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The Pipeline is a renewable resource

Defiance and the Academy don't get tapped out. There's always going to be more talent bubbling up to the First Team

,   and  Dave Clark
Last Updated
5 min read

There's only one Messi. One Son. One Müller. One Dempsey.

A Chief Soccer Officer on the DP hunt is seeking a singularity. The best DPs are ones that move the marketing needle, move the team in the standings and perform on the pitch. It's hard. Most teams get it wrong.

When Craig Waibel labelled the Sounders' "Pipeline" his 4th DP it was a recognition that Seattle's spending and attention to Defiance and the Academy is paying off in similar ways to that singularity level of DP. Not to mediocre DPs, but towards that highest of levels.

We have Paul Rothrock

This legend was passed over by Seattle a few times, and most other teams too, as he wasn't a top draft pick but then became the fuel to a team that's off to a 5-1-0 start across all competitions. He's doing it while appearing on podcasts talking about Seattle transit and looking like a fashion model whenever the club releases new merch.

But Paul will tell you that he's not a symbol. And he's not solitary. He credits long-time first-teamers, coaches and his Defiance players for his success. He shouts out those that were passed over by Seattle as part of his education in the game.

Tapped out?

There was worry that Defiance and the Academy might be tapped out – could The Pipeline be running dry? Is it an oil field eventually set to be dry and barren? How could a Defiance squad that lost Rothrock, Ragen, Georgi, Yu, Osaze, Reed, Obed, Danny, Josh in the last few years still produce another round of talent?

Every year, there's three or more talents signed from Defiance or the Academy to the First Team. Almost every year, a Defiance player emerges during the season to prove to be amazing. Many of these players last for years.

Going back to 2016, the Sounders have had at least five players who had previously played for the academy or the Defiance. Since 2022, those players have comprised nearly half the roster. If Peter Kingston ends up signing a first-team deal, more than half the roster will have come through The Pipeline.

The Pipeline isn't drying out, its flow is increasing.

Duwamish and Columbia sown

Starfire and Longacres are where The Pipeline is tapped, sure. But the range of scouting and talent is not confined to the Duwamish waterways, not even the Columbia watershed.

Henry Brauner, Wade Webber & Co. will certainly make the most of that area when polishing talents. Seattle, Federal Way, Tacoma, Fox Island, Renton, Maple Valley, Moses Lake, Everett – if it's a city in Washington and there's a talented young boy playing soccer, Academy scouts are watching there.

Throughout the Sounders' history of managing and growing the pipeline they've also accelerated the explosion of talent by attracting those from elsewhere – Las Vegas, Merced, Anchorage, Costa Rica, Honduras, Sweden and more. Children moving to Tukwila and Renton with hopes of greatness while getting an education and foundation.

Then they further inject talents who were ignored or underdeveloped by other sides. These passed-over men come from Rancho Santa Margarita, Douala, Rancho Cordova, Houston, Brisbane, Paris, Saitama, Toronto. The Pipeline is an international project, an American project, a Renton project.

The Pipeline project isn't about numbers

One way to treat development is by throwing a bunch of teenagers together and hoping that a few rise to be excellent. It's a numbers game similar to minor league baseball. Those that don't rise are cast away, ignored.

Seattle's Pipeline, part of the renewability of it all, is fueled by its dedication to education and culture as much as it is to winning.

Birth families, host families and the community of soccer help raise these people into men. The final polish always comes from the player, though.

Browsing Instagram after any signing from Pipeline to First Team – or their transfer elsewhere – you'll find a flood of talents who played for Defiance and the Academy praising the advancement of their former teammate's career. When a member of The Pipeline earns an award the same thing happens again.

When a player leaves the org, they don't disconnect from it, they continue to pay attention because they are bonded by being Sounders, forever green.

When will The Pipeline run out?

When the Seattle Sounders stop treating these youngsters like the men of potential and culture they are.

As long as their values stay strong, there will be another Tino Lopez, Osaze de Rosario, Georgi Minoungou or Paul Rothrock.

The Pipeline is a cultural resource that is born of sea and sky, carved from peaks and pine.

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