WACO schools don’t have soccer programs.  Now, prospective soccer players have an opportunity to play at the high school level.

With schoolboard approval this past Wednesday, WACO students will now have the opportunity to play alongside soccer players from Pekin and Washington on the Demon soccer teams.  Head boys’ soccer coach Sally Hart believes adding WACO will be a great benefit for the program that the players could quickly adapt to.

“I think our Washington core group of guys is used to this kind of arrangement because we already have Pekin joining us,” Hart said.  “It’s been nothing but beneficial with that arrangement.  The guys work really hard together, they have the same common goal to win, and I think adding WACO and seeing some of the history they have in athletics will just further our competitiveness.”

Students from WACO and Washington have a tendency to know each other pretty well due to early athletic programs and other involvements between the Washington and Wayland communities.  Hart says playing soccer together will only help those relationships.

“I think as the season goes on, the bonds the teammates form will just get stronger.  And those will carry over into the next season and hopefully the season after that, and keep getting our team more competitive across the board.”

WACO students will start reporting to practice on Monday.