Salt Lake City’s professional soccer team, Real Salt Lake, might ring a bell for someone who is involved in Utah sports or enjoys watching soccer. Last year, they finished third in their respective conference but were unfortunately knocked out in the playoffs. 

However, the senior team wasn’t the only one doing well. During the MLS Next Cup, arguably the highest-level soccer tournament in the United States, the U19 team reached the semifinals but lost. However, the U16 team, with the help of MLS Next All-Star players Van Parker and Rylan Hashimoto, made the RSL Academy not only progress to the semifinals but win the whole tournament.

Generation Adidas (GA) Cup, a tournament where American and European academies play each other, was played a couple months prior to MLS Next Cup. The Real Salt Lake U16s won the championship game 4–0, with Hashimoto and Parker scoring two goals each. Hashimoto was also named MVP of the tournament. 

But why is this team doing so well? In an interview with Hashimoto by @et_footballtraining on Instagram, Hashimoto said, “It’s a world class academy with an amazing team and all these amazing facilities.” He added, “People all around the world pray to be where I am right now, so it’s good to be grateful.” When asked about the best piece of advice he’d heard from one of his coaches, he said, “To enjoy the game, you know, enjoy every moment of it.” 

Derek Hardink, a player within the Utah soccer system, played against Arizona’s extension of the academy. He said that they were “intense and had good coaches with a good group of players.” RSL Arizona was very physically big and liked to drive into space quickly. They were also at the top of their leagues’ table. 

Hardink says that RSL Academy is “one of the best programs in the country, and they produce lots of great talent.”