Rockford local Alex Witte heads off to pro soccer academy, shooting for the top

Another Rockford-area soccer player is headed to a pro academy.

After it was just announced that Belvidere striker Aaron Jimenez signed a contract to attend the FC Chicago Fire Academy, another area standout — in fact, Jimenez's best friend, and often his goalie — Alex Witte is signed and leaves this weekend for another pro soccer academy.

More pro soccer: Aaron Jimenez is on Fire: The Belvidere native will join the Chicago Fire Academy on Aug. 6

Witte has started in goal wherever he's gone, and he was recruited by and recently offered a deal with FC Cincinnati (Ohio) Academy. He and his mother will move out of state on Sunday, and Witte expects to be practing with his new team by Monday, the same day he will sign his one-year contract with the organization.

"It will happen pretty fast, and I'm excited," Witte said Tuesday. "Now that I'm signed and ready to go, it's getting real... This is definitely the first step to everything I've been shooting for."

Witte was invited to the All-American Golden Cup, one of the premiere events in youth soccer, and he played for FC United of Manchester's youth program last year, starting in goal for the entire season. Before that he played a season wtih the Rockford Raptors, and played in two other Midwest soccer clubs.

He's been a standout in youth soccer around the Rockford area for years. Now, he's climbing the ladder.

"My goal is to get to that second or first team in the next two years, but it won't be easy," he said. "Right now I'm feeling pretty confident. There's no reason to be nervous. I've been doing this my whole life, and I've played with a lot of different teams, and a lot of good teams."

Witte has started in goal for six different teams the past eight seasons, and now he will work his way into the mix with another. He will battle two other goalies for the starting nod on the FC Cincinnati Academy U16 squad. From there he hopes to continue on to their U17 squad, then their second and first team squads.

Why does he do it?

"I play goalie because I like shutting people down," he said with a smile. "And I'm doing this because I want to get to the top."

Jay Taft is a Rockford Register Star sports reporter. Email him at jtaft@rrstar.com and follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @JayTaft . Sign up for the Rockford High School Sports Newsletter here at rrstar.com . Jay has covered a variety of sports, from the Chicago Bears and Blackhawks to local youth sports, since the turn of the century at the Register Star .

This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Rockford local Alex Witte heads off to pro soccer academy, shooting for the top