2020: Year In Review

If it's possible for a sports organization to leave 2020 on an all-time high note, FC Wichita has done just that. During one of the most trying times in history the Wichita based soccer club has found togetherness.

It's said that when the going gets tough, the tough get going. So when the covid-19 pandemic shut down the country in March, the FC Wichita directors sprung into action, says FC Wichita Head Coach Bryan Perez. Perez credits both his staff, club sponsors, and parents in the FC Wichita youth organization for working together to build unique programming. That platform ultimately provided the community with a daily mental and physical regime that went well beyond the game of soccer.  

"When we found ourselves in a shutdown it gave us the time to really realign our values and shine as a company," said Perez. "We found that many of our employees and youth academy families were excited to take the initiative to build important resources and programming. It was awesome to be a part of and was truly a moment where we just might look back and say we improved our club culture forever."

The culture Perez speaks of proved to be the inspiration needed for FC Wichita ownership to put more resources behind the momentum.

"It was great to see that the work our staff put in was well received by so many in our community," said FC Wichita CEO Blake Shumaker. "It proved to create a tremendous amount of support and it has truly become one of the driving forces behind our commitment to take the next steps for Wichita's soccer pathway."

Shumaker, who's also a co-owner of the Wichita Wings  professional indoor soccer team, says the club is excited to share some new partnership news and growth plans for soccer in the City of Wichita in early 2021. 

Below is a list of milestones that were achieved despite a lockdown, and some important dates for January of 2021. 

MAY 2020

Academy:  The FC Wichita girls become members of the Elite Clubs National League/Regional League and announced a joint initiative to begin a partnership with Kansas Rush Wichita.

JUNE & JULY 2020

Academy: With the senior team shut down for the summer the U20 Academy boys competed in their stead during the Heartland Super Cup, a tournament which included semi-professional teams from numerous leagues around the region. While the team was very young and consisted of 12 current high school age players from the youth academy, they managed to win 5 consecutive games before losing in the cup final to Cedar Rapids of the United Soccer League. 

AUGUST 2020

Community: Wichita is selected to host 3 ECNL league play weekends. Teams travel from out of state to compete at Stryker Soccer Complex.

SEPTEMBER 

Community: Wichita hosts 2 ECNL league play weekends. Teams travel from out of state to compete at Stryker Soccer Complex.

OCTOBER 2020

Community: FC Wichita hosts 1 ECNL league play weekend. Teams travel from out of state to compete at Stryker Soccer Complex.

Academy: FC Wichita academy high school boys players sweep Kansas High School awards. Cade Martin (Valley Center HS), Lalo Derath (Wichita East HS), & Raul Gerhardus (Maize South HS) were all named conference Player of the Year in their conferences. Those selections make it 2 years in a row for FC Wichita players after Ethan Doud (Eisenhower HS) & Ivan Quezada (Wichita East HS) also achieved it last season. All of the above named players are currently members of the FC Wichita U20 Academy.  

NOVEMBER 2020

Community: FC Wichita co-hosts a College ID event for local players. Event is live streamed to coaches across the country. Within just 30 days of the event 16 athletes are offered a scholarship. 

DECEMBER 2020

Academy: FC Wichita Academy boys announce that every single player in the 2021 graduating  class was offered an opportunity to play college soccer.  

JANUARY 2021

The club will have press releases on January 9, 18, & 19. 

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