Alex McGill has scored at least 20 goals for Columbus North each of the past two seasons in earning The Republic Boys Soccer Player of the Year honors.
But this year, their won’t be a three-peat. McGill is spending his senior year with the Indiana Fire Development Academy, an affiliate of Major League Soccer’s Chicago Fire.
“After last high school season, I started practicing with them, and I really enjoyed the training, the players, the coaches,” McGill said. “It’s the next step that I needed to take in order to get to where I needed to go for college.”
McGill travels to Grand Park in Westfield about four times a week for practices and games. The Fire also travel to games, mostly in the midwest and Canada.
Last year, McGill led the Bull Dogs with 22 goals and nine assists. He had 20 goals and five assists as a sophomore after scoring seven goals as a freshman.
This is the second year in a row that North has had a senior play for the Development Academy. Rico Hollenkamp made the move last year and is now playing at Butler.
McGill said the decision to not play for North as a senior was a difficult one.
“It was pretty tough,” McGill said. “I really did enjoy the high school season — the vibe and the student section and everything. But I had to make this decision. My dad and I talked about it, and it’s better for my development.”
McGill hopes to make his college decision sometime this fall. He has visited Loyola (Chicago), but has drawn interest from several other schools.
