Soccer, the most popular game in the world, has only recently become so in the Cedar Falls area. With a traceable history going back only to the 1970s, its path is relatively simple to track, and the details of its development are intact and accessible. A group of men, graduates of the Price Laboratory School, are known to have played soccer during their high school years and took the game with them afterward. They put together an adult league called the Cedar Falls Strikers and played in the Cedar Falls area throughout the 1970s, mostly amongst themselves and later against a team from Waverly. As for soccer at the University of Northern Iowa, there was a men’s team that also competed against the local teams. Women, however, had a team comprised of both local players and young women attending the university. All of these teams went on to later play a semi-organized schedule across eastern Iowa, belonging to an organization known as the Eastern Iowa Soccer Association. These teams enjoyed the privileges of an organized schedule, but the beginning of the 1980s brought about a time of limbo for the game in the Cedar Falls area. Not until 1986 did the sport begin its comeback, aptly enough amongst the young people of the area.

    The Cedar Falls Recreation Department sponsored a loose and comparatively unpopular soccer program, containing roughly 40 children. Waterloo had much the same thing, consisting of another 70 children. Two gentlemen, Steve Anderson and Ruben Carrion, took it upon themselves to relieve the recreation departments of the respective cities in order to form an independent organization that would control the game of soccer for young people in the area. Originally, these two men scheduled the games and the kids played once per week. Despite the hardships that come with the beginning of a new organization, the program was in better condition than it would have been in the hands of the recreation department. The new commissioners were able to promote more parental support, draw more participants, and were willing to invest their time in order to make the game of soccer bigger and better for the young people of the Cedar Falls/Waterloo area. After nearly 6 years of operating the program independently, the program began to show some semblance of organization and despite fears that it would fail, was succeeding. In the spring of 1991, Coach Ira Simet (pictured right), a professor at the University of Northern Iowa and a man commonly accepted as the father of youth soccer in the Cedar Valley, put together 10 children and parents to compete in the Iowa Games for the first time. The team, named once again the Strikers, did not fair well at the games due to inexperience with the sport, but the stage had been set and a commitment made to establish the game in the area.

    The next step for the program was to tie into a state and/or national governing body for youth soccer in order to stay informed of the latest news and ideas and also to be included in scheduling and financial benefits. The primary choices for the organization were the U.S. Youth Soccer Association and the American Youth Soccer Association. Despite the similarities in the two groups, it was finally decided that the teams of Cedar Falls would associate themselves with U.S. Youth Soccer. The reasons behind the choice lay primarily in the methods and doctrine held by the governing body . . . specifically that each and every child was allowed to play half of the game at a recreational level. The early years of establishing the game in Cedar Falls demanded that the game be kept fun and inclusive of all who wanted to play in order to maintain quality retention rates. By the spring of 1992, 186 kids signed up to play soccer . . . enough to form them into 12 teams based on where they lived within the city, not on skill level. These teams were to be reshuffled at the beginning of every year in order to prevent the building of an unfair advantage. Each child paid only $25 apiece for all that they would need for the season, which consisted of 6 games. They received a T-shirt and matching socks—coaches and officials would be volunteers. The season was so successful that the organization, now known as the Cedar Falls Youth Soccer Association, decided to play again in the fall. This time 350 children signed up to play and the following spring saw enrollment bounce to 700 players. Maintaining the $25 entry fee, the organization sought funding from local businesses to buy equipment and playing space. The strategy used by the group, and still used today, is a unique one. They ask only $100 from any donating group. This way they do not become dependent on one large donor. Even with the relatively small donations, they managed to get all that they needed to conduct a quality season.

    Playing space was also a concern with so many children becoming involved. Most spaces were donated and many area churches offered the use of their yards if needed. Some field spaces included Southdale School, Holmes Park, and Tibbels Park. In addition, WaterTower Park, UNI (field arrangement pictured right), and the Iowa Fabrication Company offered space for full-sized fields. This became a problem, however, as many families have several children scheduled to play on different fields at the same time. The goal then was to find a central area for the teams to play on, such as a soccer complex.

    The idea for a central facility made all the sense in the world, though there were few investors ready to make that kind of commitment. With enrollment doubling every year over the next 6 years to nearly 3000 players, the organization was put in a spot in which they were forced to find a solution very quickly—this proved difficult. They were short not only of playing space, but also officials and volunteers. This led to the creation of officiating clinics and coaching clinics, not only to allow for more of each, but also to ensure that both coaches and officials were on a quality level.

    As more and more players enrolled, surrounding communities expressed interest in being allowed to join the organization. Waterloo was the first to join the league, with the help of contributions from the Waterloo Optimist Club. They were followed shortly by Hudson, Waverly, (both of whom took over their city rec. programs), Traer, Reinbeck, Grundy Center, Aplington-Parkersburg, Dike, Independence, LaPorte City, and Denver. Surrounding communities lacking enough children to start a team of their own were allowed to play with a nearby city’s team. These new teams were integrated into the schedule and a home area traveling schedule was put into effect throughout 12 communities and 8 towns. What had once been the Cedar Falls Youth Soccer Association had now branched out to surrounding communities. It had become the Cedar Valley Youth Soccer Association.

    As with any competitive event, there comes a point when the fans and players want to find out who is the best. By 1995, there were calls from players who were interested in developing year-round competitive play. After surveying the existing players for interest, the Cedar Valley Soccer Organization found about 1500 players interested in competition as opposed to the existing recreation format. With the introduction of competition came the introduction of keeping score, cutting players who were not good enough, and retaining players year to year. It was decided that only children over 10 years of age would be allowed to play at the competitive level and that gender specific teams would be maintained. It was learned that by keeping boys and girls teams separate, retention could be increased. Even with the advent of competitive play, recreational soccer, open to all, remained vital in the area. The teams not only compete against each other but have been involved recently in competing in statewide tournaments, including their own Cedar Valley Cupⁱ, (children participating in Cedar Valley Cup pictured above) and also attending out-of-state tournaments. Coach Ira Simet, the current President of the CVYSA, plans to take a team of girls to Europe as well.

    Although the organization evolved well beyond anyone’s dreams, the problem of playing space remained. The goal was still to have a central complex, not only for the Cedar Falls players but also for the players and parents of all participating communities. Highways 20, 63, 58, and 218 were obvious veins of transportation that needed to be observed and the more accessible by these routes the better. It was important to planners to keep the complex visible from the road as well as to find a relatively flat ready-to-use piece of land. Some of the original options were a strip along Ridgeway Avenue near the Cedar Falls/Waterloo border, a piece of buffer land near the Airport, and a field near the corner of Greenhill and South Main. All these spaces were owned either by a personal trust or by a business. After a long period of negotiation and networking John Deere decided they would donate the land along Ridgeway Avenue to the city of Waterloo, to be given to the Cedar Valley Soccer Association. According to tax laws John Deere could only avoid paying back taxes on the exempt land if they donated to the city in which the land was located. It was agreed that after the donation to Waterloo, Waterloo would in turn give the land to the Cedar Valley Youth Soccer Association. The donation amounted to 115 acres of useable land, more than enough.

    With the acquisition of the new land came a whole new set of challenges. Development of the land would take a large amount of money and time, neither of which was readily available. Vision Development Services, a fundraising firm, was employed to explore the feasibility of the project. After extensive testing they gave a resounding "go-ahead" to the project leaders and estimated that nearly $2.5 million would be needed to make a top of the line facility, including 15 full size fields, space for 700 cars, lights on a central field, concession areas, restrooms, sidewalks, full irrigation, shelter houses, and prescription turf. The enrollment cost per player was raised to $40 and a fundraising campaign was launched. Currently, the Cedar Valley Youth Soccer Organization needs only $230,000 more to be able to build the facility that they have needed for so long. Much of the labor and services needed have been donated, or at a significant discount by parents of soccer participants.

    The building of an organization such as this one takes time, patience, and much hard work from parents and other volunteers. These ambassadors of citizenship, as well as the game of soccer, have inadvertently placed themselves into the history of the area by starting something that will surely live on long after them. By being prudent in their decisions and using limited resources wisely, they have accomplished much in a relatively short period of time. Soccer is a game with a limited history in Black Hawk and surrounding counties, but with able leadership, enthusiastic players, and broadly based community support the future of the sport seems bright.

        http://www.cbegroup.com/organizations/CedarValleyCup/