Seattle Sounders Football Academy is a academy team of the Seattle Sounders FC. The current Youth Academy team manager is Dick McCormick, who was appointed in 2010 after working with the Crossfire Premier Soccer Club in Redmond, Washington following his retirement from playing in 2004.[1] His assistants are Sean Henderson and Bill Crook, who are both former Seattle Sounders players.[2] The technical director is Darren Sawatzky, a former Colorado Rapids and Seattle Sounders.[3]
History
Beginning (2010-2012)
In October 2010, the Seattle Sounders FC Academy was founded. The 2010 U-17 Sounders were part of the SUM U-17 Cup, a tournament with all the sixteen reserve Major League Soccer teams. They were grouped with the reserve teams of FC Dallas, Columbus Crew, and Philadelphia Union. Following a successful first season, 10 players committed to play soccer in college.[4]
Home Grown Players (2013-present)
The Homegrown Player Rule (HGP) program allows MLS teams to sign local players from their own development academies directly to MLS first team rosters.[5]
At the start of the 2013 season, DeAndre Yedlin became the first Sounders Academy player to sign a HGP contract.[6] In his first professional season with Seattle, Yedlin was part of the United States squad for the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup and the MLS squad for the 2013 MLS All-Star Game. Yedlin appeared in all three of the U-20's games and played 24 minutes against A.S. Roma in the All-Star Game.
In 2014, Aaron Kovar and Sean Okoli followed Yedlin in becoming the next Academy players to sign with the full team.[7] Yedlin was called up to the United States squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, making him the first HGP to have been called up to a World Cup roster. Yedlin was once again named to the MLS squad for the 2014 MLS All-Star Game.
Players and staff
U-18 Squad
The following players are eligible for the U18 Academy League in the current 2016 season. As of February 2016.[8]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. |
|
Position |
Player
|
| 25 |
 |
|
Chase Fjetland
|
| 27 |
|
|
Alex Bradbury
|
| 29 |
|
|
Bekele Dowty
|
| 30 |
|
|
Cayman John
|
| 31 |
|
|
Sam Johnson
|
| 32 |
|
|
Shuma Katori
|
| 33 |
|
|
Alex Kirtsov |
|
|
| No. |
|
Position |
Player
|
| 35 |
|
|
Stephen Murray
|
| 37 |
|
|
Sam Rogers
|
| 38 |
|
|
Stirling Russell
|
| 39 |
 |
|
Kei Tomozawa
|
| 40 |
|
|
Oscar Zepeda
|
| 41 |
|
|
Alec Zimmerman
|
| |
|
|
Wilson Harris |
|
U-16 Squad
The following players are eligible for the U16 Academy League in the current 2016 season. As of February 2016.[9]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. |
|
Position |
Player
|
| 26 |
|
|
Sam Fowler
|
| 28 |
|
|
Khai Brisco
|
| 34 |
|
|
Cameron Martin
|
| 36 |
|
|
Roger Pulido
|
| 49 |
|
|
Gage Nardi
|
| 51 |
|
|
Jared Butler
|
| 52 |
|
|
Omar Carillo
|
| 53 |
|
|
Sakari Carter
|
| 54 |
|
|
Sam Catherall
|
| 55 |
|
|
Gus Diehl
|
| 56 |
|
|
Vincent Duyungan
|
| 57 |
|
|
Esai Easley |
|
|
| No. |
|
Position |
Player
|
| 58 |
|
|
Keeton Heggerness
|
| 59 |
|
|
Aden Hiatt
|
| 60 |
|
|
Ben Huynh
|
| 61 |
|
|
Jesus Jeronimo
|
| 62 |
|
|
Ethan LeClair
|
| 63 |
|
|
Lagu Nagami
|
| 64 |
 |
|
Borislav Stoyanov
|
| 65 |
|
|
Dylan Teves
|
| 66 |
|
|
Gabe Threadgold
|
| 67 |
|
|
Allesandro Tomasi
|
| 68 |
|
|
Max Weinberg |
|
U-15 Squad
The following players are eligible for the U15 Academy League in the current 2016 season. As of February 2016.[10]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. |
|
Position |
Player
|
| 1 |
|
|
Noah Thomas
|
| 3 |
|
|
Leo Burney
|
| 4 |
|
|
Dylan Chavez
|
| 7 |
|
|
Connor Drought
|
| 9 |
|
|
Azriel Gonzalez
|
| 10 |
|
|
Mitchell Hutter |
|
|
| No. |
|
Position |
Player
|
| 12 |
|
|
Peter Kingtson
|
| 16 |
|
|
Joseph Richardson
|
| 19 |
|
|
Camilo Santiago
|
| 20 |
|
|
Jacen Stein
|
| 23 |
|
|
Jourdan Furukawa
|
| 89 |
|
|
Jonathan Perez |
|
U-14 Squad
The following players are eligible for the U14 Academy League in the current 2016 season. As of February 2016.[11]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
U-13 Squad
The following players are eligible for the U13 Academy League in the current 2016 season. As of February 2016.[12]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
U-12 Squad
The following players are eligible for the U12 Academy League in the current 2016 season. As of February 2016.[13]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Board and Staff
Source: Coaching staff
Notable alumni
The following list reflects players who have graduated from the Seattle Sounders FC Academy and subsequently signed a professional contract. Appearances and Goals are cumulative totals for first-team Sounders FC games in Major League Soccer.
As of February 29, 2016
International level is based on the highest level of the international setup that the player has reached.
References
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| | Development system | |
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| | Culture | |
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| | Rivalries | |
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England
