NOT JUST FOR KICKS

Sunday, August 20, will be quite the soccer day, globally and locally.

The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup final is scheduled to be staged at 7 a.m. Central Time in Sydney, Australia.

Hours after its conclusion, all 20 teams (200-plus players) of a local soccer organization—Lake Forest-based North Shore FC—will attend the Orlando City vs. Chicago Fire men’s soccer match as part of its inaugural fundraiser at Soldier Field in Chicago. A nonprofit co-founded by Ross Bristow and Debbie Gallagher in 2017, North Shore FC is the competitive side of American Youth Soccer Association (AYSO) 163.

North Shore FC fielded a combined five boys and girls teams (U9 through U11) in its first year, with most of the organization’s players hailing from either Lake Forest or Lake Bluff. Twenty teams—featuring players (U8 through U18) from at least a dozen additional suburbs— represent the futbol club today, and the U12 girls squad captured the Illinois Youth Soccer Association Junior Presidents Cup in Rockford last October.

“We wanted to create a high-level youth soccer club in the community,” says the 32-year-old Bristow, a native of England who played professionally for Cambridge United (2008-2010) in England and for the Chicago Mustangs (2016) of the Major Arena Soccer League. “That result in Rockford was a huge accomplishment. We’re driven to teach life skills and to develop all-around soccer players. We preach an attacking style of play.

“I want to see our players eventually excel at the high school and collegiate levels and maybe watch some of them play on TV someday. Alex Morgan started as an AYSO player.”

Morgan is a superstar striker for the United States women’s national soccer team and the captain of San Diego Wave FC of the National Women’s Soccer League. There’s a great chance she’ll dazzle millions of TV viewers in that FIFA Women’s World Cup final on August 20.

At North Shore FC’s fundraiser on the same date, the primary goal will be to raise awareness of the burgeoning club and its capable coaching staff (Bristow, who coaches six of the 20 teams, along with Lorant Balasi, Julian Roman, Uriel Pedraza, Anthony Cordaro, and Frankie Gomez). A kick back of $5 for each Orlando City-Chicago Fire ticket sale will be allocated to North Shore FC.

North Shore FC players might get to kick the ball around at Soldier Field before the Major League Soccer game’s 7:30 p.m. kickoff.

“The players respect Ross right away, and they follow his lead,” says Lake Forest resident Jason Smith, whose 10-year-old son, Cameron, started playing soccer at the age of 9, competed as a back, midfielder, and forward for a North Shore FC U10 Volt team (7-0-1) team last year, and earned a spot as a midfielder on a North Shore FC U11 Elite team—two levels above Volt—this year. “There’s a seriousness at practices. During games, the coaches don’t scream. My son loves soccer, identifies himself as a soccer player. He comes home after practices and works on his game some more.”

Cameron Smith, who will be a fifth grader at Deer Path Middle School in Lake Forest this fall, executed a wow-filled Rainbow move during a match in June, flicking, while dribbling, the ball to himself—from behind his frame—to confound a defender and set up an assist shortly thereafter.

“What was quite helpful last year was Ross allowing U10 Volt players to practice with U10 Elite players,” Jason Smith says. “Volt players developed their skills through those opportunities (while connecting, at a variety of levels, with potential future teammates). My son and others made more friends at the same time. It’s a nimble organization, with merit and the expectation that every player on each team will show up at every practice.”

Bristow’s and Gallagher’s other titles are North Shore executive director and AYSO president, respectively.

Bristow’s penchant for generating rapid soccer success played out this past spring during his second season as Woodlands Academy’s head coach. The Lake Villa resident and father of two (Brody, 3, and Beau, 20 months, with wife Lindsay) guided the Wildcats to a 12-5 record and the program’s first Illinois High School Association (IHSA) girls soccer regional championship since a team coached by Amy Perry netted WA’s second such title in 2014.

Bristow also runs RB Soccer, offering private coaching and summer training sessions. North Shore FC’s summer camps are held at Northcroft Park in Lake Forest.

“There are a lot of soccer clubs available out there,” Bristow says, adding North Shore FC teams have also battled in tournaments held in Wisconsin, Missouri, and Indiana, with future plans to compete in Ohio and Florida. “We realize parents have many choices. At North Shore FC, we’re looking to grow in numbers and up our competitiveness by drawing strong players from all over the North Shore and beyond.”

More than 1,300 families have moved to Lake Forest since 2021, Jason Smith notes. Hundreds of budding soccer players in the influx continue to dribble soccer balls in back yards and basements as they await the chances to display their talents against the area’s best.

“It’s an important time in our country for soccer, with the Women’s World Cup going on this summer and the U.S. getting ready to host (with Canada and Mexico) the Men’s World Cup in 2026,” Smith says. “That’s why I think it’s so valuable to have a strong organization like North Shore FC available for soccer-loving kids of all ages.”

Visit northshorefc.org and rbsoccer.com for more information. For information about purchasing tickets, contact Ross Bristow at [email protected] or 224-401-5662. To reach Debbie Gallagher, email [email protected] or call 708- 334-0139.