The New York Red Bulls are committed to developing and improving the level of youth soccer in the tri-state area. From an early age, the Red Bulls offer coaching and instruction to youth players of all skill levels. Whether that means providing a fun, safe environment to play the beautiful game, to developing the next Homegrown MLS star, the Red Bulls’ multi-layered youth program offers something for everyone.
In The Future is Bright series, NewYorkRedBulls.com takes a closer look at the organization’s youth development platform.
Henry Martin
Martin, a 6’4’’ center back from New York, N.Y., was a huge part of the Red Bulls Academy success from 2011-2015. Henry captained the squad in his final academy season in 2015 and won the U-18 US Development Academy National Championship in 2013.
“Being able to move up through the club has greatly improved my soccer ability due to the top quality training environment and players at each level,” Martin said. “The Red Bulls Academy is one of the top academies in the country and is able to get some of the best players and coaches together which leads to consistently good training sessions. Along with that, I think being on any sort of team is beneficial to building character and improving oneself.”
In early 2015, Martin announced that he had chosen to attend Princeton University and represent the Princeton Tigers in the Ivy League. Martin finished his first college season playing in eight games making one start.
Before attending Princeton, Martin made his debut for the New York Red Bulls II against the Harrisburg City Islanders on July 18, 2015 coming on as a substitute in a 2-0 victory. The defender added two more appearances for the USL team during that campaign.
“My man experience with the USL team came before my freshman year at college,” Martin said. “We had been knocked out of academy playoffs earlier than expected and there was still a lot of time left in the summer. In order to stay fit for preseason I decided to start training with the USL team and it was a super cool experience. The level of play was higher than what I was used to and it really pushed me as a player, but the guys on the team were always eager to help out and we very accepting. Overall, I had a great time as it really prepared me for my first season of college soccer.”
