Seattle either, right? Like Leo Flores and guys that are contributing minutes in fines coming from Yakima, Chris Aquino from Pasco. You know, they they come from everywhere.
00:51:01
Speaker
And we make sure that they have the right resources once they're in with us. Even if maybe they were a little bit under-resourced, Before they got to us, we make sure that they have every opportunity now once they are in in this environment and we make sure that whatever the background, whatever the pathway, when they're here, it's all equal footing.
00:51:18
Speaker
Again, fair and equal aren't the same thing. I get that. But we make sure that we give every player what they need to find that level of access that they are hoping to achieve. Henry, that is all I got for you this evening. Seattle Sounders technical director, Henry Browner, thank you so much for joining the show. We'll have to do it again soon, but that was some great stuff. I know people are going to love it. So ah thank you for the time. i Have a great rest of your evening, and we'll talk to you soon.
00:51:45
Speaker
Thank you. Appreciate it always. Bring me back anytime. Happy to talk.