“Brownie is easily one of the best up-and-coming coaches in Chicagoland with a great soccer mind to boot. He also has a demeanor and a level of professionalism when dealing with players and parents that is second-to-none. He has vast experience as a Director of Coaching where he essentially single-handedly built an elite high-schooled aged club program from scratch. Team Chicago and our players are extremely fortunate to be able to benefit from Brownie’s coaching and insights” (Phil Nielsen, Technical Director, Team Chicago Soccer Club)

Brownie is entering his second season as head coach for the Concordia University women’s soccer program. The sixth head coach in the history of the program.

A native of Mesa, Arizona, Brownie played collegiately at Chandler (AZ) Gilbert Community College for two seasons before transferring to Division I Northern Illinois University. The center back contributed to an eight-game turnaround in his first season at NIU as the Huskies went 12-6-0 and finished second in the MAC, their highest conference finish since 1990. Brownie’s senior year in 2005 saw the Huskies go 11-6-2, a season that included a seven-match unbeaten streak.

Brownie remained at Northern Illinois following graduation to begin his collegiate coaching career. In 2007, he served as an assistant coach for the men’s program before moving to the women’s program and coaching the NIU goalkeepers for two seasons. Brownie also worked as an assistant coach and director of soccer camps at Oregon State University during the 2010-11 season.

In the summer of 2011, Brownie’s return to the Chicagoland area resulted in his taking a position as a goalkeepers’ coach with the women’s soccer program at Dominican University.

Brownie’s experience coaching soccer at the club level is equally extensive. He was was named the 2013 Illinois Youth Soccer Girls’ Competitive Coach of the Year. Prior to that he served as a Director of Coaching for Northern Illinois FC in DeKalb from 2008 to 2010.

The Olympic Development Program (ODP) has also benefited from Brownie’s coaching in recent years. In 2011, he was part of the ODP Region IV staff in Oregon. Since 2013, he has been a staff coach for Illinois Youth Soccer Olympic Development, coaching both boys and girls. He also serves as a U.S. Soccer Federation coaching course instructor for the IYSA.

Brownie’s coaching credentials are top-notch including a U.S. Soccer Federation National “A” License and NSCAA Regional and State Goalkeeping Diplomas. He holds a BA in psychology and an MA in sports management from Northern Illinois University in 2007 and 2011 respectively.

Brownie currently resides in Elgin, Illinois with his wife Caitlin and his son Brodie.

There was a Team Chicago reunion in the NWSL last weekend as Leah Fortune’s Orlando Pride hosted Vanessa DiBernado and Casey Short’s Chicago Red Stars. The Red Stars came away with a 1-0 win.

Team Chicago Soccer Club is excited to announce a partnership with Fit For 90 that will give parents, coaches, and players of the oldest Elite teams access to sports science content and resources to help prevent injuries and increase performance.

With over 70% of injuries resulting from preventable non-contact, overuse, or growth-related issues player health and safety is a major focus of this partnership.

The youth partnership gives the club access to the following resources:
• Coaching Education: Coaches will get access to attend coaching education webinars at no cost and will receive discounts on Fit For 90 courses and certifications.
• Newsletter access: All parents within a club will get access to educational content and resources geared towards youth soccer parents via the Fit For 90 email newsletter.
• Team Monitoring Discount: Clubs participating in the content partnership will get a significant reduction in the cost of the Fit For 90 team monitoring platform

Fit For 90s team monitoring platform is used by the US Women’s National Team, NWSL, MLS teams and thousands of college & youth athletes, to significantly reduce injuries by alerting coaches & staff to athletes at highest risk for injury.

“We are looking forward to working with Team Chicago Soccer Club” said Dr. John Cone, CEO and co-founder of Fit For 90. “The partnership truly shows their dedication to player performance and injury prevention and we are excited about the opportunity to have an impact in Chicago”

“Team Chicago is very excited to enter into a partnership with Fit For 90. In this initial phase our oldest Elite teams will participate, but our goal is to roll it out to our entire Academy program in 2017” Phil H. Nielsen, Technical Director, Team Chicago Soccer Club.

This partnership will give parents access to content from leading experts on topics such as performance, injury prevention, nutrition, recovery and provide valuable coaching education opportunities for the club staff. Learn more about Fit For 90
https://www.fitfor90.com

We are extremely excited to announce that effective August 1, 2016 Mike Skupien will be the new Boys Director of Coaching for Team Chicago Soccer Club. Mike has had a very successful career on the boys’ side at several local clubs. He is joining us from Chicago Fire Juniors where he just led his U17 boys to the Regional final and a successful run in both National League and MRL Premier I play – the highest level of competition outside of the USSF Development Academy.

Mike holds a “B” license from the United States Soccer Federation as well as a Premier license from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. Mike will be pursuing his “A” license once he gets up to speed here at Team Chicago.

Mike is a Chicagoland native who graduated from Lyons Township H.S. and was a standout player at Carthage College and then Aurora University, where he also served as an assistant coach to the men’s team. He served as the Director of East Boys & Girls for Eclipse Soccer Club for three years and as a staff coach for the Chicago Fire at Toyota Park as well as the South and West locations for five years. He also served as the Head Boys Varsity Coach at Plainfield North H.S.

Please, join us in welcoming Mike to the Team Chicago family. He will be charged with growing and improving the boys’ program, and is scheduled to serve as the head coach of the 1999-98 Elite, 2003 Elite, and 2004 Elite teams for the upcoming season. Over the month of July Mike will be holding some training/supplemental tryout sessions for the 1998-2003 boys, so he can familiarize himself with his players.

Team Chicago Academy-2002 Elite standout Tamara Hernandez is the latest in a long list of Team Chicago players who have received National Team call-ups. Tamara is currently spending 9 days in Mexico City with the Mexico U15 National Team.

¡Felicitaciones! Tamara