CHICAGO (Sept. 9, 2024) - Chicago Fire FC and the Chicago Fire Academy today announced the coaching staff for the 2024-25 MLS NEXT season. The Academy welcomes the arrival of five new coaches and an athletic trainer for the upcoming season.
“We are very pleased to announce the newest members of the Chicago Fire Academy coaching staff,” said Academy Technical Director Gary Lewis. “We are confident that this staff can expand on our core values of developing the best talent in the Chicagoland area, building a world-class academy, and shaping the next generation of Chicago Fire Homegrown Players.”
Chicago Fire Academy 2024-25 Coaching Staff
Sammy Castellanos (U-18 Head Coach) - Castellanos returns for his second season with the Chicago Fire Academy, serving as Head Coach of the U-18 Academy. In his first season, Castellanos served as the Head of Development (U15-19) and Head Coach of the U-17 Academy team. Castellanos originally joined the Fire from the New York Red Bulls, where he served as the Director of the Individual Development Program.
Will Thornton (U-18 Assistant Coach) - Thornton joins Castellanos’s staff as his assistant coach for the 2024-25 season. Entering his first season with the Fire Academy, Thornton joins the Club from MLS NEXT academy, Michigan Wolves, where he served as a U-9 and U-10 director. Prior to his coaching career, Thornton represented the U-18 U.S. Men’s Youth National Team as a player from 1998-1999.
Selim Talbi (U-16 Head Coach) - Talbi returns for his seventh season with the Fire after a successful 2023-24 campaign that saw the U-15 Chicago Fire Academy claim the MLS NEXT Cup title. With Talbi at the helm, the Fire Academy claimed its fourth national title in Club history.
Ross Brady (U-15 Head Coach) - Brady will move up an age group, serving as Head Coach of the U-15 Academy in 2024-25. Prior to joining the Fire, Brady served as a full-time assistant coach at Northern Illinois University as well as the Director of Coaching for Northern Illinois FC (2013-14). Brady has been with Chicago for nine seasons and previously coached at the U-13, U-14, U-15, and U-17 age levels.
David Abidor (U-15 Assistant Coach) - Abidor joins the Chicago Fire Academy after serving as an assistant coach with the Chicago Fire Youth Club. Before his coaching career, the Chicago native played for USL Championship side, FC Tulsa, formerly known as the Tulsa Roughnecks.
Troy McKerrell (U-14 Head Coach) - McKerrell arrives to Chicago after serving as Head Coach of USL League 2 side, Des Moines Menace, and Chicago City SC. Prior to those roles, McKerrell was an alumnus of the prestigious 30-Under-30 program with United Soccer Coaches.
Paul Nash (U-13 Head Coach) - Nash returns for his second season with the U-13 Academy. This upcoming season, Nash will lead a team built up mostly from players identified at the Discovery Centers. Hailing from Scotland, Nash began his coaching career with Rangers F.C. in 2004.
Aaron O’Nion (U-13 Assistant Coach) - O’Nion will serve as Talbi’s assistant coach this season after serving as U-15 assistant coach during the 2023-24 season. A former player for the Chicago Fire Academy, O’Nion will return for his third season with his boyhood club.
Charlie Trout (Individual Player Development Coach) - Trout returns to the Chicago Fire Academy as an Individual Player Development Coach this upcoming season. Prior to re-joining the Fire, Trout served as Head Coach of the Puerto Rican Men’s National Team and played collegiately at the University of Illinois, Chicago.
Bruno Cardoso (Goalkeeping Coach) - Cardoso will return for his second season with the Fire as the Academy’s goalkeeping coach. Prior to his coaching tenure, Cardoso played professionally for S.E. Palmeiras, one of the biggest clubs in his home country of Brazil.
Rounding out the newest members of the Chicago Fire Academy is the arrival of Athletic Trainer Genesis Dade, who joins from the LA Galaxy and the University of California, Los Angeles. Dade joins an Academy support staff comprised of Athletic Trainers Jacob DeVries, Eldwin Neritani, Mental Performance Coach Felix Yu, Head of Player Care and Wellbeing Rachel Jankowsky, Head of Education Patrick Stanton, and Sr. Coordinators of Operations Meghan Perrin and Elias Rojas.
