The kids are all right at Michael Bradley's New York Red Bulls

A history of hard work

Bradley has been an American soccer fixture since he was a child. His father, Bob Bradley, is one of the nation's greatest-ever coaching exports. (USMNT fans may remember him as the architect of the team's 2009 Confederations Cup final appearance and 2010 World Cup Round of 16 finish.) But the younger Bradley never rode on the coattails of his famous father. He made his name as a hardworking, indefatigable midfielder, the kind who arrived to practice early and stayed long after his teammates left.

When he decided to follow in his father's footsteps and take up coaching, Bradley didn't use his famous name to hook a big-time job. He returned to Red Bull New York, his childhood club, and took on a decidedly un-glamorous role as the head of its youth-driven second team. Out of the spotlight and free to focus on the work, Bradley morphed the team into the strongest academy team in the MLS network and took home the national youth championship for his efforts.

A youth-forward perspective

Red Bull was impressed. It rewarded Bradley by promoting him to coach its senior MLS team for the 2026 season. The Red Bulls had failed to make the playoffs for the first time in over a decade in 2025 and needed Bradley's fresh perspective to reset.

He could've brought in a whole suite of new players to make that reset happen, but instead, Bradley returned to what he knew: his championship-winning youth side from the previous year. Dedicated to the success of his former charges and certain they were good enough to compete at a high level, Bradley entered this Orlando match—his very first as a senior coach—starting untested teenagers all over the field.

It's not uncommon to see new coaches rely on familiar faces. Just look at Inter Miami's Javier Mascherano and the endless parade of former Barcelona teammates he's signed since joining MLS two seasons ago. It is uncommon, though, to see a new coach put so much faith in the contributions of young players as Bradley did.

His unshakable belief in the value of these kids is excellent for MLS, a league that has long been shackled with a "retirement league" stereotype. It's also excellent for the USMNT: both Adri Mehmeti and Julian Hall are future USMNT candidates who may get their national team shot several years before they would've under a less trusting coach.

Bradley's young Red Bulls will take on the New England Revolution in Game 2 of the MLS season on Saturday, Feb. 28. It should be a fascinating matchup: New England, coached by former USMNT U-20 leader Marko Mitrovic, is one of the only franchises in the league that values its young players quite like the Red Bulls do.

When teams like these win, all of MLS wins, too. But the Red Bulls—in true Bradley fashion—will no doubt give everything to make sure they take home all three points for themselves.