 Welcome to another edition of Yes, We're Here. We have a great guest today, a man I've been dying to talk to for a very long time. Thank you to NYCFC goalkeeper Brad Stover-Brad. Thank you so much for joining us and first and foremost, how are you doing during this difficult time? Well, thanks for having me on. Great to see you. Doing well, a little bit bored, but all healthy, safe at home, all the big things. How's it been training with the team online? Because I spoke to Ronnie Dial a couple of days ago and he mentioned you guys were doing things online. How's that been for you? Yeah. It's been interesting. I mean, getting 26 guys onto their computers, trying to figure out how like a web call works is funny enough as it is, but it was good. I mean, it's good to see the guys, it's good to see that they're in good spirits. I mean, we had a yoga class this morning. So trying different things. I mentioned earlier that I've been dying to speak to you for a long time. Your story is really interesting to me and it goes all the way back to when you were actually drafted and one of the things that stood out to me with your story is that you and your parents drove out to Indianapolis for the draft and you had no idea if you were even going to be selected, you just were going to turn up. I mean, what was going through your mind and how was that experience for you? That was crazy. Yeah. I was fortunate enough to go to the Combine that year, but I wasn't really a big name. No one really knew who I was, didn't really know how the draft worked, didn't get an invitation from like any like the MLS higher ups or anything. So yeah, me and my parents just kind of drove to Indianapolis, got a hotel room. I bought my very first suit to wear like in the draft. We were just going to go and sit in the fan section, but as we were walking through the convention center, one of the directors from the Combine recognized me and was like, oh, hey, you're Brad Stuber. You were at the Combine, right? I was like, yeah. She was like, are you sitting with us? I was like, no. And she was like, oh, all right, come with me. And she gave us the passes and we sat in the very back of the players section. How was it for you though, getting selected? I mean, you didn't have a clue that you were going to even be drafted and you got selected in the second round. Yeah, I was not expecting to go in the first two rounds. Like I had my agent, he had talked to some teams, like he had talked to some coaches and they said like maybe third, fourth round, like I would get picked up. But then second round comes around and Montreal takes me as the first goalkeeper off the board. And I was kind of shocked. I didn't really know what to do. I didn't prepare a speech. I didn't know I was going to have to talk in front of people. It was interesting. Fast forward a few years. You get the phone call from NYCFC to join the club. What went through your mind in joining NYCFC because you had played against them before previously in Major League Soccer. Now you got your chance to join NYCFC and go to New York. Yeah. I mean, that was a time in my career where I was looking for the next step. I was looking to better myself as a player and get the best opportunity out there. I was trying to decide between a couple different teams. And when New York called, obviously that was like an eye-opening decision for me. It was kind of a no-brainer. I looked at my agent when he got the call, I was like, yeah, immediately there was no hesitation with, I mean, Claudio was the GM with Patrick is the head coach. I've been watching Sean for several years then. And I just knew that this was going to be the right place for me because of the style of play and just the people surrounding the game. So when the phone call came in, there was no hesitation. So how difficult has it been for you mentally, but also physically keeping up with match fitness and things like that when you're playing number two to Sean Johnson. But at the same time, you've been called upon to some pretty big games and you've performed well. Yeah, I mean, I feel like my entire career has been sitting behind national team goalkeepers. I kind of have a good routine going of how to stay sharp mentally and be ready when my number is called. The main thing is just to go into training every day like you're the number one and train every day as if you're going to play on the weekend. And then on the weekend, you're just there to support the guys. And if your number is called, you're ready to go regardless. I love that mentality. When I was playing in the league back in 2008 was my first year in the league. Nick Romando was the goalkeeper and Chris Sites was the number two. And he had that same mentality. Every time he went into training, he was ready to go waiting for his opportunity. And at that time, there was some consistency with the head coach. Jason Christ was obviously there. Obviously someone who's familiar to NYCFC as well. But now you've gone through a couple of coaches since you first arrived at the club and we have Ronnie Dyland now. So it's like starting from scratch all over again. How's your first experience been with him in charge? No, it's been good. Ronnie did a fantastic job when he first arrived at the club in preseason. We all had one-on-one meetings with him. And he basically sat us down and talked to us about family, about life, about the game, what we expected out of the year. And he went into detail. He was like, yeah, I've watched your games from last year. I know what you're capable of. I've seen you this preseason. Like we expect this of you this year. And it was very uplifting for me for a new coach to come in. And I mean, it's difficult enough to know the guys that are playing day in and day out, but to know the guys that made appearances really stood out to me. Do you set yourself some targets when you go into the season? I mean, again, another preseason, this is a little unfortunate. The incident we're going through now with the suspension. But regardless of the suspension, when you go into preseason, do you have a specific target in mind, games or clean sheets, or just trying to get an opportunity? Yeah, I think every year is a little bit different. I mean, last year I knew Sean was going to get called up to Gold Cup. So my mentality was I knew I was going to get a stretch of games there in the summer, where I wanted to perform well and get my name out there and help the club continue on the winning streak that we were on. This year was a little different just because I know there weren't a lot of international games. So I knew we had Champions League. So I knew that we might be mixing the group a little bit. So my mentality kind of switched to being ready at the very beginning of the season and hoping that I would get some games when we're going back and forth between Champions League and MLS. 2019, you earned the club's Community MVP Award for some of the incredible work that you've done in the community. What are some of the ways that you have given back to that community? Yeah, I think it's really important for us as pro soccer players to give back to the community that we're in. The communities give us so much that I think it's really important that we give back to them. Last year, we were able to bring the laundry project to New York. That's one of the main things that I do. Other organizations that I've worked with are Street Soccer USA. They have a hub here in New York. And last year, I also became an athlete ally. Couple other things, but those are the main three. You're not only just involved in some great community work, you're also involved in the MLS Players Association. How difficult is that, especially going through this type of period right now where there's just been a renegotiation with the players and now you're going through a suspension with the league? I mean, you're the representative for NYC FC, along with Sean and somebody else. But is that a difficult role to play? It's interesting just because there's a lot of burden that falls on our shoulders. We're on phone calls every day with the Players Association. We're on phone calls with different reps across the league. We're on phone calls with league officials. I mean, we just came out of a very successful negotiation with MLS when we did the new CBA. And then we go into this time period where everything kind of changes. The economic front has changed completely with the setbacks that we're going to see this year. Not being able to play, we have to communicate with our players about how are we going to train, how are we going to get paid, all of this. So I mean, it's a lot of work, but I enjoy doing it because I want to give our guys the best chance possible. Well, I think you're a great representation of NYC FC going in with the Players Association as well. So thank you for all the work that you do there being a former player myself. So many people in New York and NYC FC fans who are out there who will be watching this are going through some difficult times right now. Do you have a message for your fans and for NYC FC fans in particular out there who are watching this? Yeah, I think the biggest thing is we're all in this together. If there's anything that anyone needs, please reach out to the club. You can reach out to me as well. I know a lot of the guys are trying to help in as many ways as possible, whether it's getting resources to people, whether it's getting the club involved. I know the club just partnered with New York Common Pantry. So there's a lot of different things that we want to be doing and there's more that we can be doing. So if there's anything that they need or anything that they want, please don't hesitate to reach out to the club. Raz Dover, thank you so much for your time. All the best. I can't wait to see you back out in the field as soon as possible. I appreciate it, man. Stay safe.