22nd Annual BODYARMOR Series – Boys Soccer (Chicago)

Benefitting the Making A Difference On AND Off The Field campaign presented by Buddy’s HELPERS

Social: @BODYARMORseries @BuddysHELPERS Web: BODYARMORseries.org BuddysHELPERS.org

HISTORY

BACKGROUND: The BODYARMOR Series – Soccer (Chicago) kicked off in 2003 with 32 boys teams at Lyons Township High School. The girls event joined in April 2008 at Oak Park High School, which had multiple turf fields. The girls event expanded to 48 then 64 then 80 then 96 and finally 104 schools. The boys event didn’t see its first expansion from 32 to 64 until 2015 due to lack of larger same-site facility. It started as a single bracket, seeded 1-32. Now it is bracketed to ensure balanced competition from elite brackets to growing programs, but providing the same elite event and exposure for all.  

DYK: The BODYARMOR Series is the largest single-site high school soccer tournament in the world. No other high school event has 100 school buses coming to the same site on the same day. It brings together high schools from the city and suburbs, public and private and all different backgrounds. Its model is built like professional team models. Think Chicago Cubs on the field, Chicago Cubs charities off the field. We want student athletes to realize they can be superstars on the field, and superheroes off each and every day. Competitors on the field, teammates in the game of life. Colleges are able to see all different players and teams at the same site, along with the media. Since Dec. 2015, the Making A Difference On AND Off The Field campaign has donated more than $2 million combined - monetary & in-kind - to student athletes, families, coaches, schools and communities.

DYK II: All volunteers working on Opening Day or Championship Sunday are either former alumni of the BODYARMOR Series or local high school students fulfilling community service hours for civics or National Honor Society. Since 2003, Sandburg, Andrew and Stagg students have volunteered for all events, more than any other school district. Some also are there helping to earn a lifesize player poster through community service, which a local car dealership supports the funding.

DYK III: Can you name another high school soccer event in Illinois or the U.S. that has appeared consistently on CBS, NBC, ABC, WGN, FOX, Univision, Telemundo, WBBM-AM, WGN Radio? For example, when a story runs on a Sunday from Opening Day or a community service/charitable effort by student athletes and teams, it averages more than 1 million in combined TV viewership alone. That does not include social media. When WGN, ABC or FOX post on their social media channels, they have more than 1 million followers each on their social channels. The stories live on the internet, which help student athletes mentioned in those stories when it comes to college background or future employment checks. It’s good creating good stories for all to see and feel good about.

2024 BODYARMOR SERIES “DAYS”

“OPENING DAY:” Saturday, Sept. 14 at Waukegan Sports Complex (3391 W. Beach Rd in Waukegan) - Teams will play one game sometime between 9 am to 3 pm.

“FINALS DAY:” Monday, Sept. 16 - At home/away high school sites, host determines game times. (The word “FINALS” is a play-on-words of taking a final in class, your last chance to boost your chances to advance.)

“DECISION DAY:” Tuesday, Sept. 17 - Announcement of teams advancing to Championship Sunday.

“CHAMPIONSHIP DAY:” Sunday, Sept. 22 - Championship (Sun)DAY, winning teams advance..

“WEATHER DAY:” Sunday, Sept. 22 (only if needed)

2024 BODYARMOR SERIES FORMAT

ELITE 8 SEEDS: The BODYARMOR Series is seeded and broken into Elite 8 brackets to ensure balance and quality competition. Inside the Elite 8 brackets, teams are then broken into PODS of 4 – top part of bracket, bottom half of bracket. Schools are guaranteed two games - both games mean the same - and the team with the most wins in each POD advances. There are no ties EVER in the BODYARMOR Series, every game goes straight to state series PKs. The goal is to provide state-playoff experience for each game.

TEAM TIEBREAKERS: 1. Head-to-head; 2. The combined total of first-half goals scored in the two games; 3. Shutouts; 4. Goals against. Why the No. 2 tiebreaker? We want teams to come out hard, no cares about second-half garbage goals to get goal differential and run up a score. Then after No. 2, we reward defense because it gets overlooked far too often. We want the BODYARMOR Series to be unique, different and fun for kids. You want to teach kids about how quick their postseason run can be over if they come out slow, on your heels - you'll go home quick in May. We are trying to indirectly engage and educate kids through the Power of Sport. Game and life experience teaches kids - and coaches a lot. Hopefully it helps teams in the postseason.

SCHEDULE RELEASE

PROVEN PROCESS: The draft schedule will be released to coaches and finalized the week of Sept. 1. Schools will post their schedule and game times locally. We really want teams to play as many games as possible before seeding, to help ensure true balance of brackets. The BODYARMOR Series will not publicly post the full schedule until much closer to Opening Day. Why? We partner with local TV media to release seeds. Also in the era of social media, people screen shot and share pictures of the schedule. If there is a change with a game or two for some reason, we are able to quietly fix it behind the scenes and have the schedule updated locally on school sites vs. having lost control of the schedule and have multiple schedules floating around social media.

COLLEGE-RELATED INFORMATION

COLLEGE LIST: We will post the college list beginning Sept. 9. Why? College coaches have asked us to do it this way to not overflood email boxes from mass emails from kids and parents

COLLEGE GAMES ON SITE: In 2025, colleges will play on-site in order to give players, families, coaches and schools a chance to watch different levels, while also bringing back alums to be a part of the event they played in high school. In April 2024 for the girls event, Loyola University faced Eastern Illinois (D-I), while Lake County will face South Suburban (JUCO) on Opening Day. In 2025, the college games will expand to include other Midwest colleges and all levels – D-I, II, III, NAIA and JUCO. The new Opening Day site allows for this much better than before.

FREE ONLINE PLAYER PROFILES: As part of each school’s participation in the BODYARMOR Series, each player in the entire program receives a free SportsRecruits account. Each coach will be sent instructions on how to login and then they get a link to give to their players. They update their player profile with all their athletic and academic information. We recommend completing it to the best of your ability, as all information listed on your profile will be visible to college coaches on-site via the digital coaches book.

The one nice thing about SportsRecruits is that players will receive an alert if a college coach opens their profile before, during or up to 72 hours after the BODYARMOR Series. We like that a lot. If a player already has an account on SportsRecruits, their existing account will automatically be linked. Like most apps, SportsRecruits has an option to upgrade, which comes out to about $1 a day. That allows multimedia. You do not have to do that, the basic profile that college coaches can see is free.

We have been very picky on this sort of thing over the years, rejecting most platforms because we felt they weren’t best for the kids. In this case, we feel very good about the real access for kids and college coaches.

ITEMS FOR PLAYERS, COACHES & TEAMS

BODYARMOR SERIES WEAR: T-shirts, long sleeve and crew sweatshirts in three different styles and shirt colors: Gray, White or Black. Print on the designs are either black and white or color. All items are sold as packages for $20 - you receive all three…yes all three for $20. Any proceeds benefit the Making A Difference On AND Off The Field campaign.

FREE, FREE, FREE: Each team receives a 24-case of BODYARMOR Sports Water and a 24-case of BODYARMOR Sports Drink when they arrive. They also will receive a case of DUDE Wipes Shower On The Go Wipes. Total value: $135

LIFESIZE PLAYER POSTERS: Posters will hang on Opening Day. Posters WILL NOT be taken home that day, because we want all players and teams to see the setup whether they play at the beginning or the end of the day. These posters are shot by an award-winning photographer from Sports Illustrated each year, printed on non-fade thick material. They’re one of the most popular items each spring, putting a spotlight on 100s of boys on AND off the field.

OFF-THE-FIELD IMPACT

Making A Difference On AND Off The Field campaign presented by Buddy’s HELPERS: Everyone needs a buddy, everyone needs help at some point in their life. September marks the 105th consecutive month of the campaign, which uses the power of sport to engage and educate student athletes about the power they have to enhance the lives of others. It puts student athletes in the spotlight during surprise deliveries, which creates positive impact for the program, school and community…and college and future work resumes. The monthly campaign is fully funded by on-the-field events. Feel free to Google “Making A Difference On AND Off The Field campaign” or “Buddy’s HELPERS” to see consistent TV coverage. You also may click here to see 2023 TV media coverage: CLICK HERE

KIDS HELPING KIDS I: On Opening Day, we are asking student athletes to donate one in-kind HYGIENE item to bring attention to Self Care Awareness Month. A massive donation will be made during a special delivery and press conference by student athletes on Sunday, Sept. 15 to a Chicago teen homeless center. Suggested in-kind donations that many will have at home, a neighbor or other family member could help with. In 2023, the Illinois State Board of Education reported nearly 59,000 students experienced homelessness during the school year - which was a 22 percent increase from the previous year. In Chicago alone, there are 12,000.

KIDS HELPING KIDS II: On Opening Day, we also are asking student athletes to donate $3 apiece, as student athletes from different schools will be surprising children with new bikes at elementary schools over the next 30 days following the BODYARMOR Series. Big pieces of self care are exercise and self actualization. Post COVID, the average cost of basic children’s bikes is $100 with tax.

Self Care, YOU Care: The entire BODYARMOR Series is built around this. Student athletes are consistently reminded about the importance of consistency and discipline around Self Care. The 5 key basics: Exercise (BODYARMOR Series), hydration/nutrition (water, sports drink), hygiene (cleaning up), recovery (sleep) and self actualization (helping others helps you, too). When you focus on the five basics, it helps reduce stress and anxiety – the two leading causes for teen suicides. Each day in the U.S., more than 4,000 teens attempt suicide. Everyone needs a “buddy,” everyone needs help at some point in their life.

HEAD COACH RESPONSIBILITY www.BODYARMORseries.org/coaches

ROSTER SUBMISSION FOR PROGRAM

PLAYER INSURANCE LINK

TEAM PARENT RESPONSIBILITY www.BODYARMORseries.org/support

SUPPORT: If a head coach needs help, if you are able to, please help support.

COMMUNICATE: When sitting with parents at games or via email lists, please share the information and cascade it around. Sometimes coaches tell kids, and the information never makes it home.

T-SHIRTS/LONG SLEEVE/SWEATSHIRTS: If there is a “team” order, please try to handle that.

ADMISSION: Same since 2003, there is on Saturday (weekend). It supports all the off-the-field events and surprises that student athletes take part in. Those 10-and-under are free. Fans in attendance will receive two raffle tickets per person upon entering the parking lot. They will have two chances to win two (2) local sports tickets donated by a family member involved in the 2024 event.

Each admission includes a 30-page gameday program. Any family looking for a tax-deductible letter, please let us know. We will have them on-site, but also can have them emailed for your files.

LOOKING AHEAD TO 2025

2025 DATES: THE BODYARMOR Series is always the same IHSA calendar week for ease of scheduling.

ENHANCED 2025 EVENT: Opening Day 2025 will feature Illinois teams vs. Wisconsin teams, which is another reason why the BODYARMOR Series moved to Waukegan – halfway point for all. It provides an opportunity for high school players and teams to play players and schools they never have, provide additional recruiting options for colleges and also expand charitable and community service options between student athletes - not just between communities, but across state borders.

The local BODYARMOR Series events in Illinois and also Wisconsin will then get underway with home/away high school sites games on Monday and Wednesday. Each team will have the opportunity to host one game. It will be followed by Championship Sunday for those schools advancing. Opening Day also will feature D-I, D-II, D-III, NAIA and JUCO women’s games on-site, again to give student athletes, alumni, coaches and families the chance to see all at the same site and see different levels of play.

If Opening Day is “weathered out,” it does not impact the local BODYARMOR Series events. It is very important for the BODYARMOR Series to respect all players, coaches, families, schools and communities when it comes to ease and time with scheduling.  

IMPORTANT FINAL DETAILS

NAME FOR ONLINE SCHEDULES & SOCIAL: For IHSA scheduling purposes: “BODYARMOR Series.” Per an IHSA request, please make sure that is consistent on all public schedules – Max Preps, 8to18, external websites. Why? Each school can only play so many games per tournament, and this eliminates any “public” confusion. The hash tag is #BODYARMORseries, socials: @BODYARMORseries and @BuddysHELPERS. Web: BODYARMORseries.org and BuddysHELPERS.org.

FORFEIT FINES: If any school no-shows for any game, it will be charged a $1,000.00 fee. The fee will be due within 30-business days of the forfeit date. The $1,000.00 fee will be delivered to the opposing school that lost a game to pay for next year’s entry fee and to donate the larger portion to their local community-based charity they are playing the event for. Only one school has had to do this in the history of the event. 

PROACTIVE COMMUNICATION: We will always work with those schools who proactively note uncontrollable issues. They will play the earliest game of the day if needed. The goal is to create lifelong memories and never create additional stress for student athletes, families, coaches or schools during a busy season.

FOR COLLEGES: CLICK HERE