Kasey Keller - future coach?

With the Gold Cup starting in Seattle on Saturday, the US team is using Starfire to train what is mainly younger players, and mainly players with MLS connections. So today, as I showed up for Sounders practice, I had the pleasant surprise of seeing the men that will represent my nation on Independence Day on one field and the Sounders on the next one over at the facility.

With Sounders mainly in the recovery mode after last night's match it freed Kasey Keller to greet the players who are going to try and take their place besides him in the pantheon of US greats.

He wondered over behind the net spoke with a few of his former colleagues reconnecting, and then just talked, and talked.

While I don't know what words were said to Busch, Robles and Perkins it looked like coaching conversations, or more likely that word which players prefer, mentoring. During the drills for at least 15 minutes it was Keller, the US MNT keepers coach and two of the keepers with Keller. It was up to two Caps meeting with 102.

Expect more from today's training concerning Brad Evans (who desperately wanted to be in Portland), Charlie Davies, Seb Le Toux and Steve Zakuani throughout the next 24 hours. Today was a perfect day for me to visit training.

Gold Cup tickets are still available if you were wondering.