16 year old looking for advise to fulfill his dream

[Matt_G]

Hey im 16 years old (9-20-87) have been playing soccer since i was a little kid. I didnt play with a team till Freshman year in High School. Now i have played with Friends here in the States and in Poland ( Was born there and lived there till i was 3) I have passion for the game. Practice it whenever i get the chance to. Question is how should i got about getting to the levels that would get me to one day go pro?

I play as a Defender on my high school team. My coach used to play in Germany and has said that if i work hard i could have a shot at going somewhere. My High School team is made up of mostly kids that only want to have "fun and be part of a team" they put no time into offseason conditioning... Its really only me another Polish guy and a Lithunian... So basically we are really a sucky team so no scouts for colleges come this way... So when i enter College should i just try a walk on or play with a league and hope to be noticed? Or should i move back to Europe and try my luck there?

[SamPierron]

Where do you live? The key to getting noticed is to get hooked onto a good club team, not your high school team.

[Matt_G]

I live in Oak Lawn, a southern suburb of Chicago... i dont know of any clubs around here really... most of them are mexican clubs and i dont think i would have a chance at making it because im not hispanic

[Matt_G]

Hmm wait now that i think about it i think i remember hearing something about a Polish Club not far from me.... i think ill look into it then. Even if i do get into a club right now i want to at least make it to the college level any advice on that?

[dasoccerplayafosho]

look at the post I'm young and i wanna go pro. a lot of your questions can be answered there

[ChrisE]

You should try asking the Chicago Fire board about club teams in the Oak Lawn area.

[Bob Morocco]

I think from my time on the Chicago fire boards that Chicago has at least two of the best youth clubs in the United States, they are the Chicago sockers and maybe the chicago magic? I would start a thread in the Chicago Fire section asking about local clubs that will get you noticed because there are some local guys who have played for them, have kids doing it, have heard about it, or are Polish and are familar with the Polish scene.