Naperville teen surpasses his own goals to make it to the Columbus Crew

Playing professional soccer was not Chase Adams’ goal.

From knee-high youth his passion was to play at Naperville Central for his father, Redhawks coach Troy Adams, and perhaps see what came next.

“My favorite player of all time, actually, only played Division I soccer at Bowling Green, a (Naperville Central) player named Pat Flynn,” recalled Chase Adams, who wore Flynn’s No. 5 playing on the Galaxy club teams his father also coached.

“He was my favorite player growing up, and I just was worried about playing the best soccer I could at the high school level, playing under my dad, winning a few state titles and maybe going to play some college,” Adams said.

Yet there he was April 29 in Columbus, Ohio, cruising the right wing to take Columbus Crew teammate Taha Habroune’s pass and booting the ball inside the far post, past One Knoxville SC goalkeeper Jonathan Burke — Adams’ first goal for the Major League Soccer franchise.

His birthday being April 17, Adams hadn’t even turned 18 when on April 15 he made his Crew debut in another U.S. Open Cup contest against the Richmond Kickers.

Adams’ skill and willingness to “be the best version of myself every single day,” he said, enabled him to outkick the coverage of his early soccer goals.

“His journey and success is a result of his drive to make himself better. The hours he spent at Knoch Park with a bag of balls, some cones and water, helped him become the player he is today,” said his father, who coaches both Naperville Central boys and girls varsity teams.

Another influence, older brother Carter Adams (he also wore that Redhawks No. 5) will be a junior midfielder this fall at John Carroll University in Ohio.

Their mother, Jennifer, teaches fourth grade at Southbury Elementary School in Oswego, while Troy Adams teaches fifth grade at Welch Elementary in Naperville. So while he lives miles away in Ohio with a host family, Chase has no interest in skimping on school. Education is a “mainstay” in his family, he said, and he’s looking to take college classes in the fall.

“The family is so proud to see his hard work manifest itself into the success he has had. I was able to be at his (Columbus Crew) first team debut in Richmond and couldn't have been a prouder parent watching him step onto the field,” Troy Adams said.

Chase never won those “few” state titles — he settled for one, the 2022 Class 3A title, 1-0 over Romeoville with Carter playing with him in Hoffman Estates and his father calling shots from the sideline. Chase Adams was the sole freshman on the 2022 Illinois High School Soccer Coaches Association All-State Team.

After that one semester at Naperville Central, in January 2023 he was off to Columbus at 14 years old to join the organization’s development program, the Crew Academy.

He started racking up goals, and honors, such as Crew Academy player of the year while playing up with Crew 2, the franchise’s middle tier, and captaining the winning East team at the 2024 MLS Next All-Star game at Historic Crew Stadium in Columbus.

Signed by the big club on Jan. 7 to a contract guaranteed through 2029 with a club option for 2030, Adams has a ton of experience. It includes international age group caps representing the United States at the 2025 Under-17 World Cup in Quatar and just this March with the U.S. U-18 Men’s National Team in Portugal.

“My coaching goal wasn't to make him the greatest player, but one who could channel his desire and passion in the correct way, be it sports, school or maybe a career,” Troy Adams said.

Well, it worked. Chase Adams has gotten where he is by playing with and against older boys in a soccer-rich state, willing himself into improving just that little bit each day, and being ready when he gets his chance.

And accepting his father’s coaching.

“It’s really nice knowing that I have him there, that he’s there to support me,” Adams said.

“He’s always the first one to congratulate me but also the first one to tell me, ‘This is what you could have done better.’ I think he just truly loves to see me doing something I love and enjoying what I’m doing.”

doberhelman@dailyherald.com