Soccer’s popularity in Iola is rising and Brek Ulrich, ISC Ambush coach and founder, has the numbers to back it up. When the soccer club started seven years ago, Ulrich said he had 15 kids signed up. Today, there are five teams with a total of 75 kids.
In fall 2012, parents made a pitch to Iola’s school board to add soccer to become a school sport. But to no avail.
“I know soccer is secondary to the school,” Ulrich said. “I get that, I understand that. Basically, at that time (the school board) said no. We had our ducks in a row though.”
Ulrich said one of his athlete’s parents, an attorney, looked into the legality of whether parents could take the kids to games themselves. It turns out they can if the students’ parents signed waivers absolving the school of responsibility once the athletes are off school property. So, transportation would be taken care of.
As for expenses, Ulrich said he had received a commitment from trustees of the Whitehead Trust to pay for the team for up to five years. Once the five years were up, the trustees would want the school to take over if an interest in soccer was shown.
Still, school board officials voted against the proposal. In 2009, the board also voted against a different option to make soccer a school-sponsored sport.
Martin Bambick, Iola High School athletic director, said the number of kids interested, how it impacts other sports, facilities and cost likely would be things considered.
“My route has been ‘get the numbers, get bigger and you’ll get attention,’” Ulrich said. “Eventually, something will have to happen.”
Of the 75 youths in the league, most are from Iola.
Ulrich said that about 10 are from nearby communities such as Yates Center, Humboldt and Garnett. Ulrich added that 25 of the students are in the high school age group.
According to Ulrich, finding teams wouldn’t necessarily be a challenge. In the old Southeast Kansas Conference, Fort Scott, Pittsburg, Independence and Coffeyville all have soccer teams.
Other nearby schools with teams include Louisburg, Wellsville, Osawatomie and Paola.
For now, Ulrich is getting ready for the fall season of ISC Ambush soccer, which participates in a Paola league.
“The fall season is a little smaller since the high schools and even some of the middle schools have teams playing,” Ulrich said. “In the spring, we play 10-12 league games and there is a tournament at the end of the year.”
Also in the spring, the teams head to Kansas City for a tournament in Leawood. The under-14 team has won the tournament.
Last season, Ulrich said he brought the under-10, under-12 and under-14 teams. The u-10 team won, while both u-12 and u-14 teams placed second in their age groups.
Ulrich started the program after he started coaching his son’s team.
“The team he was playing on was struggling,” Ulrich said. “We were just sitting there watching and the guy that was coaching him got so frustrated, he handed me the clipboard and said ‘I don’t know what to do.’”
Ulrich saw that game out and went on to become certified by a sportsmanship organization, the Kansas Youth Soccer Association. He also became certified to officiate.
“I got involved basically out of necessity because my kid wasn’t going to have a coach,” said Ulrich, who played as a youngster until he turned 16. “Then I just fell in love with it and I’ve been doing it every day since then.”
Ulrich is just one of many parents pushing for soccer to become a school sport.
“I understand the scariness of it,” Ulrich said. “There are a lot more parents pushing it more than I am. I want it bad, but I can keep (ISC Ambush) going and eventually someone’s got to pay some attention. I think a lot of it is just this is a small town and a lot of the faculty there look at soccer as recreational.”
With the majority of ISC Ambush athletes in middle school, Ulrich said this is the right time to be pushing for soccer at Iola schools.
“It’s a sport that needs to be in there,” Ulrich said. “For more than half the kids, this is the only sport they play.”
Local parents push for soccer in Iola schools
