American midfielder Tyler Adams grew up roughly 76 miles from where he made his professional soccer debut, and after growing into one of the leading role models for the U.S. men’s national team, the New York native was honored in his hometown.
Adams was in Wappinger Falls on Tuesday as Martz Field Recreation Facility honored the midfielder with the newly named Tyler Adams Soccer Pitch. A former High School graduate of local Roy C. Ketcham High School, Adams helped led drills with youth soccer players as part of his partnership with Scotts lawn care products to help raise awareness about the expansion of youth access to natural-turf sports fields.
Fresh from his busy USMNT involvement this summer, Adams shared his enjoyment in giving back to his community and expects the interest in soccer to continue growing.
“No, I definitely never dreamed of that,” Adams said in an exclusive interview with SBI when asked if he ever thought of a local field being named after him. “It’s a huge honor that it happened. I’m really thankful to not only Scotts and my partnership with them, but also to the people in my community that helped really make this possible. Coming back here now and play a part in something that I grew up in playing with my friends and family, and seeing young kids playing soccer is really special.
“You’ve seen the success of the [U.S.] women’s national team and the effect that has on so many young girls around the country,” Adams added. “I think as our U.S. national team gets better and better, that support is going to change for so many young kids. I’ve seen it grow tremendously in just the past eight years since I’ve been playing for the national team, so after the World Cup on home soil and so many other tournaments, I can only imagine what it will do.”
Adams made his USMNT debut back in 2017 and has quickly become a leading face of the program, on and off the field. He recently made his 50th cap, while serving as captain throughout the summer in Mauricio Pochettino’s squad.
Now at 26-years-old and in the prime of his club and international career, Adams voiced his excitement for 2026 and also credited the growing changes in the program compared to when he began with the USMNT.
“Having the luxury of playing a World Cup on home soil is amazing,” Adams said. “Not many players in their lifetime get an opportunity to play in a World Cup, let alone on home soil, so for me, I’m going to take that in full swing. I am really enjoying the fact of playing in front of so many friends and family.”
“When I first started with the national team, it was probably not as focused on the development of players as it is now,” Adams said. “You have Mauricio and his assistant coaches going to clubs, meeting the coaches and players, seeing how they fit into these teams and helping have these conversations. It’s a huge privilege to see the growth of U.S. Soccer and I can only imagine that in another eight years time, it’s going to be even better. I take huge pride in being an experienced player now and helping those young players reach their maximum potential.”
Adams will now have a short break from action before beginning preseason camp with English Premier League club Bournemouth ahead of the PL Summer Series in the U.S. Adams most recently completed his second season with the Cherries, delivering a sensational individual campaign of 32 appearances and three assists.
The South Coast club finished ninth in EPL play, missing out on European qualification by nine points. Andoni Iraola’s men also reached the FA Cup quarterfinals while watching international stars like Adams, Justin Kluivert, Antoine Semenyo, and many others shine during the 2024-25 campaign.
Despite the losses of Dean Huijsen and Milos Kerkez to Real Madrid and Liverpool respectively this summer, Adams credited Bournemouth’s impact on helping those players earn monumental moves in their careers.
“The growth of the club is reflected by some players going to play at big clubs like Real Madrid Liverpool, that only happens with team success,” Adams said. “Obviously, they’re incredible individuals and individual players, but those moves happen when you have a good, successful campaign as a team.”
The Cherries will face off with fellow EPL clubs Everton, West Ham United, and Manchester United during an eight-day period before returning to England for the final matches of their preseason schedule. It will mark the second PL Summer Series in the last three years in North America, which has led to many international stars showing off their talents across several future World Cup venues.
With Adams serving as the lone American on the first-team squad, he is already planning to be a tour guide for the rest of the group.
“Another honor for me to be able to play with my club, being stateside, and really being able to grow Bournemouth, but also grow myself as well,” Adams said. “I’m sure guys are going to be asking me about different places, where to go, where to eat and shop. Hopefully I can be a tour guide for them.”
what i find confusing is the argument adams inspires harder play when his reign roughly coincides with a period of endless cries to have the team play harder. so the pet theory doesn’t actually follow in reality, does it?
i don’t see it. the players inspiring physicality were like luna and berhalter. adams was a nonfactor all summer. and has been at some recent tournaments. or he’s out.
i am not saying he doesn’t make the team or start at DM, particularly if we play 2 DM.
i am saying something else, ie, should he be captain and in that specific role. i don’t think the team actually imitates his play,, or looks to his comments. i think him backing anti-reyna politics is actually negative for the team talent wise. he displays that he leads while the team gets worse.
to me if he actually cared about winning he’d take players like that under his wing as opposed to be running the votes on whether they get to stay for the tournament, or justifying benching, or the other counter-productive political bs surrounding this thing. the idea is to try and get to the big show with all your best players as motivated as possible, not to encourage selection politics and division.
IV
“what i find confusing is the argument adams inspires harder play when his reign roughly coincides with a period of endless cries to have the team play harder. so the pet theory doesn’t actually follow in reality, does it?”
Why is that confusing? You can play harder and still suck. You’re just expending more energy. I’ve seen players run from here to the moon and accomplish nothing except that they ran a lot. Are you a track star, or a soccer player?
Who said Adams inspires harder play from his teammates??? I’ve never seen that anywhere. More bullshit made up crap from you.
“i don’t see it. the players inspiring physicality were like luna and berhalter. adams was a nonfactor all summer. and has been at some recent tournaments. or he’s out.”
You’d have to talk to Pochettino and /or the other players as to whether Adams was a non-factor. You many not have found him very inspirational but you’re not a player. You don’t know if or how Adams inspired the others because you can’t read minds. Luna and Seba were pretty fiery players but in general the entire lineup were young and full of energy so I would be very careful about assigning responsibility for all the excitement around these kids to just one or to players.
And Luna and Seba were also effective players . The biggest balls in the world only matter if they help you score.
And who put them all together? The manager did that.
“i am not saying he doesn’t make the team or start at DM, particularly if we play 2 DM.
“i am saying something else, ie, should he be captain and in that specific role. i don’t think the team actually imitates his play,, or looks to his comments. i think him backing anti-reyna politics is actually negative for the team talent wise. he displays that he leads while the team gets worse.”
What anti-reyna politics?
Who said the team is supposed to imitate the play off the captain? You know whose play the players should imitate? Pulisic, because he’s their best most effective player . If they could all imitate him and play like him, this team would have a lot fewer problems.
“to me if he actually cared about winning he’d take players like that under his wing as opposed to be running the votes on whether they get to stay for the tournament, or justifying benching, or the other counter-productive political bs surrounding this thing. the idea is to try and get to the big show with all your best players as motivated as possible, not to encourage selection politics and division.”
What makes you think he does all the clubhouse lawyering?
IV,
??
There is no contradiction.
I posted a long time ago that didn’t want CP or Adams here because I felt they needed a rest. I said that about all the A team ( most of them before the Gold Cup were carrying some kind of injury or had run up a lot of mileage.) but those two especially because of their specific injury history.
They can call in CP for the first time in the opening game of the WC if they want as far as I’m concerned. If he’s fit and in form he will need the practice less than anyone.
You can look it up if you give a shit.
I don’t make up stuff like you do.
As for the culture wars and all this bullshit about fighting spirit, grit, heart and big balls, if CP and Tyler are fit and in form the USMNT needs them both if they expect to make any noise in the 2026 WC. My biggest concern with CP is that Milan looks like it might be crap this year.
Pochettino knows that and I expect he’ll figure out something.
As for Paxton in Tyler’s position he ‘s nothing like the kind of tepid to foolish “experiments” you have advanced.
1. He was already with the team, honestly. I think I saw him on TV once.
2. His legs and knees were not broken
3. He came to camp off of a very good year with Utrecht
4. He had already spent sometime with this group
5. He was born in NJ
6. He has better hair than Seba
Johnny was supposed to be THAT guy but he blew up and then went down in flames. I’m not very familiar with Seba but absent his dead ball skills and his coach’s son savvy,( two very important assets) he strikes me as a limited player. Paxton looks like he might have something different to offer especially going forward. And I think Paxton might hold onto the ball a bit better. Both of them have been listed as defensive midfielders so the anti-out of position Nazis can relax. Basically Seba beat out Paxson and rightly so.
Paxten isn’t a CDM. He is more of an attacking box to box 8. He isnt a destroyer like Adams at all.
This is where everyone uses the same term but it can mean different things. Paxten did play DM for Utrecht he was in the line of 2 in their 4-2-3-1. Is their job to just protect the CBs or are they there to break lines with passes or shuttle the ball forward. You’re right he’s not a destroyer, but not every lineup uses a destroyer in that space. Poch used Tessmann and Wes or even Tessmann and Johnny (with Malik subbing on when Johnny went down) when Adams was unavailable in the fall. He used Berhalter and Luca while Adams was on minutes restriction. According to Adams, Pax was the guy that surprised him the most in camp for how talented he was. How he played would likely look different but he could have played that position.
Yes, that’s why I like him.
Tyler offers nothing going forward and unless Gio un-retires and comes back as Rodri , Paxson isn’t a terrible idea. There are lots of different ways for a #6 to play.
I appreciate him coming, but you could tell he was not fit. With Cardoso getting injured it forced Poch to use Tyler more than either wanted. To be honest I thought Eneli should have been called in.
i thought he was excellent at the world cup but meh at copa/ NL/ GC. we should have been shopping his slot for injury contingencies this summer, and having seen his play the last 3 tournaments, i don’t see him as off limits anymore.
there was limited value to the summer because they took adams for granted and gave a lot of time to LDLT. but i do think we sorted out berhalter is better than cardoso, in terms of a second 6 or bench option.
yeah, i personally would like to have seen more players tried at 6 because it’s a need area. eneili, maloney, sands, dietz, green, tessmann. but as it worked out LDLT was meh and cardoso played himself off the field, which is the direction this needed to move anyway. we just chose, per usual, to do it by doubling down on frustration until it’s clear we have a problem, instead of by the roster competition route where we don’t prefer barely established players in the first place.
I’m going to say again James Sands would have been epically awful at this Gold Cup.
IV,
“there was limited value to the summer because they took adams for granted ”
And you know “they took adams for granted” how?
You can read minds now can you?
The most significant thing affecting Tyler was Johnny blowing up.
At the start of the camp Johnny was allegedly in good form and was being courted by Atletico Madrid.
https://www.msn.com/en-my/sports/football/atl%C3%A9tico-receive-major-johnny-cardoso-update-as-30-million-transfer-moves-closer/ar-AA1HlKkm?ocid=socialshare
There is no like for like replacement for Tyler in the USMNT player pool so my guess is that Pochettino wanted to see how the two, along with LDLT in the mix, would look. Instead, Johnny fell apart and Tyler and LDLT had to play more than they probably planned to.
“and gave a lot of time to LDLT. but i do think we sorted out berhalter is better than cardoso, in terms of a second 6 or bench option.”
No we did not. You are jumping to conclusions w/o evidence.
The jury is still out on Johnny who sat out the rest of the G.C. supposedly due to illness or injury. The odds are Diego will sort out whatever was ailing Johnny. If so and if he is doing well at AM in the fall he’ll get another chance especially if Tyler is not going well at that point.
In the Fall, If everyone is healthy and in good form I expect Tyler, Johnny, Gio, Seba, LDLT ,Tessman, Eneli , Roldan and Paxson to be in the mix to get a shot at some version of the #6.
this is not that complicated. adams played a ton of minutes but not well. in doing so he hogs playing time that could be used to either identify alternatives or replacements. he has been routinely out for injuries but we tolerate it for his play. if his play suffers……..eg, miles has not been the same guy.
conversely, if i put this thing on your shoulders you need to show up like richards did. then i don’t regret the investment or feel like i wasted my time i should have spent testing your competition.
for comparison — ream. key points in the exercise (eg mexico) he looked like someone who needs to be either benched, pastured, or at least competed with. and we burned 8 games on assuming otherwise. when we might only have 10 or so left before the world cup after this.
and if we win the tournament maybe this reads different but that’s always the tug of war, do the results justify your conservatism or show you wasted our time with the wrong ideas. comes down to can you scout and coach, whether your choices go well or blow up in front of you.
“this is not that complicated. “
It’s more complicated than you think it is.
“Adams played a ton of minutes but not well. in doing so he hogs playing time that could be used to either identify alternatives or replacements. he has been routinely out for injuries but we tolerate it for his play. if his play suffers…….”
None of what you wrote means anyone took Adams for granted.
.
This was a tournament and you always have to balance the need to win with the need to learn about your players.
Tyler was not up to his standard but does a diminished Adams still give you a better chance to win than whatever the alternative is? Adams wasn’t great but it doesn’t mean the team lost because of his performance.
Neither you nor I are in a position to know.
There is a lot of nuance you miss when evaluating players. In your world:
• Winning allows you to justify the inclusion of players you like regardless of how they played.
• Losing allows you to justify the exclusion of players you dislike regardless of how they played.
The reality is more complicated than you are really interested in. And we know you’re not really interested in the details hence your advocacy of players with broken legs.
As for your “comparison” about Ream, that is your opinion. I take the opposite view which is also an opinion.
Anyway it doesn’t matter. The proof is in the pudding. Pochettino may not be as smart as you but he decides who plays. And he plays Ream almost every minute.
That should tell you that he is not unhappy with Ream’s play.
Once the fall rolls around they will have something like 8 games , at least, to sort things out.
If Mauricio starts to play Timmy alternatives in the fall then that will tell you something.
Apparently Tyler had foot and hamstring issues during the GC, which makes sense because he did not look himself. But, he is the type of player we want repping the NT, he wanted to be there instead of taking a break bc he knew how important it was to show up and lead
He definitely seemed to be taking a slightly veiled shot in his interview with Call It What You Want for not doing the same.
I’m going to be a little more fair to Tyler, when you watch the entirety of the interview he wasn’t really looking to take a shot at anybody, but Charlie baits him into it a little. He later in the interview has good things to say about how much Jedi, Serge, and Christian change the way the team plays.
“leadership” of this sort is overrated. i always hear him associated with talking down problematic teammates on behalf of the coach. i want a little more “guy who fights the ref for me” or “guy who pushes for the team to do better,” and a little less teacher’s pet.
i mean, at least one thought i get from a team with a bunch of dissent and retaliation reds is that’s how players act out if they don’t think the captain or coach have their back. the one red i got in college, keeper took me down on consecutive scoring chances, and i’m like, no PK? no card? and my captain wasn’t yelling at the ref. and my coach wasn’t audible from the sideline. and so i went and did some yelling myself.
that and if your whole team shows up when you get abused, it doesn’t tend to turn into some mano a mano issue.
i feel like we’re improving on this as a team spirit and coaching issue but adams comes across more as “maligned 6” rolling his eyes at the ref than the guy who gives “what for” so the angry fouled player doesn’t flip out. and to be fair, you want discipline, but certain dynamics help it and others make you feel like you’re the one who has to handle it.
IV,
” want a little more “guy who fights the ref for me” or “guy who pushes for the team to do better,” and a little less teacher’s pet.”
There are a variety of job descriptions for a captain and it can vary from team to team.
You don’t play for this team and you don’t manage it. Whatever the job description is, the captain is there for the players and the manager, not the fans.
V– at some point can you admit this has been going poorly lately, and that its various aspects should be looked at to find the problems and fix them? “more of the same” probably means an early exit next year. but you can triple down on the package deal, have at it.
and maybe captain isn’t the problem, but it should be considered.
i’m just saying, i think this lacks a positive leadership figure the players actually like and want to play harder and better for. who speaks for the players on wanting to succeed? as opposed to a teacher’s pet explaining the coach benching or dropping players, some of whom are IMO scapegoated.
eg, if LDLT or musah makes this, and reyna doesn’t, that’s jacked up. the best captains have a “future coach” sense of that sort of thing. the teams i have been on that scapegoat personalities tend to be less than the sum of their parts as they weaken the roster to push values other than the best soccer and results.
IV,
“V– at some point can you admit this has been going poorly lately, and that its various aspects should be looked at to find the problems and fix them?”
I don’t think it’s going poorly. It’s going about the way I thought it would, all things considered.
It sounds like some are shitting in their pants and think it’s going poorly but everyone is entitled to their opinion.
It’s July of 2025.
If the World Cup started in August of 2025 would I be worried? Sure. Do they suck RIGHT now ? Yep. Does it matter? NO. Like I said, you evaluate these guys as if they were supposed to play Spain, Argentina or France next week. That won’t happen. This team is a work in progress.
Most of our best players are coming back from injury, working out transfers or getting settled in for their new season.
In the meantime, Pochettino has been developing a base for the team. By the time the USMNT needs to sort out the final roster for the WC they will have a number of friendlies that Pochettino will have to use make his final decisions. Starting with the two Asian friendlies in the fall by then the Euro teams will be up and running and hopefully most of our guys will be in good form and healthy.
““more of the same” probably means an early exit next year. but you can triple down on the package deal, have at it…and maybe captain isn’t the problem, but it should be considered.”
I’m on the record as saying I expect the USMNT to go down in flames in the 2026 World Cup. If that happens you can blame the USSF’s allowing Gregg to piss away half the cycle including the vital Copa America.
Captain a problem? Okay consider it considered, now what? Are you, IV , going to be the one to pick a player for the captain that everyone likes?
“i’m just saying, i think this lacks a positive leadership figure the players actually like and want to play harder and better for. who speaks for the players on wanting to succeed? as opposed to a teacher’s pet explaining the coach benching or dropping players, some of whom are IMO scapegoated.”
That’s how you and your select team captain operate. What you want is a captain who will tell the manager to play the players you, IV, think should be playing. Maybe that isn’t how it works in the USMNT. The USMNT guys are pros. How do you know who the players “actually like”? Do they check in with you? I doubt they give a fuck who the captain is.
If the players don’t play as hard for Captain Richards as they would for Captain Pulisic then they should not be on this team. Fuck those guys.
The captain is for the players and the manager . WTF does it have to do with you? And what are you going to do about it? It’s none of your business. You keep trying to sell us on looking through the mind of a USMNT player through the lens of a high school/select team player. I think it is possible that there is a significant difference. Regardless, most of us can’t read minds like you can.
In my view, the important variables at this point concerning the USMNT are:
A. Injuries or lack thereof, for the USMNT and our opponents, as always will be huge.
B. The draw for our group, and later on, who we wind up facing in the Round of 32 and the round of 16
“eg, if LDLT or musah makes this, and reyna doesn’t, that’s jacked up. the best captains have a “future coach” sense of that sort of thing. the teams i have been on that scapegoat personalities tend to be less than the sum of their parts as they weaken the roster to push values other than the best soccer and results.”
It’s interesting how you keep obsessively looking to blame someone, anyone ,if Gio does not make the roster.
There isn’t anyone manager, players, USSF, fans, media etc., etc. who does not want a revived Gio to be on the 2026 WC team. A lot of people hate him being a diva shitbag or hate his parents but I bet even they would absolutely be all in favor of a revived and fit Gio being on the WC team.
Mostly, this is all up to Gio.
I think he’s closer to retirement than being on the roster. Hopefully, I’m wrong but we shall see.
that was a cool interview and write up Larry, thank you
I appreciate that Adams came when he could have just taken the summer off. However, he isn’t very disciplined in his defensive positioning betting that his bite will make up for the spaces he leaves. Works a lot in chaotic transition moments, leaves us exposed when we try to set our lines. Also, he’s become a bigger fan of the back pass than Michael Bradley. I understand he was banged up but you sank to the level of his teammates whereas a guy like Richards tried to raise the levels of those around him.
JR,
I thought that Adams pretty much summed up why CP stayed away.
He looked stale. I don’t know if his injury history held him back, consciously or unconsciously. But he wasn’t his all action self. As you suggested, on a team full of newbies Tyler opted for safety first. I imagine he noticed that he had a fair number of giveaways.
Had Tyler not been there maybe Pochettino gives Paxton a shot.
I’m glad CP did not show. I never wanted him at the Gold Cup. If Tyler goes and blows out his hamstrings this season the USMNT has alternatives. But they really don’t have an alternative to losing CP and god forbid they wind up with a semi injured 75% CP.
The USMNT needs a bad guy and CP will do better than Tim Ream as the scapegoat.
you’re a walking contradiction. you criticize my “take the summer and experiment” arguments, based on copa/NL performance and player exhaustion. you then post how adams looks stale, probably true of CP and others. and how you wish a specific potential experiment would have gotten more time.
ok, whatever.
pick a lane.
presumably the reason your experiment disappeared into witness protection is he started that first half of the swiss game that sent other marginal calls into similar oblivion, eg, harriel. and suggesting an aaronson for DM??????
and contradicting yourself like that and then baiting someone with “ream” basically says you’re a troll.
IV,
??
There is no contradiction.
I posted a long time ago didn’t want CP or Adams here because I felt they needed a rest. I said that about all the A team ( most of them before the Gold Cup were carrying some kind of injury or had run up a lot of mileage.) but those two especially because of their specific injury history.
You can look it up if you give a shit. I don’t make up stuff like you do.
As for the culture wars and all this bullshit about fighting spirit, grit, heart and big balls, if CP and Tyler are fit and in form the USMNT needs them both if they expect to make any noise in the 2026 WC.
Pochettino knows that and I expect he’ll figure out something.
As for Paxton in Tyler’s position he ‘s nothing like the kind of tepid to foolish “experiments” you have advanced.
1. He was already with the team, honestly. I think I saw him on TV once.
2. His legs and knees were not broken
3. He came to camp having off of a very good year with Utrecht
4. He had already spent sometime with this group
5. He was born in NJ
6. He has better hair than Seba
Johnny was supposed to be THAT guy but he blew up and then went down in flames. I’m not very familiar with Seba but absent his dead ball skills and his coach’s son savvy,( two very important assets) he strikes me as a limited player. Paxton looks like he might have something different to offer especially going forward. And I think Paxton might hold onto the ball a bit better. Both of them have been listed as defensive midfielders so the anti-out of position Nazis can relax. Basically Seba beat out Paxson and rightly so.