The Sounders are now one week into preseason training, so coach Sigi Schmid was asked for his overriding impression so far.

His answer:

“It’s tough. When you plant a little thought in the player – when maybe he hasn’t played well the day before, especially the younger guys – and you say, ‘Look, this is what I need to see,’ they’ve actually responded fairly well, and then they bring that the next day. It’s going to be tough making decisions and the competition is going to be tough in terms of filling out the spots.”

Those first cuts will come before the team leaves for Arizona on Monday.