Chicago Fire Academy Tryouts 2024: cost, location, contacts

Chicago Fire Football Academy is the development wing of the MLS side Chicago Fire Football Club.

The Academy has been operational over the years and has helped the main team develop top players for the competitive MLS league.

The club run a series of programs to help players achieve their dreams of becoming professional soccer players.

How to join Chicago Fire Soccer Academy – Tryouts 2024

The Application Process:

1. Prepare yourself

2. A personal invitation from a Chicago Fire Football Academy scout

3. Complete a ‘player identification’ application to be observed and to attend a trial or ID Event – you will register first

4. Participation in a Chicago Fire Juniors program nationwide

5. Participation in other Chicago Fire Youth Development camps or clinics.

What to do after going through the steps mentioned above provided by the club

The next step for approval into the Academy is pretty simple, as it only requires the Academy handlers to respond to your application and invite you when they are interested in you.

1) The Technical staff at the club or technical handlers will review your submitted application.

2) If interested, the club will contact you and invite you to a player trial at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview.

Tip: You should include video footage of yourself in training showing the best skills, runs and abilities you’ve acquired.

Scouts are always on the technical side when selecting players for their clubs.

Ensure your video footage is clear enough to enable scouts to identify your main objective.

Submitting your video increases your chances of getting into the Academy or making the list of players for trials.

Requirements

Playing Position

The position you play, e.g. defence, attack, etc

Playing Experience at a high level

Your level of exposure to soccer.

Existing team needs

Your ability to fill in the void left.

Chicago Fire Football Academy teams

The club has over five age groups participating in the Academy program, including U13, U14, U15, U17, and U19.

These teams participate in the MLS NEXT League (Know more about the MLS Next League).

Location & Training Centre

Tryouts and training sessions will occur at the Chicago Fire Football Academy Training Facility at SeatGeek Stadium (Bridgeview, Ill.)

Chicago Fire Academy schedule

The club training schedule is usually three to four times every week. However, the schedule is subject to change.

Other ways to join – Chicago Fire Academy Affiliate Clubs

Affiliates

Most clubs do rely on feedback from affiliate clubs, and this is because these clubs have really good scouts who identify players for their teams.

There are lots of affiliate clubs in partnership with Chicago Fire Football Club.

The affiliate clubs are listed below…

Chicago Fire Juniors City

Chicago Fire Juniors North Shore

Chicago Fire Juniors South

Chicago Fire Juniors West

Illinois Fire Juniors

Indiana Fire Juniors

Indiana Fire Juniors South

Michigan Fire Juniors

The club partners with other networks of scouts to identify players in the Chicago area.

These clubs serve as scouts to help the club identify the best-performing players in the region.

Players unable to cut submissions for the Player Identification Program could still join the Academy through an affiliate club in the region.

Get scouted by an affiliate club, and you could be on your way to the Chicago Fire Football Academy.

Young and talented players across the United States can also apply for the Academy directly or via affiliate clubs.

Ways to succeed during the Chicago Fire Academy trials

Trials are good opposition to impress coaches and scouts. This is why you should make the most out of the opportunity at all times.

Follow the recommended ways below.

1. Good training

The only solution to become successful during tryouts is regular training that keeps you fit.

That being said, you cannot succeed in trials when the fitness level on your end is lacking. As a result, you should ensure good fitness before setting out for any tryouts.

The secret of most successful players worldwide is fitness. Top players have their training hours outside of their team training. This makes them stand out and better compared to their counterparts.

This means you must prioritise your training schedule, or else you could lose form, which is dangerous to your development as an upcoming Soccer player.

2. Good at the basics of Soccer

Another area to look out for is your ability to perform the most basic form of Soccer. These include shooting, heading, passing, trapping, running, etc.

These areas are also the most basic areas scouts are always on the lookout for.

To be on the safe side, you should work on these to at least near perfection to compete with your peers.

You could still learn these skills on your own. Make the ball your friend daily by carrying out training exercises.

3. Ball Mastery

You should be able to play around with the ball like you own the pitch. Your ability to carry out runs and make decisive decisions on the field of play makes you stand out.

One of the areas scouts do watch out for is your confidence level.

Players with a high confidence level tend to perform better when called upon than players who usually have problems with their confidence on the field of play.

4. Sticking or adopting your preferred position

In soccer, the most decisive area is your choice of position.

This is the main area where scouts would make final judgements about whether you are qualified enough to be considered for selection.

To avoid choosing the wrong position, you must assess yourself by looking at the areas you can confidently play to your strengths.

If you find this difficult, you could still speak to your coach. I’m sure you’ll find a quick solution to this.

You cannot succeed in soccer without choosing a position you can confidently handle.

Final Thoughts

The Chicago Fire Football Club Academy stands out as one of the most promising player development outfits in North America.

Over the years, the team have gone a long way in its bid to become a hub for soccer development by improving the standard of play, provision of world-class training facilities, etc.