Mount Vernon’s Middle School soccer club has been going strong for two years, and will be drawing to a close their second season with home games at the First Street Community Center tonight (Thursday, May 5) against South Tama. The girls’ game starts at 4:15 p.m., with the boys’ game to follow.
Mount Vernon Schools activity director Matt Thede said the program has proven to be one of the same stories for Mount Vernon as a community – finding ways to support the program, deemed something important to the community.
“It’s one of the unique things about this community is they find the things that are Mount Vernon and are willing to support them,” Thede said. “That’s happened with this program, with the coaches helping to keep these middle school clubs operating.”
Boys’ coach Richard Lewis feels the program has accomplished several of the main goals set out two years ago – to grow the youth soccer programs at the Mount Vernon, Lisbon and Springville middle school level, and to offer an uninterrupted pipeline that feeds the boys’ and girls’ programs at the high school level.
The biggest issue for youth soccer, especially at the middle school level, is that without the club at the seventh and eighth grade, youth will age out of the programs offered at the parks and recreation programs and American Youth Soccer Organization teams.
Lewis explained that the AYSO offers club play for boys’ and girls’ at the 13U and 14U age groups, but many players start to age out of those programs beginning at 13.
“There is a 15U program offered that is co-ed, but the numbers at that level in that club are more sporadic, and there aren’t as many teams located in our area for those programs to play as competitively,” Lewis said. “Our biggest concern is without a soccer club in the seventh and eighth grade level, there can be a drop off in the number of players who started with the sport in elementary levels deciding to continue to move on to high school play.”
At the parks and recreation club levels, Lisbon has reported having more than 165 kids playing their soccer teams this past year.
Lewis said on the boys’ middle school club teams, there are currently 25 players, which is enough for the team to field two teams of players. Mount Vernon girls’ club coach Nikki Ciha noted the club has 24 players this year, an increase from 18 in last season. Ciha is projecting 25 players next year for the club as well.
“What I have enjoyed most about coaching this team is the energy I get daily from being around the team and being back on the pitch,” Ciha said. “I truly love soccer and coaching this team allows me to cherish the memories I had playing soccer. This program is truly special because we have all levels of skill on our team, from girls that have never played before, to girls that play club soccer. Each and every girl on the team puts in the work at practice and watching their skills and confidence grow is really a beautiful thing.”
The girls’ squad currently has a 3-0 record, after coming in with a 5-1 record last season, and the boys’ team recovered from a rough season last year to have a 2-1 record so far this spring.
“We saw significant improvement between last year and this year,” Lewis said. “The success these players have on the field builds their confidence as they progress to the next level of play.”
Lewis said the other challenges for the squad – funding and transportation – may be the hurdles the program has to overcome if they were to be sanctioned by the school moving forward.
Thede and superintendent Greg Batenhorst recognize the importance of maintaining a program that bridges from the parks and recreation programs to the high school program to help feed the current high school soccer programs.
Thede said he expected any sport offered at the middle school level in the spring would have no problem finding players and would be self-funded, as the students at that level just want opportunities to play.
For Thede, the issue of sanctioning the sport at the middle school comes back to an item he fights most in one of the busiest sports seasons for the school – transportation to and from games.
Spring sports season at the high school level includes four sports at the moment – boys’ and girls’ track, tennis, boys’ and girls’ soccer and boys’ and girls’ golf – and one at the middle school level – boys’ and girls’ track. Those are the sports currently sanctioned by the school.
“It’s not that we don’t have students who want to play, it’s a matter of needing seven buses to run our school routes and then however many buses we have left being what’s available to take teams at all levels to away meets,” Thede said. “There are already competitions I have to say Mount Vernon isn’t traveling to because I can’t find a bus or bus driver to get teams there, or am working to borrow a bus from other neighboring school districts to get us transportation to the events. Adding two more teams to the travel rotation for games is just not physically possible at this time.”
And then there’s seasons like this spring sports season, with cold weather and rain postponing or delaying many games, which make rescheduling play at all levels a significant obstacle of juggling for activities directors at both schools.
“If a varsity competition has to reschedule to the night where our junior high teams are usually playing, that junior high game is likely to be canceled,” Thede said.
WaMac currently has four middle schools that have soccer programs at the middle school level – Marion, South Tama, Williamsburg and Mount Vernon. Each of those districts faces some of the same hurdles Mount Vernon does as well, from not having the space to play or finding transportation to those games.
Thede said that he and Batenhorst will continually monitor the numbers for the middle school soccer club and try to work with coaches and other schools to come up with more creative solutions to keep the club moving forward and receive support from the school.
Lewis said he knew almost nothing about the sport of soccer before he and his family moved to Mount Vernon in 2012. When his sons got involved in the sport, he volunteered to coach their parks and recreation league teams. As they’ve advanced with the sport, he’s received training as an AYSO coach to help with their programs, which has bettered his own skills and knowledge of the game. He recommends players who enjoy play at the recreation level consider the AYSO teams, as they offer numerous opportunities for play, with seasons in both spring and fall and numerous teams in the Cedar Rapids metro area to compete against.
Ciha played on the Mount Vernon soccer squad when she was a student from 2004 to 2008. After high school, she joined the national guard instead of playing the sport in college. She coached two seasons at Linn-Mar high School from 2016 to 2018.
When she began talking about starting a middle school soccer club back in 2020, the stars aligned, and she now has the privilege of coaching the team.
“I could not do this without the help of my amazing assistant coach, Josh Ford,” Ciha said. “We both love soccer and are excited to watch this program grow.”
Ciha noted as well that the Mount Vernon athletic department has supported the club fully, and she has appreciated the mentorship of Thede and Mount Vernon middle school activities director Aaron Truitt.
“We hope in a few years to have the club part of the Iowa Girls Athletic Association and an elective sport that Mount Vernon Middle School will support,” Ciha said.
Mount Vernon middle school player Jonathan Winkler advancdes the ball down the field in play Monday, May 2.