Waverly Soccer Academy’s Jorge “Ito” Zuniga and Cora Stevens fight for the ball during an open house for the soccer program on Thursday, July 29, 2021, at Waverly Middle School in Waverly, Nebraska. The program is a branch from Sporting Nebraska and is about to start its second year. (Elsie Stormberg/The Waverly News)
Article and photo by Elsie Stormberg/The Waverly News
Published August 4, 2021
WAVERLY – It was a perfect storm, Jorge Zuniga said. Establishing Waverly Soccer Academy (WSA) last August only happened because of the culmination of three important aspects, the club director and boys coach said.
No. 1 was to have a group of certified coaches willing to dedicate their time to the program. The second was developing a strong partnership with Sporting Nebraska Football Club, of which WSA is a branch.
The third, and most important, Zuniga said, was the support from the Waverly High School (WHS) soccer program. Zuniga is also an assistant coach for the boys soccer team. The support from girls head coach Joel Fritz and boys head coach Mike Ziola has been important because of their already-established ties with parents.
“They are the moving force,” Zuniga said. “They‘re the people that the parents listen to because they provide the vision. All these kids you see here, it is a pipeline to develop and improve the potential of Waverly soccer.”
On the cusp of their second season, WSA has grown from two boys teams to six teams over the last year with the intention of becoming a funnel team to WHS. WSA serves kids from under nine years old to under 14 years old.
The club currently has five boys teams – under nine, under 10, under 12, under 13 and under 14, and one girls under 12 team. Zuniga said they are working on improving numbers for the girls teams, but the issue has become a lack of female soccer coaches.
Zuniga’s two sons Jorge “Ito” Zuniga and Antonio “Nio” Zuniga also play for the club.
Zuniga said WSA has the lowest cost for a soccer club in the area at $445 for the whole season, including the indoor season. Clubs in the area average around $1,500 for the season, according to Zuniga. WSA is able to have such a flexible cost because the coaches are volunteers.
Seeing the growth in the club in the last year feels good, Zuniga said. When the club started, the challenge was to be as organized as possible because people expected a lack of organization, communication and numbers from WSA, Zuniga said.
These issues were quickly corrected with Zuniga and the group of competent, certified coaches who focus on organization, skills and structured discipline. WSA also embraces multi-sport athletes which Zuniga refers to as a secret to success.
“If your kids play baseball, basketball, football – welcome,” Zuniga said. “We will logistically work it out so you can do it all.”
If interested in coaching or registering children, email Zuniga at jmzuniga@unomaha.edu.
As the club continues to expand, Zuniga envisions eventually grouping players based on skills so kids can still have a valuable experience. While the growth is positive, Zuniga said the goal isn’t to make the club bigger, but to impact players ultimately to strengthen the high school program.
“The goal is to implement a sport in a very structured and organized way that we can really have an impact on the actual players and their skill level,” Zuniga said. “Once you get to certain numbers, you can’t have this one-on-one conversation.”
This article can also be found on The Waverly News Website here.