Kendall McIntosh speaks in a very measured way.
He thinks before he responds to questions. When he does speak, his tone is even; there are not a lot of ups and downs.
It sounds a lot like how he plays goalkeeper. Or at least how he aims to play goalkeeper.
“You can’t be volatile, emotionally. Then I think you set yourself up for having slightly volatile performances,” he said. “One of the things the coaches have stressed is they want to know what they are getting out of you.”
“The coaches” are the staff of the Portland Timbers, the 2015 winners of the MLS Cup. Timbers staff saw enough in McIntosh last year to sign the Santa Clara University grad to the T2 squad that competes in the United Soccer League, a tier below Major League Soccer.
McIntosh, who had gone undrafted despite a standout career at Santa Clara as a three-year starter and a resume thick with national team appearances, made the most of it.
He played in and started 18 games last season for T2. He posted four shutouts and eight wins.
The coaches were sold. The Timbers signed McIntosh to a first-team contract last month.
McIntosh, who grew up in Santa Rosa and attended Sonoma Academy for a year and a half before moving on to the national team residency program, currently sits at No. 3 on the Timbers’ goalkeeper depth chart behind Jake Gleeson and Jeff Attinella.
In an effort to keep McIntosh active, he could be loaned down to the T2 squad at times, goalkeepers coach Adin Brown said.
“Goalkeepers need experience. The more situations Jestbahis you are put in, the better,” Brown said. “Getting games is massive for a guy like Kendall.”
McIntosh, 23, says he just wants in.
“Obviously I want to play with the first team as soon as possible, but for me, there is a lot of learning for me to do,” he said.
So if it’s T2 games, so be it.
“Minutes are minutes in the sense that you want to play as much as you can,” he said.
It’s that measured stance, that even keel, that sets McIntosh apart.
“He’s very young but you’d think he’s 35,” Brown said. “He’s very intelligent, very well spoken; he’s got a great sense of humor. Very kind, very thoughtful. That being said, when he steps on the field, he’s a different person and that is how you have to be sometimes.”
One side of that different person talks about all he still has to the learn about the game, and about his goal to constantly get better.
The other side is still miffed at the non-believers. Those who have passed on him because of his height.
I asked him how tall he is.
His answer? The media guide lists me at six feet, he said. Must be true.
“There have been moments I believed I had the ability to play and for whatever reason people have told me I’m too small to play or I don’t have a future in my position because I’m too small,” he said. “That kind of stuff bothers me in a sense because they are not looking at what I can do on the field; they are just making a snap judgment.
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