Coach Sigi Schmid ran his team through its second workout at the Seahawks training facility Thursday and saw progress from the day before.

“Each day you see a little bit more -- you see more from players,” Schmid said. “Day One was a lot of energy, a lot of excitement. Today was a little bit better. Everybody has calmed down, and you start seeing people’s habits come out. That’s what you’re looking for.”

Friday will bring another important step, as the roster will be broken into 11-man teams for the first time.

In their first work on Wednesday, the Sounders participated mostly in seven-on-seven work. Today, Schmid put a couple of five-man teams on a fraction of a regular field and pulled the goals in close – forcing fast decisions in tight spaces.

“You’re looking for people who quickly assess the situation, and can solve it,” Schmid said. “Defensively, things happen quickly and if you hesitate for a second, the guy’s inside of you and then it’s a goal. Offensively, we are looking for who can assess the situation (quickly). … You’re looking for people’s reactions to situations.”

The drill used goalkeepers: 39-year-old Kasey Keller on one end, 24-year-old Chris Eylander on the other.

Both made impressive saves. But the veteran also offered vocal leadership, which Schmid welcomed as he tries to instill a shared expectation of excellence through a new team searching for identity.

“He’s certainly in command of his guys,” Schmid said. “… He was demanding of them. He wasn’t degrading them or anything like that, but he was very demanding of them. You have to be demanding. You’re not going to win if you’re not demanding of each other. All of us will get that at the end of the day.”

I mentioned in the post below that I neglected to take my recorder to today's Sounders' practice, so I had to paraphrase the folks I talked to.

Now the Sounders have ridden to the rescue with a transcript of our interview with coach Sigi Schmid.

Here's his overview on his team's second practice:

“Each day you see a little bit more. You see more from players. Day one was a lot of energy, a lot of excitement. So today was a little bit better. Everybody has calmed down, and you start seeing peoples habits come out. That’s what you’re looking for. Tomorrow will probably be a little bit bigger. Play some 11 v 11. We’ll have a look at them in that setting. We’ll have three days now. We’ve seen them with possession. Day two, today, we want to see them with goals in tight. See what there reactions were in transition, and how quickly they reacted to things. Tomorrow, we’ll make it bigger and see them 11 v 11.”

The Sounders have just completed their second day of practice. And while it’s a young team, I’m the one who made the rookie mistake today … leaving my recorder at home.

Therefore, you’ll notice an absence of quotation marks in today’s report.

Coach Sigi Schmid said every day he learns a little bit more about his team. Today, some of that learning came in a five-on-five drill with the goals pulled in tight. The point of that was to watch the players making quick decisions in tight space.

Kasey Keller was part of that drill – with Chris Eylander at the other end. Keller made some nice saves and also made his presence known vocally. Schmid said he appreciated that Keller was demanding but not demeaning.

We also got a few minutes with Fredy – yes, one ‘d’ – Montero, the young but apparently highly skilled forward from Colombia. He doesn’t speak English yet, but Schmid was impressed that when he – Schmid – commented “Well done,” while watching a nice play, he noticed Montero repeat, “Well done.”

Finally, I also got a few minutes with Jordan Jennings, the Tacoma Tide keeper who was invited in at the suggestion of keeper coach Tom Dutra. Jennings says this is obviously a step up in competition level. But he says he’s not just here for a first taste of the big leagues … he’s here to make the team.

Word is going round that Seattle Sounders FC will host Chelsea of the English Premier League on July 18 at Qwest Field.

The Sounders aren't confirming. But neither are they shooting the report down.

Sounds to me like the Blues will be meeting the Rave Greens come summer.

If it happens, the game will be included as part of the Sounders' season ticket package.

Expect an announcement before the league schedule is announced early next month.