 Welcome to another edition of Yes, We're Here. Enjoy once again, this time joined by MYCFC, midfielder slash defender James Sands. James, first and foremost, thank you so much for taking the time to join us today. How have you been doing over this period of time? I know it's very difficult for any athlete going through this period of isolation, but how have you personally been dealing with it? Good. Like you mentioned, it's tough for any athlete to go through this, not training with the teams tough, but you do what you can. The club has sent us some workouts to get done, so you try and keep busy with that, but hopefully we'll be back on the field soon. Have you been getting creative with the family? I know you're there, your brother, your sister's there, the whole family's back under one roof. Have you been enjoying that time specifically with family? Yeah, it's great. Everyone's back from college, everyone's working at home now, so full house, but it's really great to have them back. Yesterday, for example, I was just juggling in the driveway with my sister, so stuff like that is actually kind of fun. Bringing back the old memories, I like it. What about Netflix or YouTube series or something you've been watching online that maybe you've been binge watching? What have you been after? TV show, I would say Office for sure. I've seen those a hundred times, I could watch them a hundred or more. That's my type of humor right there, but I just finished the new season of Ozark, which is good. I've been watching that myself. I haven't watched the latest season yet, but I'm going to get stuck into it pretty soon. What about books? Do you read a lot of books? I started because I have all this downtime really. I'm right in the middle of outliers right now. I know a bunch of people around me on our team have read that, so it's great stuff. All right, let's get down to business. You were, back in 2017, you became the first-ever homegrown player to sign a professional contract for New York City Football Club. How did that personally make you feel? I mean, you've gone down in the history books here. Yeah, it's special. Definitely considering how successful the club has been to be a part of that early history. It definitely makes me proud. I think it just shows how strong the club is, that they were able to go and sign their first homegrown. So far, it's turned out well. I think it shows well for all parties involved. All right. Now, there's a bit of a debate between me and Joe Tollison in the ES Network booth during games. Trying to figure out what's your favorite position because you play very well at both position, defensive midfield, but also at center back of three, I would say, along a back line. What's your preferred position? Where do you see yourself playing long term in the future? Everyone asked me that, and all the coaches have had to say something else. They have a different opinion on it. For me, I can't really say one or the other. At this point, it's just what gets me on the field. So if that's center back, then that's my favorite. If it's six, that's my favorite. James, I'm not taking that for an answer. You have to give me your preferred position. What is it? I have flip-flops so often I can't say. We'll figure it out though. We'll get to it. Well, it's been admirable watching you play and actually perform very well from both positions. So no matter where you play, you are doing an excellent job. The team has really welcomed you. And of course, when you're a young player, getting your first steps into Major League soccer, it's not always easy, but the team seems to have gelled. I mean, what is it inside that locker room that makes this unit, this team so special? Everybody seems to get on with one another. Yeah, I think for sure last year and even more this year with all the guys returning, it's easy to see the chemistry that we have on the field. And I think what's really special about our team is everyone knows their role. Everyone's got a job that they do. They do it well. And I think whenever one knows their job, that's how you get results and you can be successful. Who's the closest teammate you have on the roster right now that you hang out most with or you just get on really well with that you have that bond? I would say it's probably Joe Scali for now. When he signed, we were probably the closest in age and being the second homegrown, we're pretty close. So definitely Joe. I've seen you two in action as well as a dangerous duo right there. What about the national team? Of course, speaking of Joe, yourself involved in the national team coming up through the ranks. Your aspirations, of course, the Olympics obviously has gone through this issue now. It's delayed. What about your ambition for the US national team, Olympics and full national team? Do you believe there's a real possibility you can just sneak your way in there? I think there is. I think one of the strengths for me right now is just the system that they're trying to play. I think I fit in well to that as a player. I think the way I play would really fit that system. So obviously it was my goal to go to the Olympics. We'll see what happens with that. But for long term, it's definitely to play for the senior team in a big tournament. Have you had a conversation with former NYC FC head coach Jason Christ, who's now the Olympic boss? I have. I was in camp with the 23s in November or December in Spain. So I talked to them. A great guy gave me a lot of good feedback. So we'll just see where that team goes from here. Jason Christ is a very good friend of mine. He was also my former coach at Rail Salt Lake. And I'll be sure giving him my advice on what you have for your future coming up as well. You talked about your family moments ago there. It's great to have everybody back under one roof. Was it competitive growing up there? I know your brother is a fantastic footballer as well and your sister also played a little bit. So was there a competitive fighting spirit within the family that basically made you all improve? Yeah, and I have two sisters who both played. They would be mad if I didn't mention that. So for sure the 2v2 games in the backyard would get kind of intense. But with me and my brother, it was competitive for a while. But I think we've kind of both come to accept that we're on different paths right now. And it doesn't mean he won't be playing for NYC FC or playing in Europe. It doesn't mean that I can't do other things. But I think we're just different timelines. You can mention to your brother from myself, I was told by two coaches that I would never make it as a professional. One for medical reasons and one because I was too small. And then I went on to play over 300 professional games. So you can tell them that. What about the game that you're missing right now? I mean the locker room of course is one thing, the training ground. I understand you're going to be missing that. But is there something specific that you just miss right now from the beautiful game? Yeah, I think it's really just the games. There's nothing really that replaces going out into Yankee stadium and playing in front of those fans. You do really miss that and I just hope we can get back to that pretty soon. But that's definitely the biggest thing I miss right now. There's a lot of people watching on who've really enjoyed us putting out these interviews. One on one getting to know the players. So many people are going through some tough times around the New York area at this moment in time. Do you have a message for the NYC FC fans who are watching and right now? Yeah, I would just say as a club we're always reaching that we're one team, the players, the staff and the fans. And I think that that rings true now more than ever. Everyone's doing the same thing. Everyone has to stay at home, be healthy and just try and get past this. But we will be back eventually and we'll need your full support then. So until then, just stay safe. James Sands, thank you so much for your time. We'll see you back out on that field soon. Thanks for having me.