Rookie Life: Jata Resurfaces With The Fire

Rookie Life: Diary of a Draft Pick just took their most recent episode to a whole new level. This time they devoted an entire show to Richard Jata. A late draft pick with plenty of talent, Jata showed promising skill in the preseason, but injuries and the flu forced him to miss several key games. These missed opportunities left Chicago Fire Head Coach, Denis Hamlett, with a hard decision going into the regular season. Jata was one of the last players to be released among all MLS teams, but his story continues to live on.

Episode 16 - Jata Resurfaces With The Fire gives fans an opportunity to see what the 23 year old has been doing since moving to Chicago. Right now, Jata is happy with where he is at. He's enjoying everything Chicago has to offer, plus he's been staying in great shape. Jata's been biking all around the city, playing in a men's league and continuing to train for his next opportunity with the MLS. Whether that happens this year or next year, Jata will be there with more determination than ever before.

One quick note to leave you all with.....At the 2:20 mark in this weeks' Rookie Life, Jata is shown juggling with his left foot, but dropping the ball shortly after. Don't let this clip fool you! Right before Jata left for Furman University(on a full ride) in August of 2004, he recorded an astonishing 2,316 juggles at just 18 years of age.

Jata's Move to Chicago.....Permanent!

With pro soccer still on his mind, Richard Jata decided a permanent move to Chicago was the right move to make. Lately he's been biking and walking all over the place to get familiar with the windy city. I heard summers are great there, but Jata went there with one purpose, and one purpose only, to get in shape for next year and to learn as much as he could from the Chicago Fire Organization.

Jata's been working like a man on a mission ever since arrival. Even though he didn't make the cut, staff from the Fire Organization enjoyed his attitude and work ethic so much, that they helped him get a job working at Toyota Park. Jata has also been working the soccer camps at UIC(University of Illinois-Chicago), where Chicago Fire rookie, Baggio Husidic, played his college soccer career. Not only that, Jata's been playing full 90-minute games with the B.H. Lilly's, a men's team located in Chicago, to keep his skills fresh, his passing crisp and his killer shot on target.

For more on Richard Jata, be sure to watch Rookie Life next week. The title of the episode is, "Jata Resurfaces With The Fire." Look for it to have some new footage of Jata as he gets to know the city, and where he fits into the equation; the pro soccer equation, that is.