During the first two weeks of January, the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) held the first ever U.S. Youth National Team Summit Camp, inviting 153 of the top American players across four age groups (U-16 to U-20) for an integrated training experience in Lakewood Ranch, Fla.
With six players from the Sounders youth system — Trey Muse (U-20), Sam Fowler (U-19), Alfonso Ocampo-Chavez (U-17), Ray Serrano (U-17), Nico Rei McMillan (U-16) and Danny Leyva (U-16) — in attendance, it was an opportunity for the players to test their skills against the top prospects for the Stars and Stripes.
Now that they’ve returned, the feedback from the USYNT coaches has been full of praise, highlighting the club’s growing reputation at the international level.
“All the boys did very well, and I understand that Alfonso was particularly good and that Danny got rave reviews,” said Sounders FC Director of Player Development and Academy Director Marc Nicholls. “There’s lots of really positive stuff for our boys right now with the U.S. Youth National Teams.”
Muse, coming off a historic freshman season at Indiana in which he led the Hoosiers to the NCAA title game, entered the camp in excellent form and made a strong case for the starting job.
According to Muse, his time in the Sounders youth system, where he got numerous opportunities to train under Sounders FC Director of Goalkeeping Tom Dutra and alongside Stefan Frei, helped ease his transition to the international level. He also feels that the club’s policy of, “If you’re good enough, you’re old enough,” benefits every member of the youth system as they try to break into the USYNT setup.
“Playing at those higher levels gives you a tougher challenge,” said Muse. “Especially training with the First Team and S2, and it just helps us become better players, so we’re more prepared for these camps.”
Leyva, a creative, box-to-box midfielder for the Sounders U-15s and U-17s, also feels that the club’s decision to expose its brightest prospects to tougher competition by playing them up has helped him hit the ground running for the United States. In fact, when his U.S. U-16 squad faced off against the U-17s, featuring Serrano and Ocampo-Chavez, he felt well prepared by his time in Rave Green.
“When we played against the 2002s it was like I was already used to it because I had been playing up on the Sounders U-17s, so it was really helpful at the international level,” said Leyva. “It was a great experience and I learned a lot from playing in that game.”
The lessons Leyva had gleaned were on full display in his first game back for the Rave Green last weekend, a 4-3 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps. He bossed the midfield all afternoon and played a pivotal role in the come-from-behind win, scoring the Sounders’ third and fourth goals.
Since joining the Rave Green in August from his Las Vegas youth club, Heat FC, the same club as Academy and S2 midfielder Azriel Gonzalez, Leyva has received his first two international call-ups. In fact, it was Gonzalez’s quick ascension through the Academy and into the professional ranks, as well as his regular involvement with U.S. Youth National Teams, that inspired the 14-year-old to follow in his footsteps and join the Sounders.
Off the pitch, all of the young Sounders participated in the Summit Camp’s educational programming, including nightly meetings with coaches where they discussed their performance. They also attended a lecture held by USSF Youth Technical Director Tab Ramos on the country’s ambition of a unified USYNT playing style.
“It was definitely eye-opening to see where the federation is trying to push forward,” said Muse. “It was cool to be in that first group of players to get it started.”
Muse, who led the NCAA in every goalkeeping statistic in 2017, entered the camp with one goal in mind: furthering his progression as he pursues a professional career.
“It’s good for me to get these experiences at a younger age to speed up my development and get me going on the right path,” said Muse. “I’m just hungry for more.”
Though he’s five years Muse’s junior, Leyva expressed a similar sentiment.
“My goal [with the national team] is to keep getting called back and to make an international trip,” he said. “With the Sounders, it’s just to keep progressing and get more opportunities to play up on the U-17s, and hopefully with the First Team one day.”
