On Dec. 29, it was announced that four of the Chicago Fire Academy's brightest prospects would head to Lakewood Ranch, Fla. during the first weeks of January to take part in U.S. Soccer's first-ever Youth National Team Summit under the guidance of U.S. Soccer's Youth Technical Director Tab Ramos.
The four players -- U-17 defenders David Mendoza and Nick Slonina, U-17 goalkeeper Damian Las, and U-15 midfielder Javier Casas -- were part of an integration between players, coaches and staff from U.S. Soccer's five oldest Youth National Teams to help lay the first foundational elements for qualifying the U.