Soccer keeps McDermott's
name on marquee
Fremd grad's new ventures include Palatine Celtic, city program
By Bill McLean
Before a rookie actor wore a cop uniform in the 2010 Will Farrell movie “Everything Must Go”, he wore a Fremd kit for the state runnerup squad in 1993.
Former Vikings midfielder Andy McDermott (Class of 1994) auditioned for the role before his shift as a tactical response unit member for the Phoenix Police Department.
“The casting director said to me, ‘Nice costume,’ after the audition,” McDermott recalled with a laugh. “I replied, ‘Costume? This is what I wear for my job.’”
The 46-year-old was a three-time, second-team All-Big Ten player and former team captain at Northwestern University, where he still ranks as one of the program's top scorers. He played professionally for seven years.
In February, Palatine Celtic Soccer Club cited McDermott for his lifelong roles of soccer excellence -- as a player, coach and executive in youth and professional organizations -- and named him its director of soccer.
McDermott is also the founder/president of Chicago-based Intentional Sports, a charitable nonprofit created to build a $35 million world-class soccer and sports facility that will bring professional-level sports education and wellness programs to under-resourced communities.
“Crazy adventure after crazy adventure,” said McDermott, who somehow still finds time to dabble in acting. He has appeared in nearly 40 movies/television series, including the flick “Baby Driver” (2017) and TV series “Chicago Med” (2022), “Sons of Anarchy” (2014), Hawaii Five-0” (2015) and “The Mosquito Coast” (2021).
But the best part he ever landed has nothing to do with memorizing lines or entertaining viewers, and everything to do with Cruz, 16, Luke, 14, Lucy, 12, and Rose, 9 -- his four children with wife and fellow Fremd graduate Julie.
“My most important role is dad,” said McDermott, now an Arlington Heights resident who returned to Illinois in late 2020 after living in Phoenix and Hollywood and sundry other locations for 20 years. “I’m excited about the opportunity to create a positive training environment at Palatine Celtic Soccer Club for my own kids. It’s my intrinsic motivation.
“We are not focused on winning at all costs at Palatine Celtic; we are focused on improving at all costs. And we are unapologetically positive, because kids learn better in a positive environment. Our tag line is, ‘Individual Development in a Successful Team Environment.’
“We are committed to offering each player (ages 3-18 in recreational and competitive programs) the right combination of athletic, technical and tactical training to help that player reach their full potential.”
Affiliated with the Palatine Park District, Palatine Celtic Soccer Club was founded in 1968 by Bill Hughes and Jimmy Kinsella, a transplanted Scotsman. It was named after Kinsella’s home club, Glasgow Celtic.
The boys and girls varsity sides at Palatine High School and Fremd still play annually for the travelling trophy the Kinsella Cup, which was named in his honor.
“We’re all about guiding each player to develop the skills and abilities of high-level soccer players, while helping them to fall in love with the game,” said McDermott, who suited up professionally for several clubs, including the Chicago Stingers, Sportsclub Freiburg in Germany and the Columbus Crew.
“Winning,” he added, “should be the result of positive play, not the sole mission of the coaches and parents.”
The quest of Intentional Sports’ facility in the Chicago neighborhood of Austin, is bold, admirable and heartfelt. McDermott and former Northwestern University wide receiver Brian Musso, a North Austin Community Center board member, were friends in college and first discussed the vision of constructing an after-school sports haven for athletes looking to either train or compete some 25 years ago.
McDermott tapped successful business leaders and professional athletes and secured commitments from By the Hand Club for Kids and the Grace and Peace Community Center to partner with Intentional Sports and pave the way for the sports facility set to open this fall at 1841 Laramie Avenue.
“We asked kids, ‘What do you need the most?’ ” McDermott recounted. “Practically all of them said, ‘Food and a safe place to play.’
"The Austin neighborhood, at one point, had one grocery store and about 15 liquor stores. Well, one of those liquor stores in South Austin is now the site of Austin Harvest, a fresh produce store. It’s exciting, and it’s a social experiment -- teens are running the business.
“Our sports facility is under construction now with the hope of at least a soft opening in either October or November. The walls are up. It’s looking pretty amazing. I’m learning as I gather influential board members, ex-athletes and entertainers who believe in our mission.
“It is,” he continues, “thrilling and terrifying at the same time.”
Intentional Sports has raised almost three-quarters of the money it needs for the structure. Recently the operation sponsored a celebrity game to raise funds and awareness for the preoject that featured McDermott, four-time World Cup player and former Chicago Fire great DaMarcus Beasley, United States Men's National Team coach Gregg Berhalter, Northwestern men’s soccer coach Russell Payne and former World Cup player Oguchi Onyewu.
“It’ll be a self-sustaining, tax-exempt organization, with one-stop sports academies and an indoor, FIFA-standard field,” said McDermott, whose vice president/sports director at Intentional Sports is former Northwestern University and New Orleans Saints wide receiver Austin Carr, 28.
“We’ll host adult and youth soccer leagues for city and suburban teams. Those, in part, will pay the bills. Most of the kids we hope to attract after school hours will pay with their academic achievements, good attendance at school and their willingness to build character through sports.
“Sports,” he added, “is a great way to learn life lessons. I’m confident that kids will develop more than sports skills at Intentional Sports and at Palatine Celtic.”
McDermott was a U6 Tigers soccer player in a Hoffman Estates recreational program before earning a spot on the Hoffman Estates Hot Shots travel team, coached by his father, Mike, a baseball man.
“He’d throw soccer balls at us as a part of a (trapping) drill,” the son recalled.
McDermott also played for Chicago Pegasus and Chicago Sockers ahead of his days as a Fremd Viking under then-coach Gerardo Pagnani, whose 24-4-0 1993 team McDermott’s senior season fell 1-0 to Sandburg (29-0-0) in the state championship game.
McDermott and longtime Fremd soccer coach Steve Keller were Chicago Stingers professional teammates for a season.
McDermott and current Barrington girls soccer assistant coach Cesar Carranza were eighth-graders in Palatine when the pair biked together to the house, where McDermott first met his future wife.
Four years later Andy and Julie were Fremd senior prom dates.
They got married in 1999, about a year after McDermott graduated from Northwestern.Julie is a real estate agent.
Their son Cruz is the starting second baseman on Rolling Meadows’ JV team and a Celtic U19 central defensive midfielder; son Luke played for Rolling Meadows’ undefeated freshman soccer club last fall and made the Mustangs’ varsity tennis team this spring as a no. 2 doubles player; the couple’s daughters are Arlington Aces soccer players.
“I believe the future of soccer is what goes on at local youth clubs,” said McDermott, who has a United States Soccer Federation National ‘A’ license. “We have to get it right at that level.”
McDermott has had the knack for embracing a slew of roles.
He nailed the craft of acting right away according to a guy named Will Ferrell.
“Will,” McDermott said, “told me on-set, ‘I hope this isn’t your last film role.’ Then he gave me a hug.”
Visit palatinecelticsc.com for more information about Palatine Celtic Soccer Club and details about tryouts this month. Celtic Park, a lighted soccer facility featuring FIFA-sized turf and natural grass fields, is located at 1351 N. Rohlwing Road, Palatine.
name on marquee
Fremd grad's new ventures include Palatine Celtic, city program
By Bill McLean
Before a rookie actor wore a cop uniform in the 2010 Will Farrell movie “Everything Must Go”, he wore a Fremd kit for the state runnerup squad in 1993.
Former Vikings midfielder Andy McDermott (Class of 1994) auditioned for the role before his shift as a tactical response unit member for the Phoenix Police Department.
“The casting director said to me, ‘Nice costume,’ after the audition,” McDermott recalled with a laugh. “I replied, ‘Costume? This is what I wear for my job.’”
The 46-year-old was a three-time, second-team All-Big Ten player and former team captain at Northwestern University, where he still ranks as one of the program's top scorers. He played professionally for seven years.
In February, Palatine Celtic Soccer Club cited McDermott for his lifelong roles of soccer excellence -- as a player, coach and executive in youth and professional organizations -- and named him its director of soccer.
McDermott is also the founder/president of Chicago-based Intentional Sports, a charitable nonprofit created to build a $35 million world-class soccer and sports facility that will bring professional-level sports education and wellness programs to under-resourced communities.
“Crazy adventure after crazy adventure,” said McDermott, who somehow still finds time to dabble in acting. He has appeared in nearly 40 movies/television series, including the flick “Baby Driver” (2017) and TV series “Chicago Med” (2022), “Sons of Anarchy” (2014), Hawaii Five-0” (2015) and “The Mosquito Coast” (2021).
But the best part he ever landed has nothing to do with memorizing lines or entertaining viewers, and everything to do with Cruz, 16, Luke, 14, Lucy, 12, and Rose, 9 -- his four children with wife and fellow Fremd graduate Julie.
“My most important role is dad,” said McDermott, now an Arlington Heights resident who returned to Illinois in late 2020 after living in Phoenix and Hollywood and sundry other locations for 20 years. “I’m excited about the opportunity to create a positive training environment at Palatine Celtic Soccer Club for my own kids. It’s my intrinsic motivation.
“We are not focused on winning at all costs at Palatine Celtic; we are focused on improving at all costs. And we are unapologetically positive, because kids learn better in a positive environment. Our tag line is, ‘Individual Development in a Successful Team Environment.’
“We are committed to offering each player (ages 3-18 in recreational and competitive programs) the right combination of athletic, technical and tactical training to help that player reach their full potential.”
Affiliated with the Palatine Park District, Palatine Celtic Soccer Club was founded in 1968 by Bill Hughes and Jimmy Kinsella, a transplanted Scotsman. It was named after Kinsella’s home club, Glasgow Celtic.
The boys and girls varsity sides at Palatine High School and Fremd still play annually for the travelling trophy the Kinsella Cup, which was named in his honor.
“We’re all about guiding each player to develop the skills and abilities of high-level soccer players, while helping them to fall in love with the game,” said McDermott, who suited up professionally for several clubs, including the Chicago Stingers, Sportsclub Freiburg in Germany and the Columbus Crew.
“Winning,” he added, “should be the result of positive play, not the sole mission of the coaches and parents.”
The quest of Intentional Sports’ facility in the Chicago neighborhood of Austin, is bold, admirable and heartfelt. McDermott and former Northwestern University wide receiver Brian Musso, a North Austin Community Center board member, were friends in college and first discussed the vision of constructing an after-school sports haven for athletes looking to either train or compete some 25 years ago.
McDermott tapped successful business leaders and professional athletes and secured commitments from By the Hand Club for Kids and the Grace and Peace Community Center to partner with Intentional Sports and pave the way for the sports facility set to open this fall at 1841 Laramie Avenue.
“We asked kids, ‘What do you need the most?’ ” McDermott recounted. “Practically all of them said, ‘Food and a safe place to play.’
"The Austin neighborhood, at one point, had one grocery store and about 15 liquor stores. Well, one of those liquor stores in South Austin is now the site of Austin Harvest, a fresh produce store. It’s exciting, and it’s a social experiment -- teens are running the business.
“Our sports facility is under construction now with the hope of at least a soft opening in either October or November. The walls are up. It’s looking pretty amazing. I’m learning as I gather influential board members, ex-athletes and entertainers who believe in our mission.
“It is,” he continues, “thrilling and terrifying at the same time.”
Intentional Sports has raised almost three-quarters of the money it needs for the structure. Recently the operation sponsored a celebrity game to raise funds and awareness for the preoject that featured McDermott, four-time World Cup player and former Chicago Fire great DaMarcus Beasley, United States Men's National Team coach Gregg Berhalter, Northwestern men’s soccer coach Russell Payne and former World Cup player Oguchi Onyewu.
“It’ll be a self-sustaining, tax-exempt organization, with one-stop sports academies and an indoor, FIFA-standard field,” said McDermott, whose vice president/sports director at Intentional Sports is former Northwestern University and New Orleans Saints wide receiver Austin Carr, 28.
“We’ll host adult and youth soccer leagues for city and suburban teams. Those, in part, will pay the bills. Most of the kids we hope to attract after school hours will pay with their academic achievements, good attendance at school and their willingness to build character through sports.
“Sports,” he added, “is a great way to learn life lessons. I’m confident that kids will develop more than sports skills at Intentional Sports and at Palatine Celtic.”
McDermott was a U6 Tigers soccer player in a Hoffman Estates recreational program before earning a spot on the Hoffman Estates Hot Shots travel team, coached by his father, Mike, a baseball man.
“He’d throw soccer balls at us as a part of a (trapping) drill,” the son recalled.
McDermott also played for Chicago Pegasus and Chicago Sockers ahead of his days as a Fremd Viking under then-coach Gerardo Pagnani, whose 24-4-0 1993 team McDermott’s senior season fell 1-0 to Sandburg (29-0-0) in the state championship game.
McDermott and longtime Fremd soccer coach Steve Keller were Chicago Stingers professional teammates for a season.
McDermott and current Barrington girls soccer assistant coach Cesar Carranza were eighth-graders in Palatine when the pair biked together to the house, where McDermott first met his future wife.
Four years later Andy and Julie were Fremd senior prom dates.
They got married in 1999, about a year after McDermott graduated from Northwestern.Julie is a real estate agent.
Their son Cruz is the starting second baseman on Rolling Meadows’ JV team and a Celtic U19 central defensive midfielder; son Luke played for Rolling Meadows’ undefeated freshman soccer club last fall and made the Mustangs’ varsity tennis team this spring as a no. 2 doubles player; the couple’s daughters are Arlington Aces soccer players.
“I believe the future of soccer is what goes on at local youth clubs,” said McDermott, who has a United States Soccer Federation National ‘A’ license. “We have to get it right at that level.”
McDermott has had the knack for embracing a slew of roles.
He nailed the craft of acting right away according to a guy named Will Ferrell.
“Will,” McDermott said, “told me on-set, ‘I hope this isn’t your last film role.’ Then he gave me a hug.”
Visit palatinecelticsc.com for more information about Palatine Celtic Soccer Club and details about tryouts this month. Celtic Park, a lighted soccer facility featuring FIFA-sized turf and natural grass fields, is located at 1351 N. Rohlwing Road, Palatine.