The Chicago Fire Soccer Club announced today that for the first time in the club’s 14-year history that the Fire will Practice in the Community. The Fire will hold three practices in the community over the course of the 2011 MLS season with the first taking place in Chicago’s Historic Mexican neighborhood of Pilsen at Benito Juarez Community Academy (1450 -1510 W. Cermak Chicago, Illinois 60608) on Sunday, June 5 at 11:00 a.m. CT.
“One of the goals of our club is to strengthen our ties and engage members of the Chicagoland community by providing them with access to our players and our club,” said Chicago Fire Vice President Emigdio Gamboa. “Practicing at Benito Juarez Community Academy allows for us to get closer to the community and use soccer as a way of impacting the individuals in it.”
The Fire will venture away from their soccer-specific home of TOYOTA PARK to Practice in the Community, bringing the entire Fire team to Chicago’s South Side for a full training session that is open to the general public. Following the practice, the Fire will interact with the students of Benito Juarez Community Academy and members of the local community by signing autographs and talking soccer.
“We are more than pleased to once again host a Fire event in the Pilsen community,” said Alderman Daniel Solis. “The Fire continue to find unique ways to interact with the people of Chicago, specifically our community. The team training at Benito Juarez Community Academy provides a positive alternative for our children. This is another example of the Fire making a difference off the field.”
The Practice in the Community marks the beginning of the partnership between the Fire and Benito Juarez Community Academy.
“The event is a special day that will bring our extended Juarez family and the Chicago Fire family together for a day of sports, fun and relaxation,” said Benito Juarez Community Academy Principal Juan Carlos Ocon. “Our soccer teams are eager and excited to see the players in action; our coaches are looking at the event as a learning experience for the student athletes and the families are excited about an afternoon with the Chicago Fire.”
The Fire will return to Naperville, where the club played from 2002-2003, to host their next Practice in the Community on Sunday, July 17.
