BRIDGEVIEW, IL - It's tournament season and the Chicago Fire Juniors affiliates have been firing on all cylinders. The Chicago Fire Juniors - Wheaton side recently announced its U15-19 Boys tryout date while three separate Fire Juniors clubs were finalists in the Best of the Midwest tournament. Fourteen West Michigan players were selected to the Super Y-League ODP camp, while two of its squads were Michigan State Cup Quarterfinalists. CFJ - Mississippi is impressing both on and off the field, as teams from the club finished first in both the CJSO Classic and United Cup, while the club will offer an ACT workshop for its high school aged players that have aspirations to play at the next level.
Chicago Fire Juniors - Wheaton
Chicago Fire Juniors - Wheaton has announced it will be holding tryouts for the U15-U19 Boys age groups this Sunday, Oct. 22 at Hubble Middle School (corner of Roosevelt Rd. & Main St.) in Wheaton, IL. The U15 and U16 Boys tryouts begin at 5:00 p.m., with a 7:00 p.m. start for U17 and U18/U19 players. All players that attended the June tryouts are asked to return for the Oct. 22 tryout. A rainout date of Oct. 29 at Hubble Middle School is scheduled if weather requires, with the same start times as the Oct. 22 date. Private tryouts are also available by appointment. For more information call CFJ - Wheaton coach Scott Meineke at 312-388-9010.
CFJ - Wheaton will be holding its Fourth Annual Halloween Practice and Coat Drive next Thursday, Oct. 26 from 4:30 p.m.- 6:00 p.m. CT at Seven Gables Park (fields G & F) in Wheaton, IL. All U8-U11 Juniors players can wear a costume (spikes and shin-guards still required) and will receive a treat bag at the end of the day's session. In addition, one player per team will be awarded a prize for the best costume. The Juniors will also be collecting used coats, as well as used eyewear, throughout the practice. Last year's coat drive raised 274 coats for donation, a mark the club hopes to break in this year's drive.
The CFJ - Wheaton U16 Girls (coached by Fire defender C.J. Brown) made it through the preliminary rounds of the prestigious Best of the Midwest tournament the weekend of Sept. 29 - Oct 1. The U16's tied Eclipse (1-1), beat Magic North (2-0) and defeated Lou Fusz (1-0) in group play and overcame a strong opponent in TKO to post a 3-2 semifinal victory and qualify for the final. However, the CFJ U-16's would fall in the final to national power St. Louis Soccer Club, but only after the match went through two dramatic overtimes and penalty kicks.
Chicago Fire Juniors - West Michigan
United Soccer Leagues recently announced the final selections for the Super Y-League's ODP National Camps to be held at the Cocoa Expo Center in Cocoa, FL in Jan. and Feb. of 2007. Selections from the 2006 season were made through the identification system from the Super Y-League National ODP Scouting Staff. The selection process was then finalized by the ODP staff coaches, and assembled by the USL office. The following CJF -WM players were picked to participate:
Selected: (* Indicates selected while playing for another team, but now plays for WMFJ.)
'92 Boys - Connor McMahon; '90 Boys - Seth Broekhuizen; '89 Boys - Chad Durussel, Adam Mena, Dan Zimmer*
'92 Girls - Lauren Gagnon, Anne Steinlage, Amanda Foster*; '91 Girls - McKenzie Doda; '89 Girls - Jillian Hayes
Alternates: Paul Austin ('90 Boys), Jessica Parker ('90 Girls), Kyle Batts ('89 Boys), Maegan Smith ('80 Girls)
"This is a great achievement for these players and everyone connected with the Fire organization," said West Michigan Technical Director Ian McMahon. "It shows how far this program has come in a very short space of time and how we are now being recognized on a national level. This will be a fantastic experience for these players."
The success of a pair of CFJ - West Michigan squads in the Michigan State Cup continued recently, as U13 and U17 Girls sides both progressed into the quarterfinals of this year's competition the weekend of Sept. 30-Oct. 1. The U13 Girls, coached by Courtney Nash, went unbeaten in bracket play by beating TKO 2-0, Michigan Burn 3-1 and drawing 0-0 versus the Novi Jaguars. Despite losing to the Michigan Gators - the #1 ranked team in Michigan - in the quarterfinal round, reaching the knockout phase was a great accomplishment for the first-year CFJ - WM team.
The U17 Girls, coached by Tara Wegner, were also unbeaten in bracket play after beating Brighton Eclipse (1-0), Livonia (5-1) and Force Purple (2-0). The CFJ - WM U17s - which are ranked 3rd in the State, 14th in their region and 50th in the country - defeated Vardar 3-2 in double overtime in the quarterfinals, but came up short against a very good Michigan Hawks team in the semifinals.
Chicago Fire Juniors - Elm GroveThe CFJ - Elm Grove U-14 Boys were named co-champion (due to rain-out of the final) along with St. Louis- based club Scott Gallagher for their effort in the Best of the Midwest tournament during the weekend of Sept. 15-17 in Naperville, IL. The Elm Grove side was an offensive force throughout the tourney, outscoring its opponents 11-2 along the way. The CFJ - Elm Grove U-15 Girls team lost in the championship game of the Wisconsin State Cup, losing 2-0 to FC Milwaukee Blue on Sept. 25 at Voigt Soccer Park in Brookfield, WI. The team will look to bounce back as it continues its season in the Midwest Regional League.
Jack McDermott, of the CFJ - Elm Grove U15 Boys, was recently named to the ODP Midwest Region II team for the second-consecutive year. Jack is currently a freshman playing this fall with Marquette University High School, one of the top high school programs in the country.
Chicago Fire Juniors - Mississippi
Chicago Fire Juniors - Mississippi '95 Boys White finished first in the Central Jackson Soccer Organization Classic after a 2-1 battle with Brandon in the championship game during the weekend of Sept. 23-24 at the Callaway High School fields in Jackson, MS. The '95 Boys White finished second in the overall standings with six points in tournament play.
The CFJ - Mississippi club would like to congratulate seven of its squads that were finalists at the United Cup on Saturday, Oct. 7-8 in Baton Rouge, LA:
United Cup Champions: The '94/U13 Girls coached by Cecil Hinds, '94/U13 Boys Black coached by Jeremy Shortt, and the 90/U17 Girls coached by Corey Rose.
United Cup Finalists: The '96/U11Girls White coached by Derrick Washer, '93/U14 Boys Blue coached by Casey Chiasson, '93/U14 Girls coached by Trey Woodham, and the '90/U17 Boys White coached by Kenny White and Chad Hampton.
As a part of the CFJ - Mississippi's attempts to help their players off the field as well as on it, the club will offer all its high school aged players the opportunity to attend an ACT review at Northwest Rankin High School prior to the testing date of Oct. 28. The CFJ - Mississippi hopes the review will allow its players not only a chance to get into the college of their choice, but also increase their opportunity for academic scholarships.
