Brett Petricek has been playing at a high level of soccer since his youth. By the time
he was 16, he was a 4 year Illinois ODP starter, 2 time ODP Region II Champion, and
a ODP National Champion and Golden Glove winner. He was also chosen as First
Team All-State by the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times his senior year of
high school when he set the team record for most career shutouts at 31.
At 16, he also was invited on and played with an ODP Region II team when they
traveled to Germany and Austria to compete in an elite youth international
tournament where the team took 3 rd place (Bludenz Cup).
From there, he went on to play with the Chicago Fire u-18 Academy, Chicago Fire
Super 20’s, and 2 Seasons with the Chicago Inferno of the USL PDL. During those
years, he played Division 1 Collegiate soccer with Mercer University (GA) and
Niagara University (NY) where he went on to set shutout records and helped lead
NU Men’s Soccer to their first ever conference championship and NCAA Tournament
appearance.
After several stints and trials with USL clubs Rochester Rhinos, Indy Eleven, and
even a couple ventures to Europe where he played with teams from Barcelona,
Spain, and Southampton, England, he came back to the States to play professional
indoor soccer with the Cedar Rapids Rampage, Kansas City Comets, and is currently
with the Florida Tropics. During the indoor offseason he has played outdoor with
the likes of RWB Adria Chicago, CSKA Warta and Atletico Nacional Chicago.
When he wasn’t playing on the pitch, he has been coaching for the last 6 years. While
he finished his degree at NU, he was the goalkeeper and assistant coach for D1 Men’s
Soccer team as well as the head coach for the NU women’s club soccer team. Upon
returning to Chicago, he began coaching goalkeepers in the local youth travel ranks
and has been doing so ever since.
This past fall he was a goalkeeper coach with Chicago Fire Juniors, Lombard
Firebirds, Bolingbrook Raiders, as well as the head GK coach for Lewis University
(NCAA D2) and Saint Xavier University (NAIA).
He is also the founder and creator of Arise Up Goalkeeping and Arise Up Fitness,
which are aimed at developing and teaching athletic performance, human
biomechanics, and mental awareness and fortitude.