Two players from the Seattle Sounders Academy U-15 team, forward Austin Brummett and attacking midfielder Juan Alvarez, have been called up to represent the U.S. U-15 national team by Head Coach Clint Peay. The camp, running from May 5-16, will take place in Zagreb, Croatia, and will include a friendly against club side NK Velika Gorica, as well as a series of matches against the Bosnia & Herzegovina and Serbian national teams.
This is the third camp of the new U-15 cycle, with both Brummett and Alvarez turning plenty of heads at the most recent camp back in early March.
“It says a lot about their mentality that they keep getting called in,” said Sounders U-15 Head Coach Sean Henderson. “There are talented players everywhere — there’s probably about 70 players across in the country in this age group who are good enough to play for the national team — but it’s the mental part of being able to continuously get called in.
“I think that’s part of the process of becoming a professional, it’s not just ability,” he continued. “There are a lot of pieces to the development puzzle, and the mentality to consistently play at a high level is a big part of it.”
Brummett, a cerebral and dynamic No. 9 with a nose for goal, has been a valuable addition to the Sounders since signing from New Hampshire over the summer. Through 22 matches across all competitions this season, the Homestay forward has provided an attacking fulcrum for the U-15s, linking play while contributing 12 goals and two assists.
“Austin is an interesting player,” said Sounders FC Director of Player Development and Academy Director Marc Nicholls. “When we first saw him, we believed that he had a lot of potential. I think like a lot of young players, it takes a little while to settle into a new team, a new home and a new environment. But when they come out the other side of that, if they’re tough enough to come through that, you begin to see them excel very rapidly. That’s been Austin’s story so far.”
Juan Alvarez playing with the Sounders U-15s | Quinn Width
A local product from the Academy’s youth affiliate club, Pac NW, Alvarez joined the Rave Green youth system midway through the 2017-18 season. With three assists and two international call-ups since then, Alvarez, who can operate in any of the attacking midfield spots, is the latest Sounders Discovery Program alum to make waves for both club and country.
Since joining the youth system, Alvarez has seen his development accelerate by constantly facing off against the top players in the country in every training session.
“When you look at the different age groups in the Academy, we have some players that are the best players in the country, starting with the 2005s and Angel Martinez, and all the way through to our older groups,” said Henderson. “I think these call-ups have a lot to do with [Alvarez’s] quality as an individual, but competing on a daily basis with other top players.”
The full roster and programming for the event can be found here.
