No Reservations Needed

Soccer Digest, August, 2001 by Scott Plagenhoef

U.S. Soccer's player development receives a Eurocentric boost this year from the Chicago Fire Reserves

DURING THE INITIAL years of MLS's existence, one of its drawbacks was that it attempted to tailor itself to 1the casual American sports fan--and design itself after American sports leagues. It didn't work. That approach only served to rub "true" soccer fans the wrong way. Instead of running to the nearest MLS season ticket counter they ran to purchase satellites or digital cable in order to tune into the Premiership, Bundesliga, or Serie A. As the Americanized methods of play have departed from the league, so too have they from the sport's culture. The latest--and arguably most important result--is the Chicago Fire Reserves and Youth Academy.

Advocates of pro U.S. soccer have insisted almost since the beginning of MLS that a reserve system is needed in order to improve the game. The Fire is the first MLS team to test that belief. The club, the Chicago Fire reserves, is a U-23 team playing in the Premier Development League's (PDL) Central Conference and Great Lakes Division. The team isn't a minor-league team for the Fire the way reserve teams are in Europe--PDL is fourth division professional soccer, behind MIS the A-League, and D3 Pro League--but a place to identify and develop talent from within the community. In that sense, it's the closer to the end result of a youth academy. "We're very excited about taking a lead position in the United States to create a vertical development system for youth players through the Chicago Fire Reserves program," says Fire general manager Peter Wilt. "The Fire Reserves PDL team are the top of a youth development structure that extends down to the U-12 level."

The Chicago Fire Reserves are owned and operated by Amadan Soccer LLC and receive sponsorship support from Honda and Nike. The team, which won its first four matches, plays the majority of its games at St. Xavier University on Chicago's southwest side.

The Academy system has been adopted because college soccer is increasingly limiting. Besides, the best talent is already turning professional before reaching the college. Getting a degree is still attractive thanks to the low pay for first-year MLS players, but the cream of the U.S. high school crop is embracing the path to professionalism.

Project 40 remains a valuable resource for the development of players, but far too many fall through the cracks. That program, developed in 1997 as a joint venture between MLS and U.S. Soccer in order to identify and develop potential national team players, only provides resources for 40 players at a time--and those players are chosen at a national level, typically from kids already in the Olympic Development Program. As a result, it's easy for kids--especially those playing semi-pro ball rather than at the high-school level, a common practice among inner-city minorities--to fall through the cracks.

Players involved in the program--which has graduated Josh Wolff, Ben Olsen, Tim Howard, Bobby Convey, and DaMarcus Beasley, among others--earn the minimum annual MLS salary (824,000) during their initial season and are awarded a five-year academic package covering tuition.

Chicago Fire coach Bob Bradley oversees the program's player development. Bret Hall, a former Chicago Sting player heads the reserve squad. "The PDL is a very strong and underrated league," says Hall. "The very idea to bring in young players to see better competition through PDL games and training with Fire coaches is exciting and promising. We are picking players that we feel could be professionals in the future."

Bradley agrees. "It's extremely important to have these types of teams in order to better develop the young players in our area," he says.

That area extends not only to Chicagoland--and the reach not only includes PDL-ready players. The Fire reserves program involves kids from Northwest Indiana, and--like a true youth academy--consists of players of all levels: U-12, U-14, U-16, and 15-18. Boys and girls are selected for the program from developmental camps in order to participate in weekly training sessions staffed by representatives from the area's top youth clubs. The academy, then, is working with area clubs rather than competing against them, and in that sense, it's much different than its overseas counterparts. "This is an opportunity to allow the best area players to get the best available competition and the best available training," says Wilt. "Many young players are playing up in age, which will help tremendously with their development."

Nothing comes without its price, however. The Academy's developmental camps carry nominal fees, although full and partial scholarships are available through the FireWorks For Kids Foundation for qualified players who cannot make the financial commitment.

The program got a major boost with the addition of Tim Carter, who arrives from the U.S. Soccer Federation to head the project. Carter, a longtime advocate of youth academy programs in the U.S., previously had coached at Illinois State University. The selection of Carter to head the academy isn't only proof of the Fire's dedication to excellence--it's proof of the Federation's dedication to creating similar programs around the country, as well. "The Fire's development plan has enormous potential on the growth of our sport at the highest level," says U.S. Soccer's managing director Tom King.