Craig McDonald

Head of Player Development

Around 21 years ago I began my coaching journey, which began through cricket in my hometown club of Arbroath ,Scotland, I worked alongside a fantastic coach who showed me how rewarding it was to provide the right pathway for players at an early age within the game, I had seen firsthand how players develop quickly with the right coaching.

Through this experience I decided I wanted to progress within the industry and so I attended college for a Sports Coaching and Development course, As my interest was mainly in soccer, I then began to focus more in that area and so I began working within local schools and clubs. Within two years of developing these programs, it was very rewarding to see the positive impact it was having on the kids and how quick they were developing. This became my passion.

After that short stint, I decided to look into opportunities in America where I ended up in Dallas, Texas. I spent two seasons there working with AYSO programs before moving through Maine and Vermont throughout the summer.

I then had the opportunity to move to Chicago where I worked with Schaumburg SC, Hoffman United, and Chicago Fire Juniors. I had the opportunity to work within the Fire's Regional Talent School throughout Illinois and after three years of invaluable experience I felt it was time for a change.

I had met and worked with Nick in some summer camps over the years and  it was clear to see we were very like minded in the ideas of how youth soccer should be implemented. Through my experiences with Nick and speaking with him about his plans for the club here int he City, I decided to make the move and have never looked back.

CITY is an organization that provides a positive structure for players of all levels and I was really keen to work with like minded people to help elevate me in my career on and off the field.

I joined the year Nick rebranded and it has been truly amazing the growth we have had but also the number of opportunities we continue to provide for both players and coaches. We are able to provide a pathway for players and coaches  We have implemented many programs in my time at CITY that provide new and exciting opportunities such as USL Academy, Super Y League, Futsal, E-Sports, and USA Cup just to name a few.

I have been with CITY now for 10 years in various roles and I love that we are always looking to improve the landscape of soccer in Illinois, This is down to the beliefs and like minded coaches within our organization, I could not find a better club to be with that cares so much about the players and the coaches.

Lets go City!!