'Our group knows what we're capable of' - Wednesday Convo with Inter Miami's Drake Callender on Supporters' Shield triumph, MLS Cup ambitions

Callender: "I think the Supporter's Shield is definitely one of the more difficult trophies to win. You have, like, the best record throughout the regular season and in other leagues that's like winning the league.

So it's great to get that trophy. We're only five years into the franchise's history, so to have two trophies [the other being Leagues Cup] now, I think it's a pretty big accomplishment. It just validates the work that we were doing and how we're doing it, why we're doing it.

I think every pro athlete loves to play the game, but a big part of being a pro is how competitive you are in competition. Every team plays to win and every team plays to win trophies. So the fact that we got one this year is great. We're just going to keep that mentality going into playoffs."

"Yeah. It's an interesting, interesting kind of thing to think about. My first impression is that we've only been around for five years. We had only been around for four years at the time that we got our first trophy. But it really kind of depends on how you navigate the season as a team and what you're able to do, what you're capable of with the players that you have, and the belief you have in each other and the organization. And I think, whether the club's around for 20 years, 10 years, five years, 50 years, still extremely difficult to win a trophy.

I think we kind of figured out the formula fairly early. But I think it means a lot, because everybody contributed in their own unique way. It wasn't, a smooth sailing season. I mean, we performed well. We grinded out some results, even in the games we didn't win. We had eight ties, eight draws, those are still points. Of course, we have a high standard to win at this club. And even when that doesn't happen, a tie can almost feel like a loss, because we didn't win, but we still got a point.

It makes me think about how far we've come. Last year we had one of the worst finishes in league, we were close to the bottom of the table, but we still won Leagues Cup. So it's kind of like, some good, some bad. This year, we finished top of the table and got the trophy."

"I think I'm the only remaining player from the original inaugural season roster. I started my pro career the same year that Miami joined the league. I feel like as I've grown and developed and gone through the phases of being a pro and been in different phases of being a number four, number three, a backup goalie, a starting goalie, playing in different competitions, it reflects how it takes time for a club to grow and develop and reach different landmarks, whether that's winning its first game, making it into playoffs, having a playoff run, winning its first trophy, just how players go through these phases in their career and as they grow and develop.

So many great people that I've met, great coaches, great staff, and I think there's kind of a central philosophy of just being a good person. I think helps you out on the field. When you have a good locker room, it helps out a lot when you're performing together.

I think the standards have gotten higher the last few years, and now we're at a standard where we are just competing really well and winning games."

"To be honest, I always felt like we played good soccer here. The results may not have shown it, but in three years we've had a lot of quality players come through. We've had a lot of really good teams, different kinds of teams, and I think the group that we have now is a good mix between younger players who are ambitious and want to get better and want to compete, and a bit more veteran players who are still ambitious, they also want to compete and win. So I think that's what we align on, is that we all want to compete together, win games.

I can't remember the last time we got shut out. That's good from a goalkeeping perspective, 1-0 wins are tough to come by in this league.

But yeah there's definitely been a progression year to year that I've had a unique perspective. I've been here for five years, and that's what I'm grateful for, because I've learned a lot. I've had so many different veteran players give me advice. I've captianed the team a few times, and find different ways to contribute.

Every player plays a role, whether you're a starting player, whether you're a substitute, whether you're rostered. It's not a one man show. That's what's unique about our team, is that we can, we can rotate. Sometimes I'm playing with a different backline almost every game."

"There's been change, but, we all kind of understand what the collective goal is, and how we get to that goal is just working hard, having a good mentality, competing. Sometimes in the heat of competition, it's not always fun and games.

We want to win. Sport can be pretty emotional, so I think we express ourselves in a way that shows we want to win. That helps, because once the game's over, the game's over. You can be however you are off the field, nice, whatever it is. But when you're on the field, you're really, locked in and will do whatever it takes to win the game."

"It's really a roller coaster. If you look at the game against the Crew we played on Wednesday night, it was all over the place, conceding a goal seconds into the start of the second half, and two penalty kicks.

I'm a pretty big advocate for mindfulness and being present and understanding how your mental strength can play a pivotal role in how you perform. It has led me down a path just to be prepared for those moments, because the one moment you start thinking too much, the one moment that you start down yourself, is when you may not rise to the occasion.

I do a lot of things like meditation, breath work. I have a lot of different mindfulness practices that have helped me, because, you know, there's can be so much noise around you, fans yelling crazy stuff at you.

You either use it as fuel to kind of be like 'I'm not going to let these guys get to me,' or just block it out. I can do both. It's just being confident. You have to have that next play mentality, good or bad. You can make a great save, but then if you're still in that moment, something else could happen. You never know. So until the game's officially done, I try not to dwell in a moment - good or bad."

"I've been around long enough to have the experience to be leader in that way. It gives me confidence, because the coaches see me as someone who's a leader. I think goalkeepers are just naturally leaders too.

I just looked at it as an opportunity for me to grow myself and for me to help my teammates in every way that I can. Whether it's the team talk before the game, whether it's in the game, just it makes you aware of how you say things, when you say things, your body language. I think of characteristics like confidence, being well spoken, leading by example, all these things can play a role in how a team performs. There's moments in games where I think energy can become contagious, and guys can feed off that, and it can help them out. Leo [Messi] goes and scores two goals. Guys are like, 'This guy's going for it. This guy wants to compete.'

That energy is contagious. So the handful of times I've been able to captain is just something that makes me aware of myself, because if I'm not giving it my all, then what are my fellow teammates thinking? So it's great experience for me to wear the armband. There's like these echelons of being a player, and to go from the start of my pro career to now being a starting goalkeeper and wearing the captain's band - that's the kind of player that I was trying to become years ago.

I wasn't always in this position, so while I am in this position, I try and just do my best and help the team the best way that I can."

"I think any team that gets into playoffs is going to think they're the MLS Cup favorites. I think that's the mentality that a lot of teams have. If you don't believe that you're the favorites, then you know somebody else is going to have that confidence and that belief to win the trophy.

We're really just taking it one game at a time, and I think our group knows what we're capable of. We can beat the best teams in a league. And by no means does that make us comfortable.

We got the Supporters' Shield, great, enjoy that moment. But we want to enter playoffs with confidence. We have to believe that we're going to win, and that means people think we're the favorites, great. But if we don't take it seriously every single round, every single game, then we won't get there."