The Gary Lewis era at the Chicago Fire Academy is coming to an end. The club's academy technical director will be joining Orlando City in the coming weeks.
Lewis, who joined the club in January 2023, oversaw one of the most successful spells for the Fire Academy. Since arriving in Chicago, three academy players have signed homegrown first team contracts, namely Dylan Borso, Robert Turdean, and Christopher Cupps.
Lewis arrived at a moment of crisis for the Fire Academy; in the summer of 2022, the club lost several high-potential young players, such as Gio Villa, Marius Aiyenero, Leo Orejarena, and Nick Nobles, to other teams, and lost out on Chicago area striker Chase Adams to the Columbus Crew. The academy has bounced back in the last three years and is now ranked among MLS' top academies.
The last few years have been successful for the Fire’s academy. They won an MLS Next Cup in 2024, and, as mentioned, saw three players signed to first team contracts ahead of the 2025.
All three — Borso, Turdean, and Cupps — went on to make first team appearances. Borso appeared several times in the spring and is now on loan at Greenock Morton; Cupps is also at the Scottish club on a short-term basis after several appearances in 2025 and 2026; and Turdean recently debuted for the first team in the Leagues Cup.
After a successful three-and-a-half-year stint with the Fire, Lewis is off to Orlando, where he will lead Orlando City’s academy. This will be a big boost for Orlando, who, outside of producing USMNT and Villarreal star Alex Freeman, have been mostly a non-factor on the developmental front.
Vincent Cavin, a member of the Fire’s backroom staff, will oversee the academy. Cavin has been involved in many sporting decisions with the club over the last year and will now make his primary focus the academy.
