The Johnson County Youth League (JCYL) has been running soccer seasons over the last several years. Due to the growth in the JCYL program community members have asked the Vienna and Goreville schools to host a school-based team for both boys and girls. Vienna and Goreville have established a cooperative agreement and have received Illinois High School Association (IHSA) approval to play a junior varsity-only schedule during the 2023-2024 school year. The boys’ season will be this fall with the girls’ season following in the spring.

“Being able to provide another opportunity for students to engage in extracurricular activities is a positive. Having the JCYL foundation to start from is also helpful as we start the school-based junior varsity program,” said David Hill, athletic director at Vienna.

The team will be coached by Luis Blanco, head, and Julio Blanco, assistant, both of which are Vienna graduates.

“I’m excited to be a part of starting this high school soccer team and building a future for soccer in Johnson County,” Luis Blanco said. “Julio and I started this journey back in 2020 when we started the Johnson County Gators and only hoped one day we could make it happen for all these kids who have worked hard for this opportunity. I’m excited to give these student-athletes a similar experience I had in high school making history at this school while playing a sport. I’m excited for this new journey with the VG Eagles Soccer program.”

Vienna and Goreville students that are interested need to immediately contact their respective athletic directors. A game schedule will be released soon and will be available at www.viennahs.com select calendar.