Chicago Soccer Academy Opens in Sycamore

CSA owner, Tim Balatsoukas

Chicago Soccer Academy (CSA) of Sycamore Director of Coaching Tim Balatsoukas says “Sign your kids up for our Jr. Academy soccer program, they’ll love it!” to DeKalb County residents. The former European Professional soccer player started the youth club Chicago Soccer Academy of Sycamore, in May.

Balatsoukas explains, “CSA is focusing on the young ones. CSA Jr Academy – that’s catered to 4- to 10-year-olds, the kids that are just starting out playing soccer and for the parents that want the professional coaching. Most of them don’t want to travel too far and they won’t. Everything takes place in Sycamore. We play intra-squad games against each other, giving them the chance to learn the fundamentals and to love the game. I look at the 4-9 year olds, and they are better than I ever was. I think that that is due to the coaching that they are getting right now. They have better opportunities than I ever had. They have the full potential to go as far as they want and CSA wants to be a part of that. CSA will teach them the game and culturize them – by going home and practicing on their own, by watching games on TV, by coming to practice knowing the names of players and professional teams, by wearing the jerseys and talking about it with their friends. It may be a big battle, especially since all of the other sports that are more dominant in the area but this is how it needs to be to build their love for the game.”

“My coaches were first-generation immigrants that barely spoke English and they taught the game with passion. I played all the sports growing up but because of the great mentorship I had in soccer I stuck with it and the love for the game stuck with me. Eventually, I followed the footsteps of my older brother, who played soccer in Greece and played on several teams for six years. When it was time to hang up the boots in Europe, I knew I wanted to get an education so I decided to get an education and come to the US. I received a soccer scholarship from Judson University. The rest is history and now I own my own youth soccer club.”

“I want to emphasize that CSA’s philosophy is focusing on getting players to get creative, confident and have composure while playing. It is vital in sport to allow the player to make the decisions but help them along the way. This will build their love for the game as well, which we try to focus on each day. We want to make sure your child has fun but is also learning the game the right way.”

To sign up for CSA’s Free Clinic on Saturday, October 25th, 2014, go online to csasocceracademy.com for more information about the Jr. Academy, other programs and to register. Click here to see flyer.