BUILT,
NOT BOUGHT.

The Forge Metaphor

Iron becomes steel through heat, pressure, and time. There are no shortcuts. You can't rush the process. That's exactly how we develop soccer players — and people.

The name "Forge" isn't marketing. It's a philosophy. Every great player we've developed was shaped through patient, intentional coaching, honest relationships, and the willingness to trust the process even when it's hard.

Development Over Selection

Many clubs build their reputation by selecting already-developed players from other programs and putting them in a jersey. We build ours by developing players from the ground up — from their first session at Forge through their college commitment.

The difference is real, and families feel it. When a coach has watched your player develop over years, their feedback carries weight that no template evaluation ever could.

The Adult in the Room

Youth soccer can be an anxious space. Parents feel pressure to make the "right" choice. Players feel pressure to perform. Coaches sometimes feel pressure to win at the cost of development.

We choose to be the adult in the room. That means honest conversations — including ones that are hard to hear. It means telling a family when their player isn't ready for the Performance pathway, and explaining exactly what they need to work on to get there. It means celebrating when a player earns a spot at an elite platform club, because that's our job done.

Three Core Promises

• Honest evaluations — We tell you the truth about where your player is and what they need, every time.
• Personal relationships — Your coach knows your player's name, their town, their other sports, and their goals.
• Patience with development — We don't write off late bloomers. We build programs around the reality that players develop at different rates.

The Curious Fox Program

Forge Community is where structured development begins. Ages U6 through U12. Our goal at this stage is simple: help your child fall in love with the game.

No scores. No standings. No pressure. Just fun, friends, and a ball at their feet.

What Kids Learn

• Dribbling and ball mastery — the foundation of everything
• First touch and passing fundamentals
• Running with the ball, changing direction
• Teamwork, listening, and following instructions
• How to win with grace and lose with dignity
• Why showing up and working hard matters

How Sessions Work

Sessions are once per week, age-appropriate, and built around small-sided games — 3v3 and 4v4 formats where every child touches the ball constantly. No one is standing on the sideline waiting for a turn.

Our licensed coaches use age-appropriate methodology designed specifically for young children's motor development and attention spans. Sessions are energetic, structured, and always end with a smile.

For Parents

We run parent education workshops alongside our Futures program. You'll learn how to support your young athlete without creating pressure, how to talk about soccer at home, and how to recognize the signs that your child is ready to grow into more competitive play.

No Tryouts. Everyone Welcome.

Forge Futures has no tryouts and no cuts. This program is open to every child in the Fox Valley corridor. Our most affordable option — starting well under $200 per season. Financial assistance is always available.

Competitive Soccer That Doesn't Rule Your Life

Forge Ignite is competitive travel soccer designed for real families. You'll have real competition, real development, and a real team — without the travel burden, schedule chaos, or all-or-nothing commitment of a national-platform lifestyle.

What to Expect

• 2 practices per week — structured, coached, purposeful
• Regional and state tournament play — mostly within a 2-hour radius
• Licensed coaching — the same curriculum as our Performance pathway, age-appropriate
• Grade-based team structure — aligned to Illinois governing body policy for 2026–27
• Multi-sport tolerance — built into our scheduling model, not just tolerated

Playing Time Philosophy

Every player on a Forge Ignite team matters. We believe in meaningful playing time for every roster player. We don't carry players who won't play, and we don't bench players who show up and work hard.

Academic Flexibility

School comes first at Fox Valley Forge SC. We plan around academic calendars. We work with families on schedule conflicts. We never ask a player to choose between a school commitment and soccer.

Pathway to Performance

Players in the Community pathway can move to the Performance pathway as they develop — there are no dead ends and no stigma. Players develop at different rates, and we build our programs to reflect that reality.

The Fierce Fox Program

Forge Performance is Fox Valley's highest-level competitive soccer program. For players who are serious about college soccer, elite competition, and maximum development — this is where it happens.

Competition Level

• Midwest Conference, NPL, and National League play
• Top showcase tournaments for college recruiting exposure
• Regional and national competition opportunities
• High-quality opponents that challenge your player every weekend

Training Environment

• 3–4 dedicated soccer activities per week plus match days
• Introduction to video — players learn to see their game the way coaches do
• Sports performance support — strength, conditioning, injury prevention
• Unified curriculum built around a clear playing philosophy

College Pathway Integration

Every Forge Performance player U15 and above gets access to the Sports Recruits platform — a CRM-style tool to build your recruiting profile, email college coaches directly, and track engagement.

Our staff includes active D1, D3, and community college coaches. They don't just advise on recruiting — they're the ones making recruiting decisions at their schools. That's direct access you simply cannot get at most clubs.

What We Look For in Tryouts

• Technical ability and first touch
• Tactical awareness and decision-making
• Physical attributes and work rate
• Character and coachability — we weigh this heavily

Your College Pathway Starts in Fox Valley

College coaches don't just recruit from ECNL rosters. They watch film, attend showcases, and respond to direct, well-crafted outreach. We give every Forge Performance player the tools, connections, and support to do exactly that.

Sports Recruits Platform

• Build a complete recruiting profile with stats, video, academic info
• Email college coaches directly from the platform
• Track which coaches have viewed your profile
• Manage your college list and communication history
• Used by thousands of college coaches across all divisions

What Our Staff Brings

Our coaching staff includes active D1, D3, and community college coaches. These are the people actually sitting in recruiting meetings, watching film, and making offers. They coach your player, they know their game, and they can speak to their character directly.

That's a level of direct access that national platform clubs — with their anonymous roster of hundreds — simply cannot replicate.

The Full Support Package

• Highlight video production guidance
• Academic transcript review — grades matter as much as goals
• Campus visit planning and preparation
• Communication templates for reaching out to coaches
• Timeline planning: when to reach out, when to visit, when to commit

What Platform Clubs Are

ECNL, MLS Next, and Girls Academy are national leagues for top-level youth competition. They offer national competition, college recruiting exposure, and high training standards. For players tracking toward Division I, they can offer genuine value.

What They Actually Cost

• $3,000–$8,000+/year in club fees alone
• National travel: flights, hotels, rental cars — multiple weekends per year
• 3–4 practices per week, year-round
• Mandatory commitment — other sports, family vacations, school events are secondary
• Roster volatility — players are cut and replaced regularly

The Myth

The Truth

College coaches recruit players, not badges. Here's how recruiting actually works:

• Coaches watch film — a great highlight video gets attention regardless of club
• Coaches attend showcases — any club can attend top showcases
• Coaches respond to direct outreach — a well-crafted Sports Recruits profile works
• Coaches rely on personal relationships — our staff ARE college coaches who can speak to your player directly

Our players earn college offers every single year. Without ECNL. Without MLS Next. Because great coaching, great character, and a real relationship with a coach who knows your name matters more than a national league badge.

When Should a Player Consider a Platform Club?

If your player is genuinely tracking toward D1 and a platform affiliation offers specific exposure or scouting access that meets their goals — that may be the right move. And if it is, we'll help you make that transition and celebrate it. That's our job done.

Active College Coaches on Our Staff

Our staff includes active D1, D3, and community college coaches — people who are currently making recruiting decisions at their schools. They don't just advise players about college soccer. They're in the ecosystem, watching film, making calls, and attending showcases.

When they say a player is ready for the next level, college coaches listen. Because they're peers.

Face-to-Face Evaluations

At a large platform club, player evaluations are often template-driven — a scoring sheet, a number, a form letter. At Forge, evaluations are conversations.

A coach who has watched your player develop sits down with your family and gives direct, specific, actionable feedback. They know your player's strengths, what they need to work on, and where they realistically fit in the pathway. No surprises. No form letters. Real feedback.

Coaching Education Standards

• All coaches hold required USSF or equivalent licenses
• Ongoing professional development — coaching never stops learning
• Age-appropriate periodization training across all levels
• Transparent evaluation criteria published before tryouts

Unified Curriculum

One of the most undervalued things a club can offer: consistency. At Fox Valley Forge SC, the same philosophy and methodology runs from U6 to U19. Players build on the same technical foundation year after year. When they move up a level, they don't have to relearn the fundamentals — they build on them.

Coach Continuity

We don't churn coaches. When a player builds a relationship with a coach, we protect that relationship. Coaching continuity — staying with the same coach for multiple seasons — is one of the strongest predictors of player development. We build for it intentionally.

Two Permanent Indoor Facilities

Fox Valley Forge SC operates two permanent indoor facilities in the Fox Valley corridor — serving families in Batavia, Geneva, St. Charles, and surrounding communities.

This is a significant competitive advantage. Many clubs operate without a permanent home base — borrowing fields, changing venues, with no physical anchor in the communities they serve. Fox Valley Forge SC is different. We are rooted here.

We do not. This is our home. This is your home.

Year-Round Training

• No renting or sharing space with competitors — permanent access means priority scheduling for our teams
• Dedicated facility access — no competing with outside organizations for field time
• Professional-quality surfaces — your player trains on the same quality surface every session
• Multiple training spaces — teams have the flexibility and adaptability to train simultaneously

More Than a Training Ground

Our facilities are community hubs. Events like our Girls in Sports Day happen here. Alumni return here. Families gather here. It's where the Forge culture lives.

Geographic Coverage

Our two facilities are strategically positioned to minimize drive times for Fox Valley families. We know that convenience matters — and that asking families to drive an hour each way for a practice is not a sustainable model.

A Legacy Built Over Decades

Thousands of Fox Valley players have come through the programs that became Fox Valley Forge SC. Hundreds of them went on to play college soccer — at D1, D2, D3, NAIA, and junior college programs across the country.

They're our best advertisement. And we're bringing them back.

Alumni Ambassador Program

Former players are returning to serve as brand ambassadors — visiting practices, speaking to current players, and reinforcing one simple truth: the Fox Valley path works. You don't need to leave home to reach your goals.

Guest College Coach Training Series

An ongoing series bringing active college coaches to train with our players and speak with families. Real conversations about what coaches look for, how recruiting works, and how to stand out — directly from the people making the decisions.

What you'll gain:

• What college coaches actually look for — from people who've been recruited
• What the recruiting process really feels like from the player's side
• How to balance academics and athletics at the college level
• Why development, character, and relationships matter more than the badge on your jersey
• The range of outcomes: D1, D3, NAIA, and why they're all great paths

Generational Roots

We have families where older siblings played for our predecessor clubs, and younger siblings are now in our youngest programs. Parents who played here are bringing their own kids to train. That kind of multi-generational trust doesn't happen by accident — it's built over decades of doing the right thing.

Two Clubs. One Mission. One Moment.

Fox Valley's soccer community has always had two of its strongest clubs running alongside each other — two organizations with a combined 78 years of history, hundreds of families, and a shared belief in development-first soccer.

The decision to unite was not driven by financial pressure or market fear. It was driven by ambition.

What the Merger Means for Your Player

• Deeper coaching staff — the best coaches from both organizations, unified under one philosophy
• More consistent programming — a single, unified curriculum replacing two separate systems
• Better facility access — two permanent indoor locations, fully resourced
• Stronger alumni network — combining the alumni of two historic programs
• Unified development pathway from U4 all the way through college prep

What It Means for the Community

One clear choice for Fox Valley families who want serious player development without the platform club lifestyle. Fox Valley's largest and most experienced soccer organization. Full stop.

Instead of two good clubs competing for the same families, there is now one great club serving all of them — with more resources, more depth, and more capability than either organization had alone.

Be Part of Something Bigger

The merger was a strength play. Innovation over reaction. Proactive thinking over market survival. The result is an organization positioned to lead the Fox Valley soccer ecosystem for the next generation.

The Fear We Hear Most

"What if we make the wrong choice?"

Parents ask us this constantly. What if we pick the wrong level? What if our child develops later than expected? What if they want to try a different sport? What if the all-in commitment is too much?

We built Fox Valley Forge SC to eliminate that fear.

Multi-Sport Athletes

We don't just tolerate multi-sport participation — we actively encourage it. Research consistently shows that multi-sport athletes develop better movement patterns, suffer fewer overuse injuries, and often emerge as stronger athletes by their mid-teens than single-sport specialists who started early.

At Fox Valley Forge SC, playing baseball, basketball, lacrosse, or gymnastics alongside soccer is a feature, not a problem. Our scheduling reflects that commitment — not just our words.

Late Bloomers

Players develop at wildly different rates — physically, emotionally, and technically. A player who isn't ready for the Performance pathway at U12 might be a standout at U15. We know this. We plan for it. And we never close a door prematurely.

We've seen it happen. We've coached those players. And we've celebrated when they've gone on to play college soccer from a position that felt uncertain just a few years earlier.

No Dead Ends

Players can move between the Community and Performance pathways as they develop. There is no stigma and no drama. There is only the right level at the right time — and a coaching staff that communicates honestly about what that means.

Academic Respect. Always.

School comes first. Full stop. We plan around academic calendars. We work with families on exam conflicts, school trips, and academic priorities. We don't create schedules that force impossible choices.

Fox Valley Forge SC sits in the optimal position — the professional development and college pathway support of an elite club, with the community values and family flexibility that other clubs struggle to match.

We Meet Your Player at Their Level

Our approach is holistic. We work hard to find the right fit for every player — whether that's Forge Ignite, Forge Performance, a training-only option, or another pathway within our organization.

In most cases, we find a home for every player who comes to us. In rare situations — limited roster spots, coaching availability, or age group constraints — we may not be able to offer a placement. We will always be honest about that, and we will always help guide families toward the right next step.

Before Tryouts: Open Evaluation Days

We run open evaluation sessions for players and families who want to experience our coaching before committing to tryouts. No pressure. No obligation. Just come and train with us and see if the fit feels right.

The Evaluation Itself

Our evaluations are face-to-face assessments conducted by coaches who have context — not just a clipboard and a number. We evaluate:

• Technical ability — ball mastery, first touch, passing, shooting
• Tactical awareness — decision-making, positioning, reading the game
• Physical attributes — speed, strength, athleticism for age
• Character and coachability — we weigh this heavily. Talent without character doesn't get far here.

After Evaluation: Honest Feedback

Every family receives direct, specific feedback from a coach — not a form letter, not a template score. You'll hear what your player did well, what they need to work on, and where we recommend they be placed. These are honest conversations, delivered with respect.

Timeline

• Annual Ignite & Performance pathway tryouts: Typically April–May for the following fall season. Open to new and returning members.
• Open evaluation days: Announced in March — sign up for our newsletter to be notified
• Ignite & Performance Pathways: Rolling placements throughout the year as spots open
• Returning players: Existing roster members have placement priority

Have a question? We respond personally — usually within 24 hours.

Tell us about your player and we'll reach out personally to find the right fit.

Fall in love with the ball, the game, and the club.

Forge Foxes is our introductory program for children ages 3–6. No pressure, no tryouts, no complicated instruction — just fun, movement, and smiles with a soccer ball. Coach-led with parent participation welcomed.

Forge Foxes is the natural on-ramp to our Forge Community program as players grow. When your child is ready for the next step, the pathway is already here.