My daughter’s GA-A team has the Illinois Cup on their schedule for 2026, so at least one team will for sure be there in whole. I wonder if that GA-R tag is to appease the parents. GA doesn’t have a regional segment like ENCL does. I saw another team list that somewhere and was super confused.
It's not so much GA as it is USYS ... you can't have another league logo on your jersey in an USYS event ... i'm assuming it is similar in GA and ECNL as well. Whenever GA teams have their players in a USYS game - technically they need to cover it up. I've noticed league games in the past don't care as much - but at State Cup, Regionals or National Tournament it is 100% enforced. A lot of the Galaxy girls are highly regarded and known - so it is very simple to know which ones are GA players when they are playing in USYS National Events. But, from what I was told by one of their parents, they actually have a USYS NL team - that girls from GA and their regular USYS teams play together on in National Events. So that team that won the USYS NC last year, was mostly the same team that had success in GA.
Deportivo 59 FC is south and they have a good 2016 team. Depending on how far south you live, you may want to look into Orland Park Sting.
The Galaxy GA-R teams were not affiliated with GA in any way. They were USYS National League teams. Using the GA-R name for the second team was just marketing by Galaxy to keep their second teams happy when they moved their GA teams away from a pool format. The second teams will play GA ASPIRE in the fall.
Thanks! D59 is a good suggestion. My son has a friend who plays on that team and he is a good player. Indy Elite is also a good suggestion. We could probably make the trek up to CFYSC as well. We are hoping for a club that will help him with technical development. Any insight on how much/well these clubs focus on that?
My son was born in 2011, and I live on the far south side, so I understand your frustration when searching for something that is both challenging and local. I would choose the best coach over a club if technical ability is your main concern. Alternatively, consider seeking a quality trainer if you have the budget and time for individual or small group training. With that said, having played against Deportivo many times and with one of my son's school teammates playing with them, they seem to focus on technical skills.
We had one a few years ago that went nowhere. I just bumped it up. I'm happy to as I have a boy as well. https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/chicagoland-boys.2106246/
It's okay to bring up boys here. This thread was a 6th thread to the Magic vs Sockers threads which were all about boys until about the 5th thread. I think we rather need more members with boys to participate.
I agree it's ok to bring up boys here, and people, including me, do. But, there's a lot to sift through that has little to do with the boys side, so I get that perspective, too.
Thanks. We will check out Deportivo and maybe Fire. Also, is it true that the age groups are changing to school year? I haven't been able to find anything definitive on that. If that's the case, my kid will be trying out next year with mostly the year behind him, so might be a good time to think about making the switch.
Here is the announcement from USYS. https://www.usyouthsoccer.org/news/...to-seasonal-year-age-group-formation-in-2026/
A little late on this, but just saw FC United GA Director left for another club. Was with FCU for less than a year. FCU seems to be having trouble with that position after Fabrice left. The guy after him was terrible, and Rudy clearly didn't have staying power. Anyone know why Rudy left? Rudy Cleveland is BLUE! 🔵We are thrilled to welcome Coach @CoachRudyC to our @GAcademyLeague league program!👏@MUFCAcademyMI #WeAreUnited pic.twitter.com/sf4lKHsMTD— Midwest United FC (@MidwestUnitedFC) April 30, 2025
My kid just made her choice and I’m pretty psyched. She accepted an invite from Premier Elite United FC for their Academy Select Hamm-Wynalda Alliance Purple ECNL team. My younger daughter is sticking with Rams SC.
This is hearsay but it's alleged that Rudy guy did not leave Sockers on his terms, and, it seems like his move to Midwest United carries a lower title than what he had at FCU. Maybe there was a personal reason to relocate but I can't imagine he would be all that difficult to replace, FCU appears to be a cash cow who could easily pay the right person the going rate plus some.
Our eclipse 2013 girls just played FCU last night, 8-0 or 9-0 final. Not much of a challenge coming from that teams top 2013 club.
They’ve really struggled this year. Their 2012s are the best in the state right now but 2013s are sitting at like 22. The parents at the GA ID event in March were really open about where their weaknesses were, so even they see the issues. That GA event and their tryouts recruited well, though—that’ll be our club for our 2013G in the fall—so hopefully they’ll get their feet under them as they enter the GA.
That’s the thing about Eclipse that I have always found interesting. 27 years of success, ECNL founding club, but doesn’t have any facilities of their own. They rely solely on park district facilities and rented indoor space - and not good indoor space. When they had a home base at the Oak Brook Polo Grounds they ended up losing their lease to Chicago Empire of all clubs. Between no facilities and coaching issues over the years, it’s really impressive that they have been able to keep it going.
Rudy left Sockers and joined Crystal Lake Force. Less than a year he was back at Sockers and then left for FCU. Rudy is really a good guy and a solid coach but at Sockers back in 2017/2018 there were three sorts of coaches on the girls line. (1) Those who were fired as an excuse for Sockers not performing (2) Those who carried the company line and (3) Those who wanted to question the direction the club was going with the girls - which eventually were fired etc.. Rudy is a smart guy - he saw the writing on the wall with the direction the club was going. My bet he and a few others spoke up and got on the wrong side of ownership - all speculation of course but some of that I got from other coaches that were in that group and who were fired/let go. This is why Sockers is not a final destination club for the top female players in Illinois - in fact it's barely mentioned in the top 5 or even 10 anylonger. They should have listened to those coaches, focused on player retention and put second teams in meaningful leagues.
If everything you say is true going back to 2017 (you did say “all speculation”) it is amazing that they keep placing kids in meaningful college programs, which they do fairly consistently. Sockers is also has a GA National Championship within the past three years.
Prior to ECNL and later GA, Sockers was a massive powerhouse in the midwest on the girls side with 3-4 teams at most age groups. Now they generally have 1 team per age group from U8 up. The best players are heading to Eclipse, Inter, Galaxy. As of 2018 Sockers did have an active recruiting program so they certainly gained some talent from that angle. But generally, those who are not recruited by the 3 mentioned, head to FCU and Sockers. For the team you are refering to, there was a core group which was there since U8 and U12 so they knew how to play together. Plus they had a ringer who was able to play 24/7 on both the girls and boys side and also played on Egypts National Team. I would call that a rare occurance over the last 10 years with the only other exception being the 98/99 ECNL team which has some players go on to play professional abroad. Not sure what you mean by: placing kids in meaning college programs... If D1 then yes - they are able to do that with exposure in the GA. However there are far smaller clubs that are putting players into D3 and D2 college programs. My daughters final club had multiple players (5 that went on to D2 colleges) that did just that with a coach who helped them at every turn by sending emails, making phone calls and helping with paperwork.
- don’t forget the small list of places they’ve been banned from! Impressive they are still a club for sure. They just don’t have many local options left as far as field space.