Rubek: The Nebraska girls high school soccer season will be much different this year. Here's why

Brace yourself, soccer fans. If you haven’t experienced it already, you will soon feel the effects of an earthquake that rattled through our happy little Omaha soccer world.

What you will soon realize is a seismic shift in high school girls soccer.

When club team Sporting Omaha FC joined U.S. Soccer’s Development Academy last year, it took with it a piece of the high school scene. That’s because rules prohibit development academy, or DA, participants from playing in high school. Players and their families had to make a choice, and some of the top players are going DA.

In fact, six of the 11 returning first- and second-team All-Nebraska selections made the leap to DA and are no longer playing for their high school teams.

Millard North senior Regan Zimmers is one of them. Others include Millard South’s Lindsay Prokop, Lincoln Southwest’s Gwen Lane and Millard North’s Sidney Anderson.

Zimmers said the change has “brought a lot of good challenges and a lot of benefits to me personally.”

She was the leading scorer on the Class A state championship team a year ago. The UNO recruit elected to stick with Sporting as it became the first program in the state to join the ranks of the DA.

She has battled with her club to a 3-11-1 record through the first half of the DA season. Zimmers is the first to admit it hasn’t been easy. Sporting has played in Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas (three times), Florida and Colorado â€" all since November.

At times it can feel more like a job than a sport.

But she will tell you it was the right decision.

“My love for soccer has grown,” Zimmers said.

She also knows she will miss what some of her friends are doing during the high school season. She planned to be at their season opener this week, and said she’d “definitely” be at the state tournament in May.

Millard North's Regan Zimmers made the 2018 All-Nebraska soccer team, but she won't be playing for her high school this season.

BRENDAN SULLIVAN/THE WORLD-HERALD

Zimmers could be the poster child for DA â€" she’s an absolute nut for the sport. Tim Bennett, Sporting executive director, calls her a “pioneer.”

Prokop, a senior at Millard South, scored 34 goals a year ago and would have had a shot at the state’s career scoring record this season.

Lincoln Southwest’s Lane was an All-Nebraska first-team pick as a sophomore and is headed to Nebraska.

Anderson, a keeper at Millard North, made big stop after big stop in goal as a freshman in the Mustangs’ title run.

All are playing with Sporting in the DA. While many stars have departed, an even bigger effect is just the sheer numbers choosing DA over high schools. Sporting has five teams. That’s upwards of 80 players bypassing high school soccer this spring.

“The people that have elected to do this now are your trend-forward type of people,” Lincoln Southwest coach Thomas Nettleton said. “Girls that really want to challenge themselves, they need like-minded kids. You don’t usually have a team full of like-minded girls that are taking soccer 100 percent serious.”

That said, put Nettleton down as someone who is dubious when it comes to DA. It’s not for everyone, he said.

“I would make a strong argument that most of the players that are deciding to do it are not getting a better college evaluation experience,” Nettleton said. “You can travel anywhere and get attention and exposure. I do very much care that we are good with our information.”

Bennett, the Sporting executive director, understandably defends his organization. Change is difficult, especially when it’s such a dramatic shift in mindset.

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He paints a future where Omaha kids are competing on the world’s biggest soccer stages. He says Sporting has received “rave reviews” from everyone involved with U.S. Soccer â€" including opponents.

“I think our players have grown the most,” Bennett said. “I think from weekend to weekend they’re able to see what they’re capable of doing.”

He hears about the records â€" Sporting’s three oldest teams have a combined 11-33-2 mark with a minus-83 goal differential. Results, at least those on the scoreboard, shouldn’t be what determines the success or failure of the move to DA, he said.

“It’s an individual development platform,” he said.

He compares the jump Sporting made to that of UNO moving to Division I, but even bigger. Imagine UNO jumping to a Power Five conference.

“Like UNO moving to the ACC,” he said.

Bennett knows local high school soccer. He graduated from Omaha Westside and played at Providence.

He believes the DA is a superior product to anything that can be offered during the high school season. He offers another analogy: top math students. If you were in a calculus class, he says, would you take three months off to take basic algebra?

“There are going to be players that are going to play high school and have great college careers,” Bennett said. “And there are going to be players that are going to go through the academy and maybe reach even higher. The great thing is that this is a choice.”

To be sure, Bennett’s is not a popular opinion, even in local club circles.

Marcus Kelcher is the technical director of Elite Girls Academy, another large Omaha club. He said his organization looked at both its current league â€" the Elite Clubs National League â€" and the DA before deciding on its future.

The ECNL allows players to participate in high school soccer, he said, and that was a major factor in the decision.

“When you start micromanaging what players can and can’t do at the youth level, you take away opportunities,” Kelcher said. “Kids getting to play in front of their peers is a big deal. I think there’s value in high school soccer.”

His academy does have girls who decide not to play with their school. But Kelcher, whose wife, April, is the coach at Papillion-La Vista, said it should be an option.

And he disagrees with the notion that playing a spring season can impact individual progress.

“No one can tell me that a player playing high school soccer for 2½ months is going to go backwards developmentally,” he said. “If we’re doing a good job as club coaches ... those players shouldn’t be losing out on any developmental opportunities if they decide to go out, either.”

Joe Rauth takes it a step further. The longtime local coach, currently an assistant with the Gretna High girls, says you can’t replicate the pride that comes with playing for a school.

“You can be the stud in a DA team and walk down the hallways in your school and not one person would know you did something special the last weekend,” Rauth said. “If you score a goal that beats a rival like Skutt, or you score against Marian and Millard North, you’re going to have senior football players that high-five you as a sophomore because you scored that goal.”

And then there is the state tournament. Creighton’s Morrison Stadium provides one of the top soccer settings in the nation.

“Where else are you going to find a time where there’s that many eyes on you?” Rauth said. “That’s pressure. Imagine trying to score a goal in front of 5,000 people in a state final. That’s pressure. And pressure is a privilege.”

One of the most interesting perspectives on the DA vs. high school debate comes from Jim Homan, the girls soccer coach at Omaha Gross.

Homan also is an assistant for Sporting’s DA teams. He’s got a dog on both sides of the argument.

I asked Homan: What would you do if one of your daughters had the DA opportunity?

His response, while not exactly answering the question, framed the quandary.

“You’ve got to follow your heart,” he said, “but you’ve also got to challenge yourself.”

The ultimate answer may come only with time. That’s because there are valid questions about the sustainability of Sporting’s run as a DA program.

Sporting replaced the FC Kansas City team â€" representative of a metro area more than twice the population of metro Omaha â€" which finished 5-20 in the U18/19 division last year, with a goal differential of minus-57. That FC Kansas City team’s leading scorer was former Elkhorn standout Skylar Heinrich, one of the top girls soccer players the area has produced.

Based on Kansas City’s experience, many doubt that Omaha has the numbers to compete at the highest level. But Sporting folks believe it can happen eventually. They have no fear of failure and say you won’t know if you don’t try.

And so we will. It’s a commendable goal. But there’s a part of the spring sports season that will seem a little bit empty around Omaha at least until we find out.

Close

First row: Gwen Lane and Regan Zimmers. Second row: Delaney Gunn, Brian Covarrubias, Lindsey Prokop, Royce Austen, Maddie Smith, Laurin Mertz and Rylie Albers. Third row: Tyler Sanne, Mackenzie Boeve, Emma Wilson, Delaney Stekr, Carlos Salazar, Luka Nedic and Jacob Hardy. Top row: Jonathan Velasquez, Cole Quandt, Novoa, Johan Centeno and Duncan McGuire. Not pictured is Elkhorn's Skylar Heinrich.

Back row from left: Omaha Burke’s Zach Robbins, Elkhorn South’s Hunter Albers, Ralston’s Diego Gutierrez, Omaha South’s Isaac Cruz, Omaha Central’s Jackson Ferris, Fremont’s Nolan Dillon, Omaha Westside’s Jack Finocchiaro, Lincoln North Star’s Jonathan Velasquez, Millard West’s Erik Fahner and Creighton Prep’s Ed Gordon. Bottom, from left: Bellevue West’s Courtney Wallingford, Omaha Marian’s Rachel Johnson, Lincoln Southwest’s Hannah Davis, Millard North’s Bailey Cascio, Omaha Skutt’s Madi McKeever, Millard West’s Sydney Cassalia, Omaha Westside’s Emily Torres, Omaha Marian’s Emma Nelson, Millard South’s Lindsey Prokop, Elkhorn’s Skylar Heinrich. Matt Smith and Kenzie Harte are not pictured.

Back row from left to right: Maddy Henry, Matt Smith, Rachel Johnson, Joe Fehr, Marisa Windingstad, Sydney Cassalia, Jake Bos, Alex Gomez, Charlie Harte, Austin Mishou; Front row from left to right: Brenna Ochoa, Bailey Cascio, Miranda Swift, Ed Gordon, Adam Dejka, Cassie Legband, Alvaro Elizarraga, Hannah Davis, Jack Finocchiaro, Jaylin Bosak are the 2016 All-Nebraska Soccer Team. AJ Wiley and Annie Sullivan are not pictured.

From left to right, Abby Meader, Isaac Armstrong, Vince Nolette, Emily Romero, Michelle Xiao, Angel Jacinto, Alvaro Elizarraga, Marisa Windingstad, Jake Kennedy, Nick Scalora, Maddy Henry, Margaret Begley, Cassie Legband, Sydney Cassalia, Brenna Ochoa, Alec Foltz, Cullen Fisch, Connor Tupper, Jordan Cahill, Susie Dineen and Carsen Lundgren are the 2015 All-Nebraska Soccer Team. AJ Wiley is not pictured.

Back row, from left, Holly Hild, Abby Meader, Elmer Garcia, Paige Phipps, Nick Hinds, Megan McCashland, Jonah Garbin, Madison Henry. Front row, from left, Peter Schropp, Faith Carter, Hannah Schafers, Damien Austen, Justin Wiley, Michelle Xiao, Sarah Woelfel, Chase McCann, Landon Sibole (kneeling), James Narke (sitting), Quinn Nelson. Not pictured: Hannah Davis.

Back row, from left, Abby Meader, Allison Key, Mark Moulton, Megan McCashland, Rachel Brennan, Brock Fitzgerald, Abel Alvarado, Ali Sodal, Taylor Saucier, Michael Kluver, Landon Sibole, Jordan Cassalia. Front row, left to right, Damien Austen, Lucas Venegas, Eduardo Gamboa, Michael Jaime, Emily Roll, Michelle Xiao, Sarah Woelfel, Alex Prusa, Liz Bartels, Maddie Elliston.

Honorary team captains Jackie Tondl of Omaha Marian and Mark Moulton of Omaha Creighton Prep.

Honorary team captains Logan Mendez of Grand Island and Rachel Brennan of Millard North.

Honorary team captains Omaha South's Manuel Lira and Omaha Skutt's Mayme Conroy.

Honorary team captains Molly Thomas of Millard North and Devon Strecker of Millard South.

First row: Gwen Lane and Regan Zimmers. Second row: Delaney Gunn, Brian Covarrubias, Lindsey Prokop, Royce Austen, Maddie Smith, Laurin Mertz and Rylie Albers. Third row: Tyler Sanne, Mackenzie Boeve, Emma Wilson, Delaney Stekr, Carlos Salazar, Luka Nedic and Jacob Hardy. Top row: Jonathan Velasquez, Cole Quandt, Novoa, Johan Centeno and Duncan McGuire. Not pictured is Elkhorn's Skylar Heinrich.

Back row from left: Omaha Burke’s Zach Robbins, Elkhorn South’s Hunter Albers, Ralston’s Diego Gutierrez, Omaha South’s Isaac Cruz, Omaha Central’s Jackson Ferris, Fremont’s Nolan Dillon, Omaha Westside’s Jack Finocchiaro, Lincoln North Star’s Jonathan Velasquez, Millard West’s Erik Fahner and Creighton Prep’s Ed Gordon. Bottom, from left: Bellevue West’s Courtney Wallingford, Omaha Marian’s Rachel Johnson, Lincoln Southwest’s Hannah Davis, Millard North’s Bailey Cascio, Omaha Skutt’s Madi McKeever, Millard West’s Sydney Cassalia, Omaha Westside’s Emily Torres, Omaha Marian’s Emma Nelson, Millard South’s Lindsey Prokop, Elkhorn’s Skylar Heinrich. Matt Smith and Kenzie Harte are not pictured.

Back row from left to right: Maddy Henry, Matt Smith, Rachel Johnson, Joe Fehr, Marisa Windingstad, Sydney Cassalia, Jake Bos, Alex Gomez, Charlie Harte, Austin Mishou; Front row from left to right: Brenna Ochoa, Bailey Cascio, Miranda Swift, Ed Gordon, Adam Dejka, Cassie Legband, Alvaro Elizarraga, Hannah Davis, Jack Finocchiaro, Jaylin Bosak are the 2016 All-Nebraska Soccer Team. AJ Wiley and Annie Sullivan are not pictured.

From left to right, Abby Meader, Isaac Armstrong, Vince Nolette, Emily Romero, Michelle Xiao, Angel Jacinto, Alvaro Elizarraga, Marisa Windingstad, Jake Kennedy, Nick Scalora, Maddy Henry, Margaret Begley, Cassie Legband, Sydney Cassalia, Brenna Ochoa, Alec Foltz, Cullen Fisch, Connor Tupper, Jordan Cahill, Susie Dineen and Carsen Lundgren are the 2015 All-Nebraska Soccer Team. AJ Wiley is not pictured.

Back row, from left, Holly Hild, Abby Meader, Elmer Garcia, Paige Phipps, Nick Hinds, Megan McCashland, Jonah Garbin, Madison Henry. Front row, from left, Peter Schropp, Faith Carter, Hannah Schafers, Damien Austen, Justin Wiley, Michelle Xiao, Sarah Woelfel, Chase McCann, Landon Sibole (kneeling), James Narke (sitting), Quinn Nelson. Not pictured: Hannah Davis.

Back row, from left, Abby Meader, Allison Key, Mark Moulton, Megan McCashland, Rachel Brennan, Brock Fitzgerald, Abel Alvarado, Ali Sodal, Taylor Saucier, Michael Kluver, Landon Sibole, Jordan Cassalia. Front row, left to right, Damien Austen, Lucas Venegas, Eduardo Gamboa, Michael Jaime, Emily Roll, Michelle Xiao, Sarah Woelfel, Alex Prusa, Liz Bartels, Maddie Elliston.

Honorary team captains Jackie Tondl of Omaha Marian and Mark Moulton of Omaha Creighton Prep.

Honorary team captains Logan Mendez of Grand Island and Rachel Brennan of Millard North.

Honorary team captains Omaha South's Manuel Lira and Omaha Skutt's Mayme Conroy.

Honorary team captains Molly Thomas of Millard North and Devon Strecker of Millard South.