BC Waza holds fall soccer program

With interscholastic athletics still not a certainty, club sports may end up playing a big role for students come the fall. BC Waza, a far-reaching soccer club led by Ithaca varsity girls soccer coach Maureen Whitehead, has been active since phase four began earlier this year and plans on continuing its program into the fall.

The age groups run from 6 years old all the way through college. Whitehead explained that typically, high school is the cutoff, but with more college students expected to stay home and looking to stay active, she is welcoming them to the program with open arms.

Considering soccer is a noncontact sport, a pandemic does not do that much damage to the integrity of the game.

However, there are strict protocols the club has to follow to ensure player safety. For the first two weeks of the program, the exercises will be individual-based activities or small groups practicing social distancing. After that two-week period, things will begin to look more normal while still following general guidelines.

“They have to do a daily check-in,” Whitehead said. “We have an online list of six questions that they have to answer in terms of temperature and symptoms and where they’ve been and that kind of thing. By checking those off, we feel like we’re at least minimizing our chances of bringing exposure to the program.”

Before the program officially starts, there will be preseason sessions from Aug. 31 to Sept. 3 to draw interest. These sessions, in which two days are dedicated to girls and two to boys, will be held at LIFA Fields in Groton.

After that, the program will begin on Sept. 9 and run through the end of October. To bring much-needed game action to the participants, BC Waza has joined a bubble with three other teams in Syracuse, Albany and Rochester. All four club teams agreed to not play any other teams for the duration of the fall.

“The cool thing is if families are not comfortable with going to a particular event, then there’s no restriction,” Whitehead said. “They’re more than welcome to continue in the program and do what feels right for that particular family. We do have families that have only trained the summer and have chosen not to participate in any of the games, and that’s been perfectly fine. It’s just everybody going at their own comfort level.”

As she mentioned, Whitehead has been running a program throughout the summer after a spring full of Zoom sessions. By the time phase four came around, the players could not wait to get on the field.

“When we started the in-person training in early to mid-July, myself included, we were Zoomed out. That’s an expression we were using,” Whitehead said. “We’re talking about people, young athletes, and one of the biggest things about the game that they love is the social interaction, and when you take that away, it starts to drain you after a while. It’s been a tremendous emotional lift for the kids to be able to get together.”

The ultimate goal for Whitehead is to create a win-win situation this fall, where athletes will be playing competitive soccer regardless of the state’s decision regarding interscholastic athletics.

“It’s evolving,” Whitehead said. “If all of a sudden, school ball says, ‘We’re going to be able to go starting Sept. 21, or whatever the date is, then we’ll pull back and the kids will prioritize school ball. We’re not going to stand in the way. What we’re simply trying to do is provide a service for the kids that were feeling like they were missing out.”

Having a place to play may become increasingly important as we approach the state’s high school athletics decision. Thus far, responses have been overwhelmingly positive, with some parents asking for more sessions. This success comes from an understanding that participating will satisfy more than just the physical nature of the athletes.

“It’s not just the physical needs for these kids that were lacking. It’s also the emotional, mental, psychological needs,” Whitehead said. “We did Zoom from the moment that we were told to stay home on March 13. We started being very active on Zoom with our kids, three, four, sometimes five times a week … from core workouts to ball workouts to just checking in. We had guest speakers and all kinds of things.”

Now, Zoom isn’t necessary, and it’s time to get back on the field for good. To join the list of participants for the fall, those interested can visit bcunitedsoccer.com/waza-pre-register or email Whitehead at mmd0315@gmail.com.