Through The Lines: Rylan Hashimoto
After a historic season with Real Salt Lake’s U16 squad—one that saw them lift both the Generation adidas Cup and the MLS NEXT Cup—midfielder Rylan Hashimoto has emerged as one of the most exciting young players in the country. From all the success, their is still immersive dedication and grind. We caught up with Rylan to hear about his journey so far, the challenges of academy life, and what it’s like to deliver under pressure on some of the biggest youth soccer stages in North America.
Hashimoto does not originally come from Salt Lake, and in fact his family resides in Northern California. We asked him about this experience moving away from home: Before you joined Real Salt Lake, where did you play, and how did the move to RSL’s academy influence your development? “Making the move to RSL was a huge step in my soccer career,” Rylan said. “Moving away from home into the residency forced me to learn more about myself and to become independent. Since joining, I can see huge developments in myself as a player and also as a person.” Going into this season, everyone knew Real Salt Lake would be a good team, but their paramount success was largely unprecedented. When asked about preseason Ryland recounted : “Coming into the season, the squad as a whole faced a lot of adversity such as losing and injuries,” he explained. “But through the adversity everybody kept working hard and our hard work was rewarded.”
Generation adidas Cup provides the opportunity for MLS sides to compete against some high level clubs from around the world. Through the years, various MLS and interning clubs have won, and the tournament has seen stars like Kobbie Mainoo, Enzo Fernandez, and Ricardo Pepi have all participated. Hasimoto was named MVP of the U16 Generation adidas Cup after scoring five goals, including two in the final. We asked what was going through his mind in those decisive moments? “During the final, everything felt like a blur to be honest,” Hashimoto recalled. “But I remember after scoring my second goal, the reactions of everybody on the team, and our U18s in the stands being that we were going to win—and it was the most priceless feeling ever, especially since our team had grown so much since the beginning of the year.”
RSL would continue this success through the year going onto win the MLS Next Cup as well. Hashimoto commented on this historic run saying “To be part of a history-making squad, I am filled with gratitude,” he said. “I’m lucky to have worked with such an incredible team and coaching staff that fought together against adversity to obtain our success.” Obviously, this success comes with pressure to perform not only from peers, but form the country who are tuning in: “The times I play in high-pressure games and moments, I always remind myself that I can do all the things I am good at no matter the situation,” Hashimoto shared. “I imagine myself being successful in every moment of the game prior to kickoff.” Hashimoto clearly does not feel the pressure as he also went onto be included in the MLS Next Cup next XI alongside his teammate Van Parker. Hashimoto will also undoubtedly be a front runner to win the MLS Next MVP award.
From professional Jordan Allen is the coach of this Salt Lake team, and has been a hug contributor to their success. Rylan praises him saying. “Coach Jordan having gone through the entire academy pathway and signing for the first team provides an invaluable connection and understanding between himself and the players,” Rylan said. “He understands what it’s like to be away from home and to play for RSL—but also what it takes to move forward in the program into the first team.”
Looking ahead to next season, it will be difficult for this Real Salt Lake group to achieve similar success. Going into next season, Hashimoto stated: “For me, since I’m still very young, I’m focusing on improving myself in every category,” he said. “But if I were to choose a single category it would be mental, as I believe it is the most important skill and is what divides youth players and amateurs from professionals.”Looking ahead, what are your goals for next season—both personally and with the team?” Some goals I have going into next season are to continue to improve and to fill in the gaps in my game,” he said. “From a team standpoint, I want to win everything we can during the season and try to replicate the same success we had this year in GA Cup and MLS NEXT Cup.”