Vinton-Shellsburg School Board member Todd Wiley said he recently spoke to a man who knew one thing about Vinton-Shellsburg: The school does not have boys soccer.

Two soccer enthusiasts from Vinton-Shellsburg High School are asking the school board to change that.

Jake Milroy and John Levis wore soccer shirts to the school board meeting Monday, where they discussed the cost of adding boys soccer to the VSHS athletic program.

"I am going to say the same thing to you that I said to that man," said Wiley. "Sell me on the program. Tell me why we should have soccer."

"Soccer is a team sport," replied Milroy. "Everyone must work together." Milroy said soccer differs from track in that a school with a couple of fast runners can win many meets, but it takes more than a couple of good players to make a soccer team successful.

Milroy and Levis presented the school board a list of numbers, including a survey of how many VSHS boys would be interested in soccer, and the cost of uniforms, referees and other expenses.

Currently, boys who like to play soccer begin with the VPRD league and then move on to club leagues based in Cedar Rapids. Milroy told the board he coaches a 10 and under team. They also said that since the addition of girls soccer to the VSHS program, more girls have joined such soccer programs at the younger age levels.

Expenses include: $3,000 for coaches salary, $2,250 for transportation, $2,100 for officials for home contests, $2,800 for field preparation, and $3,400 for uniforms and warm-up suits.

Possible revenue includes the admission fee for home games, which the boys estimated as $1,750, based on 50 people attending each of the seven home games and paying $5 admission for each.

Milroy and Levis told the board that the Iowa High School Athletic Association needs to know by January if the school will have a team for the 2012 spring season. The board did not take action on the request but is expected to discuss a possible soccer program during future meetings.

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MH April 12, 2011, 1:34 pm Go soccer! Kudos to Milroy and Levis for their mature and prepared proposal. And ditto the previous comment...soccer or Call of Duty....SOCCER!!!!