Chicago Fire's Chris Brady Focusing on More Than Just Soccer

Chris Brady has done a lot on the soccer field at the young age of 20.

The Chicago Fire’s Homegrown goalkeeper just completed his second full season as a starting goalkeeper in Major League Soccer and his fifth season playing at the pro level going back to 2020 when he featured for USL League One’s Forward Madison.

While the Fire’s 2024 season didn’t go well, Brady still managed to take positive steps and was rewarded for those with some accolades.

The Naperville native made the MLS 22 under 22 list for the second consecutive season and was the only goalkeeper to receive that accolade in 2024. Brady’s year was capped off this week when he was named the Fire’s Defensive Player of the Year for his efforts throughout what was a tough season for all involved with the club.

While Brady was patrolling the net for the Fire, he’s also taken an interest in furthering his own education off the pitch much like his peers who aren’t playing professional soccer. The Fire’s goalkeeper has been enrolled in undergraduate courses at Southern New Hampshire University for the last two years.

A communications major, Brady began this journey in part because he made a deal with his parents when he bought his own house and moved out of his childhood home. It was also something that he wanted to start now so that he’s not behind whenever his soccer career comes to a close.

“It's better to start earlier, especially with online schooling,” Brady told On Tap Sports Net. “I know people start a little later because they figure ‘it's online, you can do it whenever.’ But I figured, why not start now and finish maybe a little earlier than other people in my profession doing online school.

“I also understand that you can't play soccer forever, you gotta have something to do after. As much as I'd want to play soccer until I'm 80 years old, nobody's able to do that.”

The set-up is ideal for Brady, who can take one course at a time while he mainly focuses on his playing career. He has taken his studies with him over the last few years, doing homework while he was in Spain on National Team duty and even having to get out of his room early in the mornings during the Fire’s preseason so roommate Patryk Stechnij could sleep.

Brady has had to “grind it out” when it comes to his classes and tries to pick a day or two during the week to sit down and get his stuff done. He sits in front of his Macbook with a large water and a bag of peanut butter pretzels (“for protein”) and finds the schooling to be a welcome change from the intensity of being a professional athlete.

“I sit down and I spend three or four hours just grinding out the homework for that week. It's helpful to get away and switch gears to like, different kind of thinking. This is all very, very detailed, very specific. Everything's got to be so sharp.”

When it comes to goalkeeping, Brady always has an answer. When it comes to school, he’s had to rely on those around him when he’s had questions. That’s forced the 20-year-old to open up more to those in his life.

“It makes me feel a little vulnerable not to have all the answers because this is my profession, and this is kind of what I've done my whole life. But when doing something that I'm not familiar with, it makes me feel a little vulnerable at opening up and being like, ‘hey, what's a different way I could do this? Or what are some suggestions?’ But at the end of the day, everybody's willing to help.”

It will be a whole different type of learning experience for Brady this offseason. The Fire have hired Gregg Berhalter to run the sporting side of the organization and Chicago’s Homegrown goalkeeper understands that he has to adapt in order to thrive in his new coach’s system.

“He's very detail-oriented,” Brady said in a press conference on October 16. “I know even when he came in, you could kind of tell he's super big into analytics. He reads a lot into just even a personal conversation. Like, he's very analytical. He pays attention to all of the little details, and that's something that excites me because I feel like I have similar character traits to that. Someone like that, for me, it just shows he's really on it. He really knows what he wants, what he wants to do.”

Despite having just finished his fifth season in professional soccer, it’s important to realize that Brady is still only 20. However, being the starting goalkeeper for the Fire has some perks.

A lifelong Chicago Cubs fan, Brady threw out the first pitch on Sept. 3 before superstar Paul Skenes took the mound for the Pittsburgh Pirates. It was a dream come true for the goalkeeper, though he was a bit intimidated when he first got on the mound at Wrigley Field.

“The second I stepped foot on the mound, I was more nervous than I thought I would be,” Brady told On Tap Sports Net moments after throwing out the first pitch. “It’s true what people say: when you get up there, it does look farther than you think.”

Fortunately for Brady, who spent the morning before the game practicing his pitch with goalkeeper coach Zach Thornton, his first pitch was a strike.