A couple of weeks ago Chicago PSG Magic were in the USSDA and team played two games and the U-18 included a couple of D1 soccer prospects. Now it seems the team is out the league and the USSDA site deleted anything to do with them. Although there is also no news about it on the web or social media that I could find. Wondering if anyone knows the story?
Where to start? back around 2010-2011 (maybe), the new owners sucked the life from the heart of the club which was based in Frankfort. They offed multiple - highly talented coaches and moved the core of operations to Highland Park, Illinois - where they lived and where their kids played. That was the begining of the end. Magic North (Crystal Lake) walked away - West fell to the side and the South just was gutted as over the remaining years coaches left. South shut her doors last season completely. West evolved to a "take your money for DA teams" environment. All that was left was the new Magic North (Highland Park). Over the last 3 seasons the bulk of their (good) coaches were absorbed into Sockers FC - both their South and Palatine locations (and are doing very well for what its worth). 2 Seasons ago - 2 coaches departed on the girls side to create North Central United - gutting the girls end for the most part. By the way NCU has done a fantastic job and deserves praise for getting those girls to a place where they could be trained better. Throughout the last 2 years, I believe Magic was on probation from the DA. Now for what - maybe someone else knows. But having been a die hard Magic parent for many years I can say that what they excelled the most at, was bringing in kids from all over the country to play on DA teams. This included putting the kids up, registering them for school and even bringing familes over and helping to find jobs for parents of players. If you had a outstanding center mid who played with the club since u8, there was always the chance that a spanish speaking player from southern California may take his spot on DA - with no prior experience with the team. This sent a good deal of DA players to Fire and Sockers. This was the norm from 2006 to 2011 when we were with the club - at it's core, it was likely the #1 issue on the DA side which caused many problems. Probation - and the fact that the owners sons are moving on to college, meant that they did not want to deal with it anylonger. Chicago Magic was absorbed by FC United over the last year. FC was granted a girls DA spot and will take over the Magic DA (from a management perspective I think they already have). Essentially - Chicago Magic is no more. I'm sure others can add more - correct me for some points. But these are my cliff notes. We sure were proud to be Magic parents and enjoyed some really super training and experiences. I know one member here stated that when we switched to Sockers, her older daughters team wore their Magic jerseys all year under their Sockers jerseys. A shame but definately diluted to some extent over many years of shooting themselves in the foot.
They are still in the DA, just under the FC United Soccer Club. Same group of players and coaches from the beginning of the season, just wearing a different shirt and owned by a different organization. http://untd.ussoccerda.com/home.php @VolklP19 's information is generally accurate. The previous ownership group operated in the interests of their kids and getting a national championship trophy for the cabinet. Their kids graduated/quit the program, and they got their USYS National Championship using DA players (which got them in hot water with US Soccer, hence probation). Meanwhile, actual paying membership was dwindling as they were continually left out of the DA/high-level events for scholarshipped talent from out-of-state or even out of the country. The club became a money pit. As the previous ownership was transitioning out of the program, in came a group of ex-Fire coaches who had been let go over the summer. With them, a handful of ex-Fire DA players which the club needed after experiencing a massive turnover (losing all of their "internationals"). Since some players had already registered within the DA at Fire, they're now ineligible (some only for a short-term). Sadly, with all the changes is ownership and coaches, it's a group of players that have been it hardest... FC United (who are essentially next-door on the North Shore) saw the opportunity to right the sinking ship using their model and resources. So far, in the experiences I've had with them this year, they've done a great job bringing a level of professional standard that was always lacking at Magic. Hope their successes carry on. With it's gifted soccer population, Chicago needs 3 functioning DA's to accommodate. Now if only Fire could get their sh*t together...
Thanks for the info. I track NCAA players who essentially go pro but have transition this work to USSDA as people involved on the pro side tell me there is more interest in USSDA now than NCAA. I've collected some data from USSDA since 2009 and almost all non foreign players who will be drafted in 2017 MLS draft will have a USSDA background. Although USSDA for the most part unless you have players involved in the league, publicly is a bit of an unknown such as stories like this. I imagine in the end it was a administration issue by the league because the first few games of the season they were calling them the Magic but as you both mention are now referring them as FC United. Be interesting if is some type of independent thing can be written about the league something from a place like Soccer America or TDS to give a better idea of the background of the club like you mentioned above.
I am going to link this thread in the Fire section. We were just having a discussion of what was going on with the Fire' DA.
Not true. I can speak from first-hand experience that this is NOT what happened. FC United cut 8 full time academy players from the 02 team in order to add CT's 8 players from the Fire. One of these new players is the son of the president of the board of FC United.
Wow. So, FC United "saw the opportunity to right the sinking ship" while the former Magic owners "operated in the interests of their kids"? So funny to hear this. I'm a parent of one of the boys affected by the merger and the impetus for it was in the 2002 age group, of which the Chairman of the Board of FC United's son and his friends are a part. Just like moving the team from Frankfort to Highland Park, a group of wealthy Northshore parents didn't want to drive to Bridgeview for practice so they bought an academy team and moved their kids off the Fire roster. This is a long and ugly story that no one seems know about. FC United removed Magic academy players and put Fire academy players in their place. They did this after PROMISING the players and families that there would be no new tryouts, no changes to the rosters, and that they would honor all the decisions made by the Magic Academy in Spring. But, they soon started bringing players who were rostered with the USSDA at the Fire Academy to FC United training. Then they dismissed many of the top players so that they could eliminate competition for their kids. If you don't believe me, understand that JS, who made these decisions, did not see any of the players he dismissed play in one single game, ever... At least at the 2002 level, there was no "massive turnover." Quite the opposite. FC United already had the former Chicago Fire North 2002 group come over in the Spring when THEY believed Magic would be bought and that their players would replace Magic academy players. But the CFJN parents didn't have the influence that the Fire academy parents had and they lost out--at least for now. The Magic Academy team was made up of players who were also excellent, won the state cup, made it to the semis of the Dallas Cup, etc. FC United, with all that talent at its disposal, came up with the idea to... wait for it... put the kids of rich, privileged, and influential parents who control the club on the team instead. FC United is not known for having great boys' teams. It is known for having parents with private jets. So, go figure. I think we need to all face the fact that the problem with developing soccer talent in America lies with parental influence. This kind of thing is surely happening all over the country. Coaches are paid for "private training" and are hired by influential and wealthy parents to coach. The USSDA is being used as a filter for wealthy, influential, and aggressive parents to eliminate competition for their kids. I'm not saying that all these kids aren't talented. Some are, but so many others are getting shut out and even blacklisted from the system before they even hit puberty. Eventually, I can see the academy system being simply groups of children of wealthy and unethical parents playing against each other.
FC United is doing the same thing in terms of using an Academy club to advance their own kids. Look up who the President of the Board of FC United is. It's not a coincidence that his son is now on the FC United's U14 academy along with 7 of his teammates from the Fire. Nor is it a coincidence that all 8 of these players have started in the majority of the games this Fall. No one at Fire seemed to know why CT left. He had an excellent reputation among parents and coaches, but he suddenly leaves only to re-emerge as the head coach of the 02 academy team at FC United with 8 of his former players, one of whom is the son of FCU's Board President. This was pre-planned. And they knew that in order to accomplish this they had to cut at least 8 full time players. I can only guess as to why they cut some of the best players. I assume it's because they didn't want competition for their kids. Also, it's interesting that CT is not listed as the head coach of the U14s on the USSDA website. Nor does he have a profile on FC United's website. Is this because FC United is trying to downplay CT's role in adding 8 of his former Fire players to his U14 academy team, which was accomplished by cutting some of the best players from Magic?
And that if you want your player to have some sense of stability - maybe Sockers is the only place to be? Wow? I'll be honest and say that as a parent of a 10 year old girl, I am not happy with USSDA. Creating the girls DA which is supposed to somehow sit on top of ECNL. Threatening existing DA clubs that they could lose their boys status if they refused to place girls in their DA over ECNL... The allowing - in this case, FC United as a DA member when they would not even qualify for ECNL status? When we start to consistantly get our asses handed to us on the USNWT side - you can start here to understand why.
@rummenigge11 Appreciate your clarification regarding the 2002 pool. When I say "massive turnover" I'm speaking more for the 2000s and 1998s. Consistently over the last 3 seasons the top players in those groups were from outside of Chicagoland and some the country. As far as "righting the sinking ship", when you look at the overall trend Magic has experienced in the last 5 years, it's pretty clear that the organization was headed down the tubes. Say this merger did not take place: did you happen to see/hear Magic's Double Pass evaluation? Their "residency program" was a private home in Lake County where a number of children (under 18), some from outside the country were living essentially on their own. A handful of them would spend their days at Soccer City training with Bridges FC because they weren't in school! Add the fact that they were already in hot water for fielding DA players in a USYS competition...you see the trend. It's not even the coaching staff's fault. These decisions were made by TR, and when he left DB. But having a club like FC United, or any club for that matter, come in and at least attempt to fix it or re-brand it would be to the benefit of Chicagoland soccer. Again, we need 3 DA's to accommodate the local talent if not more. Regarding your comments on the DA being open only to the wealthy and the over-influence of money, I have never heard this as being a problem at many of the other DA clubs. Is money ruining Sockers DA? SLSG? Your statements are based on your experience in your environment. I do sympathize with your position, being a family that has been wronged in one way or another by this change. It is easy to get caught up in the emotions of it all but bear in mind that clubs are businesses. Sometimes these businesses have to make decisions for the long-term benefit that may negatively impact some in the short-term. Could we say that this merger is a long-term benefit? Time will tell. End of the day, if you feel that the club is conspiring against you or not acting in your best interest, then maybe it's time to find a new club. There are plenty of good clubs, even outside the DA, in your backyard. @VolklP19 Although I absolutely do respect your opinions all over this board, "as a parent of a 10yr old" you have not directly experienced ECNL or DA. Reality is, no one has experienced girls DA. Difficult to make any claims one way or another. But if you look at the successes of the boys DA compared to the former premier leagues like the Red Bull National League or when Super-Y was relevant, it's abundantly clear that the DA is superior in player production. Regarding the USWNT, you can already see the US is losing it's stance as the undisputed top program in the world. It's happening even without the DA's influence. I applaud US Soccer for being proactive in their attempts to better the women's side even though we're already top 5 in the world. Might it fail? Sure. Just like in the early stages of the boys DA there was apprehension. But let's not jump to conclusions before it's even started.
No disagreement there. Magic was not well-run and I know they had some issues with the DA, etc. I have not heard of the "residency program," but it sounds par for the course. So unbelievable... But believable.. The bizarre, shady, and strange were commonplace there in our experience. But, they still had a lot of great players and the coaches weren't any less qualified than FC United coaches when they evaluated them over years and chose them for academy spots.
There are few - if any leagues that have had more success then the ECNL when it comes to college and pro players. There is just no way the DA passes ECNL over the next 3 years. It will be splintered and the play watered down - likely. 8-10 year old girl will unfortunately be caught in the middle. That's how I see it. Perhaps after that things will settle but I doubt it... ECNL is already firing back with more clubs and a proposed boys side now. Yes I get the cost point and influence from a certain Illinois club - I see the downside there. But by the numbers alone....
Wow! I often heard rumblings that the Magic were corrupt, but I assumed that was referencing the owners placing their own kids on the academy. That's terrible about the residency program. We probably would have switched clubs had we known that was going on.
If dismissing players who earned academy spots over years of hard work and evaluation and replacing them with your son and his buddies so that you don't have to drive to a practice location you dislike is a sound long-term business decision, then I'm sure FC United is going to be very successful.
I agree that for many players at Magic, the merger with FC United may be a long term benefit. FCU seems better organized and they probably have some fairly intelligent people running it. However, there is no question that FCU lied to the parents and players of the Magic academy in order to hide their intention to cut half the 02 team. The only possible motivation to cut that many players was to add 8 players from the Fire who were connected to the Board of FC United. This was a group of very talented players who were cut. They were the #1 team in the region last year. They made it to the semi-finals of the Dallas Cup this year. Yet, JS (new director of academy), without ever evaluating these players, cut half the team, including the entire defense, which allowed NO goals until overtime in the semi-finals of the Dallas Cup. They also cut their best midfielder. Why would they do this unless it was to free up starting spots for a very privileged group of players, who did not have a good record at the Fire. Perhaps this will only be a problem for that age group. But if the President of the Board is allowed to act unscrupulously, then that opens the doors for others to do the same.
No offense but if you think this does not happen at all clubs - maybe you can substitue owners kid for coaches kid, then you are kidding yourself.
FCU's biggest trouble is the multitude of other clubs with high paid DOC/coaches in the imediate area. Spartans, Glenview, FC1, Northwind, Lake County. It will take 2-3 years to settle the area before they can claim victory IMO. It's a political mess - laden with parents that have a shit load of money!
You realize FCU has feeder programs setup in a lot of those communities? Spartan FC directs all its players to FCU. FCU also has affiliates is Glenview and Park Ridge. They currently are minor clubs but you have to think they will grow. Having a DA for both genders on the north shore is going to be a gold mine. There is a lot of talent within 10 miles of FCU. Several kids from that area have been driving to Bridgeview and Oak Brook. That could change
No quite honestly I did not realize that all the hectic mess on the North Shore had been sorted out. If that is the case they will definitely have a large pool to pull from. They have also hired some big-name coaches. So we'll see where this goes. I'll be frank and state the eclipse is struggling with talent at the younger ages while Sockers is struggling with numbers. So from where we are right now if what you say is accurate which I have no reason to doubt, it would seem that FCU from a girl's perspective has the wind at their backs.
No offense taken since I'm not kidding myself. I clearly stated earlier that this is happening all over the country. Other people may be kidding themselves in saying that these decisions are "business decisions" made for the long term benefit of the organizations and soccer in general. I think the problem is that this issue isn't being addressed by the USSDA, but I don't think they care. As long as parents can buy clubs, pay coaches for "private training" as a way to influence and even flat out bribe them, and that, as you say, coaches are coaching their own kids, there is going to be flagrant corruption in this system. But I'm not sure we'd have this big of a problem if we hadn't decided to make the academy a closed system that only competes with itself. With the new U12 programs starting this year, parental influence will shut out talented players at an even earlier age. Let's face it. Once players are on an academy track, it is very difficult for them to lose their spots--unless, of course, some rich parents buy the club and kick them out. And, since academy players just compete against one another, they are only being evaluated compared to themselves. Meanwhile, other players outside the academies are getting less training at poorer facilities and with fewer top coaches. The intention of these academies was surely to find the best players and put them in a serious environment where they could be developed and thrive. But if the "best players" are chosen by their own parents, then we've poisoned the well from the beginning. And, if there is no mechanism to track and follow the progress of other players outside this system, you lose an enormous amount of talent. The odds of becoming a pro athlete are almost unbelievable. Why decrease the size of the pool so much at such an early age? The answer: parents are eliminating competition for their kids. If we care about things like our national team and if you don't want all our top players to have been developed in other countries, this should concern us. Can you imagine if we did this with any other sport? If we said that we were going to choose all the best basketball or football players in the country when they were 12 or 13 and put them in academies--only located in certain areas-- that parents could own or control? And that, for the most part, these players would be the ones getting college scholarships at the big programs and going pro? What kinds of players do you think we'd see in the NBA? How about the NFL?
There are some clubs out there that are not doing this. I know this is a fact. Now that doesn't emit moments when parents try to influence who's on the team or coaches that will play their children over more qualified players for a particular position. The real issue for me is one of cost which excludes the majority of talent, as well as how clubs train their staff and develop a sense of continuity in terms of how to deal with this issue. I think the approach of not being your child psychologist and not bending down two parents instructing trainers on how to develop players as key here. Sockers for example certainly has their own issues but where they have thrived is with a staff that is continuously training and has a deep continuity of development and understanding of direction. It is precisely why they have become the most stable Developmental Academy in Chicago. That being said, I stand by the most crucial element that is cause of failure across the board and in my opinion that is the cost to play club soccer collectively.
Agreed. And at the more competitive clubs, if a player is to be considered serious, he or she is expected to commit to additional training, leagues, and national tournaments, which drives up the cost of playing a great deal. So, it’s not just the initial fees (which may be between $2,000 and $3,000 a year), it’s all of the other “hidden” costs to be considered one of the top players. On top of this, parents do influence who gets to play, whether in their role as coaches, team managers, benefactors, etc. Who then gets filtered into the academy? Mostly wealthy kids, some of whom belong there, but others who do not. I will say that at Magic they used wealthy parents to support players who couldn’t afford the high costs of travel soccer. As a result, there were a few wonderfully talented players on my son’s team who otherwise would not have been there. But these types of scholarships need to be transparent; I don’t think they were at Magic. When you consider the point made in a previous post that the academy system is closed, this closes it off even more. There are some really competitive non-academy teams in the Chicagoland area, but the perception among parents is that academy is the only way to get a college scholarship to a Division 1 school. Because of this perception, parents put a lot of time, effort, and money into securing those academy positions for their kids. And in the process, more talented players get pushed out or never make it into the system in the first place.