NAPLES, Fla. (Jan. 8, 2013) – The Chicago Fire Soccer Club announced that the first leg of its 2013 preseason tour will take place in Ave Maria, Fla. In conjunction with the Naples-based Florida Fire Juniors, one of the Fire’s nine affiliate clubs, the Fire first team will spend 10 days training at North Park in Ave Maria from Jan. 20 - 30. This is the third consecutive year the Fire will begin its preseason training camp at Ave Maria University.
“It’s always a very exciting time when the Chicago Fire arrive in town,” said Ave Maria President of Development Blake Gable. “It’s Southwest Florida’s only chance to see professional soccer up close for an extended period of time, take part in player-supervised clinics and watch some outstanding soccer.”
The Men in Red will train at the Ave Maria North Park daily from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. ET and from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. ET and training sessions will be open to the public. As the schedule is subject to change, latest updates can be found by calling the Ave Maria Information Center at 239-352-3903.
Special events and clinics in conjunction with the Florida Fire Juniors will kick-off on Saturday, Jan. 26 with a High School soccer combine event from 9:00 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. ET for U15 to U18 aged high school players. On Sunday, Jan. 27, Chicago Fire staff will arrange two youth soccer events: a Player Clinic from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. ET for U10 to U18 Fire Juniors players only, and a Community Soccer Clinic from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. ET which is open to all players aged U6 to U18.
These events will be followed by a tailgate on Sunday, Jan. 27 sponsored by the Florida Fire Juniors in preparation for the Fire's first preseason game against Florida Gulf Coast University at North Park at 4:00 p.m. ET.
In addition to these events, the Chicago Fire Regional Talent School will be held Saturday, Jan. 26 and Sunday, Jan. 27 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. ET and is open to boys and girls in the U8 to U18 age groups. For more information, visit www.floridafirejuniors.com.
