Chicago Stars FC Launches Revamped Future Stars Community Programming with Girls-First Curriculum
July 09, 2026
Chicago Stars FC today announced the launch of the club’s revamped “Future Stars” program, a new and elevated camps and clinics catalog inclusive to all youth and intentionally tailored to primarily support the unique mental and physiological needs of girls. Future Stars will feature new resources, materials, opportunities and curriculums available for coaches developed with the input of Chicago Stars FC Director of Medical Juliet Barnes, alongside the Chicago Stars medical and high-performance staff.
“We’re thrilled to reintroduce our Future Stars program in a way that makes soccer more accessible and with girls’ needs at the forefront,” said Noelle Schmitt, Chicago Stars FC Director of Community & Government Relations. “We’re confident that we can make an even bigger difference in the lives of young girls around Chicagoland by building on our existing curriculum with a new focus and increased support from our amazing partners. Getting girls involved in sports has a multitude of proven benefits on and off the pitch, and we’re excited to see the impact Future Stars can make in girls’ lives alongside our partners.”
Future Stars will now consist of five programming segments, each with a specific focus:
Historically, much of the available and accessible community soccer programming around the world has been designed primarily for boys and retrofitted for girls. As an extension of Chicago’s highest level of women’s soccer, the Chicago Stars’ Future Stars program aims to change that, putting girls first and empowering them to reach their fullest potential by extending the club’s expertise in high-performance, medical and coaching from the elite levels of global professional soccer right into the hands of the community.
With the broad spectrum of wellness woven into the curriculum in consultation with the professional Chicago Stars medical and high-performance staff, Future Stars supports youth in the community not only as athletes, but as people. Each program is designed with female athletes at the forefront, educating and empowering Chicagoland’s future stars through team sport, exercise, mental health, nutrition and social-emotional learning, allowing young athletes gain the personal benefits that science has attributed to keeping girls in sport: greater lifelong achievements, future career advancement, better academic performance, lower rates of depression and more.
"Evidence-based research shows that girls have different physiological and psychological needs than boys, and we’re proud to develop a curriculum that prioritizes those needs in the context of youth sports, which has historically been tailored for boys,” said Juliet Barnes, Chicago Stars FC Director of Medical. “This curriculum will help coaches be better prepared to coach girls while setting their players up for success with programming customized specifically for them from a medical and high-performance perspective.”
Total Athlete Curriculum
The blueprint for all Future Stars programs is Total Athlete, a comprehensive curriculum that captures multiple elements of the game in an easily understood format that builds complexity with each session. The resource provides a detailed framework that equips coaches with clear instructions for implementation, beginning with teambuilding and skill development and ending with a focus on social-emotional learning. Available in both a single-session and four-week format, the Total Athlete program can be easily adapted to fit many needs while caring for each participating athlete across the full spectrum of education and health.
Future Stars Camps and Clinics, Presented by Wintrust
The Future Stars Camps and Clinics, presented by Wintrust, focus on impacting the girls of Chicagoland communities in a meaningful way through holistic youth soccer instruction. Setting itself apart from other soccer camps and clinics programs, Future Stars Camps and Clinics, presented by Wintrust, features a dedicated warm-up that meets the needs of girls in sports. Other unique adaptations designed specifically for girls, like exercises aimed at ACL injury prevention, augment the well-rounded curriculum, instilling both soccer skills and other transferrable skills that can be used on and off the pitch.
Future Stars Fest, Presented by Wintrust
Wintrust is also the presenting partner of Future Stars Fest, Chicago Stars FC’s classic youth soccer clinic experience that merges skills development with a large-scale, community-based day of fun. After a successful first series of Future Stars Fests, presented by Wintrust, in 2025, the events return in 2026 for two dates: July 15 in Jackson Park alongside The Obama Foundation and After School Matters and October 11 at Evanston Township High School. With the intent to give access to sport and the ability to engage with professional female athletes to every child—especially girls—in the city, regardless of neighborhood, Future Stars Fest, presented by Wintrust, brings instruction, giveaways, street fair-style vendors made up of local businesses and organizations and more. Select Chicago Stars players will be around to coach and engage with participants, giving a free, unique experience to every participant.
Future Stars BGCC Soccer League, Presented by Gatorade
Conducted in partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago (BGCC), BGCC provides fun, safe spaces for Chicago’s youth after school, and the Future Stars BGCC Soccer League, presented by Gatorade, provides a unique opportunity for participants to learn and gain the benefits of structured, consistent activity. Instruction and support are supplied to the coaches and clinics that make up the league through the Chicago Stars, ensuring consistent visibility and success to the BGCC members. The eight-week program culminates in a BGCC-wide tournament that allows participants to showcase their new soccer skills in a competitive, organized and exciting setting. While a champion of the tournament is crowned at the end, all participants in the Future Stars BGCC Soccer League, presented by Gatorade, win a lifetime of skills they can use at any age.
Goal Getters, in partnership with Urban Initiatives
The Goal Getters program brings soccer directly to Chicago Public Schools students. Through the Chicago Stars’ partnership with Urban Initiatives, Future Stars provides the curriculum, learning materials and resources for Urban Initiatives to teach the sport to young Chicago Public Schools students. In addition to the athletic programming, students get a comprehensive experience with opportunities gain exposure to professional female athletes and attend Chicago Stars FC matches.
Future Stars programming is already in full swing, welcoming youth from around Chicagoland. To ensure accessibility for all those interested in implementing girl-first curriculum and hosting their own events, Total Athlete curriculum and Future Stars resources are available for free upon request at chicagostars.com/future-stars.
ABOUT CHICAGO STARS FC
Chicago Stars FC is Chicago's professional women's soccer club and a founding member of the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL). Driven by a commitment to excellence on and off the pitch, the Stars are building the future of women's soccer through investment in world-class facilities, elite player development, and unforgettable fan experiences. The club has qualified for the NWSL Playoffs eight times and reached the NWSL Championship in 2019 and 2021, while continuing to play a leading role in the growth of the women's game in Chicago, across the country and globally. For more information, visit ChicagoStars.com.
ABOUT WINTRUST FINANCIAL CORPORATION
Wintrust is a financial holding company with approximately $71 billion in assets whose common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market. Guided by its “Different Approach, Better Results” philosophy, Wintrust offers the sophisticated resources of a large bank while providing a community banking experience to each customer. Wintrust operates more than 200 retail banking locations through 16 community bank subsidiaries in the greater Chicago, southern Wisconsin, west Michigan, northwest Indiana, and southwest Florida market areas. In addition, Wintrust operates various non-bank business units, providing residential mortgage origination, wealth management, commercial and life insurance premium financing, short-term accounts receivable financing/outsourced administrative services to the temporary staffing services industry, and qualified intermediary services for tax-deferred exchanges. For more information, please visit wintrust.com.
