Neuqua, Barrington grads help keep Fire sharp
They are the 19th and 20th players on the Fire's 18-man roster.
Drew DeGurian and Ryan Miller are practice players, extra bodies needed to fill out an intrasquad scrimmage when rostered players are injured or play in reserve games, especially since Major League Soccer trimmed roster sizes during the off-season.
"You need some guys around who can help you train, and these are two guys who can slip in and hold their own and help us," Fire coach Denis Hamlett said. "It's unfortunate that these are two guys who can play in our league. The issue is just with the roster size. It makes it difficult."
Miller, a Barrington High School and Notre Dame graduate, and DeGurian, who won the 2003 state championship with Neuqua Valley before playing at Bradley, are making the best of the situation. They're enjoying the exposure to world-class players like Cuauhtemoc Blanco and Brian McBride and appreciate the tips the Fire veterans pass on.
They're learning how professionals conduct themselves, and they're coming to understand how fast the game is at this level.
"They're very nice," said Miller, dressed in Fire practice gear just like any other player. "Brian's like the dad. He's always giving pointers, he's always positive. It's always constructive criticism - if any criticism at all. It's great."
"It's really cool," said DeGurian, who stayed after practice Wednesday to send some extra shots at goalkeepers Jon Busch and Nick Noble. "That's the first thing, you walk in when you're invited to training, you're a little bit shell-shocked. Not really shell-shocked, but you've got so much respect for the guys - McBride, Blanco - that you see on TV, and next thing you know you're a couple of lockers down and they're introducing themselves. It's kind of nice.
"But when you're out here (on the Toyota Park practice field), you're not thinking about that. I'm trying to think about what I have to do to get here. One day I'll be here. But I understand in the meantime I'm grateful that it's an opportunity I have to get better every day."
Though they are unpaid because of their commitments to semipro teams in the area, they're grateful for the chance to train as they hope to find a full-time spot for themselves elsewhere, possibly in Europe.
Miller, for instance, plans to head to Sweden next month, where he is talking about joining a first-division team and joining the growing list of Americans abroad.
"That's pretty much what I'm training for and staying in shape for," he said.
And there's always the chance they could see action in a non-MLS game, such as the U.S. Open Cup games. Both dressed for the Club America friendly last month.
"It was a pretty cool game," Miller said. "I didn't get in, but great seats. It was a great atmosphere."
And it beats putting on a suit and commuting to a job downtown like so many of their former high school teammates now do.
"They think it's cool, you know?" DeGurian said of his buddies. "I wish I had more gear to give them, but -"
oschwarz@dailyherald.com