Travel soccer
Every
Pathway
Every level is reachable inside the club — players move up as they are ready.
Pre Academy
Ages 6–18
WCOB FC
Academy
Ages 13–18
SC Wave WCOB
Elite Academy
Ages 13–18
SC Wave
One club
Three clubs.
One badge.
Wizard FC, Oak Brook SC and Cadence Soccer & Futsal have merged. All players under 13, in every location, compete as WCOB, and every player over 13 who are still developing does the same. Academy and Elite players over 13 compete as SC Wave WCOB, and any player in the MLS NEXT platform competes as SC Wave.
The pathway
Levels of competition
- 1
YSSL
Local league play for developing competitive players.
- 2
NISL
Additional local league competition for under-13 teams.
- 3
N1
Premier players register on the N1 team, with home games in Oak Brook.
- 4
MLS NEXT Tier 2
Competing under the SC Wave umbrella.
- 5
MLS NEXT Tier 1
The top tier of the SC Wave pathway.
Under 13
Built close to home
Team placement
Teams are formed from both Joliet and Oak Brook based on each player's skill and development stage.
Train locally
Players train at the facility closest to home, and may choose days to travel and train with their team at the other site.
League play
Under-13 teams compete in local leagues including YSSL and NISL, as well as N1.
New to soccer or looking to play recreationally? WCOB runs development programs in both Joliet and Oak Brook. See development programs.
Over 13
The premier pathway
Developing and premier, side by side
Players still developing their skills will compete as a Pre Academy player in YSSL as WCOB FC. Premier players will compete as an Academy player under the SC Wave umbrella — an MLS NEXT club based in Wisconsin — with the chance to play at every level of the tier structure.
Where to play
Pre Academy and Academy players will train and compete in Joliet or Oak Brook, with home games in Oak Brook.
MLS NEXT
Elite players will have the opportunity to play Tier 1 or Tier 2 with SC Wave, train 1–2 days in Wisconsin and 2–3 days in Oak Brook or Joliet.
MLS NEXT Commitment
Part-time or full-time
Part-time (future) players
Fewer than 12 games in the MLS NEXT platform. Travel and train with the team once a week, train with WCOB the rest of the week, and may also compete in N1 with SC Wave WCOB.
Full-time players
More than 12 games in the MLS NEXT platform. Travel and train with the team twice a week and train with WCOB FC on the other days. Once a player reaches 12 games they cannot compete in N1 with SC Wave WCOB.