What is it that’s allowed him to come this far, this fast in his young career?

He’s just had a really big improvement from when we got him into the Academy to where he is now. Last season was his second season as a center back and you see a big improvement, and this season you also see a lot of improvement, but what helps is that he has been able to train a lot with the first team this season. He’s progressed quickly with having players like Chad Marshall and Roman Torres helping him out, he progressed pretty quickly. Sam has done a great job, he’s gone away with the national team, the U20 National Team as well, which is a big deal for the club and for Sam, so you’re seeing him progress really quickly through all the work he needs to do and in the games he’s played he’s had a really good season.

What’s the next step for Sam to acclimate to the first team and potentially make that move in the Sounders organization, and potentially from there go further with the national team program?

We’ve got high hopes for Sam, 19 years old and a Seattle local, growing up in Seattle we have really high hopes for him. We hope the first team contract is right around the corner for him, if not next season then the season after, but we do believe that Sam will be a full international. We see a lot of potential, and hopefully he can fulfill that. We say to him the easy part is getting there, the hard part is staying there. We’ve watched him grow all the time, he’s become a leader at the S2 level and now he has to take that next step further.