Fire Academy's early training features Phoenix showcase

By Curt Herron

Today marks the start of a new chapter for the members of the Chicago Fire Academy's development program.

That's when many of them head to Phoenix, Arizona to compete in the third annual Development Academy Winter Showcase, which begins Friday.

The Fire Academy is one of 77 development academies from throughout the nation that will be taking part in the competition.

Twenty players make up both the U-16 and U-18 squads and they will each get the chance to participate in three games through Monday.

Over 200 college scouts and U.S. national team coaches will be on hand to witness the action at the Reach 11 Sports Complex.

The winter showcase is the first competition for members of the Fire Academy, who have been busy training for the past three weeks.

Ever since the 50-plus players in the program assembled at Toyota Park back on November 9, it's been a very business-like atmosphere.

That's the approach utilized by the Fire Academy, which has been created to eventually develop players ages 14 to 18 into professionals.

While many players have been involved with the Fire Academy and know the routine, it's certainly been an eye-opener for some newcomers.

Whether it's been practices at Argo High School or the Bridgeview Sports Dome or conditioning at Toyota Park, the bar has been set high.

But that's to be expected, considering what's at stake and the investment that the Chicago Fire has put into the development program.

There is no cost to the players who are participating in the program, which features three to four days of training each week.

Once spring arrives, the two teams will compete against other squads who participate in the US Soccer Development Academy League.

Beside playing home matches at the Toyota Park practice fields, their travels will take them to St. Louis and also to Colorado.

In addition to the workouts and games, the players will be introduced to other aspects of training as if they were professionals.

The players who have agreed to join the program were selected for their ability and potential as well as their desire to become a pro.

One reason why the academy system is so important to the Fire concerns the rules of Major League Soccer involving local players.

Academy players can earn placement on a home-grown talent identification list, which allows them to sign directly with the Fire.

In that way, they can play for the Fire instead of being selected by another team in either the Super Draft or supplemental draft.

Over the next few months we will try to tell the stories of the players on both teams as they go through the Fire Academy experience.

We'll have weekly updates with players from both squads and introduce each of the athletes in the programs with feature stories on them.

Once their competition begins, we'll be on hand to report on nearly all of their matches, documenting it with pictures, audio and video.

So join us as our website begins its journey into following the development of the many athletes who are in the Fire Academy program.