From Sussex to Slippery Rock

Deon Waldmeier will be continuing his education and soccer career at Slippery Rock University in Western Pennsylvania. Deon had two successful seasons for Sussex, which included back-to-back regional championships, as well as, national tournament appearances. Deon's leadership and character is what Coach Vernacchio will miss the most. Vernacchio said, "the hardest part coaching at the JUCO level is you only get to coach these players for two years. Deon is certainly one of those players every coach wants on their team."

Waldmeier surly made an impact with his two years at Sussex. Besides his accolades on the field, Deon was also an exceptional student. He was a two year Breakfast of Champion Honoree, a member of  Phi Theta Kappa,  has made the Dean's list each semester and is an Academic All-American.  When asked how Sussex helped him, Deon replied "it helped me become more independent, allowed me to see different perspectives, and with being around people from all over the world, I learned how to handle adversity."  All these things contributed to Deon's success as a student and as an athlete.

As Waldmeier begins to start the next chapter in his life, he states, "I am looking forward to being able to join a 4-year program and experience what that is like. I am excited about finishing my degree and looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead. I am also eager to come back to Sussex to join preseason to see all the boys one last time before my preseason begins."

Coach Vernacchio has been proud to have coached Deon this past two years. Vernacchio said, "I have been lucky to coach many talented and great players who have come through our program. Each one leaves something special behind, their legacy, if you will. Deon was the "carry the water" type. He did a lot of things that made a huge impact, but could be missed if you weren't around our program each day. I think for someone to be as consistent and persistent as he was, knowing that he is doing things to better our program without getting praise for it, speaks to his character."

When Deon was asked what type of legacy he was hoping to have left behind, he replied, "a hardworking legacy because everything I came across I had to work hard to achieve and I usually saw success because of that. Especially in my first season where our success was purely on the hard work we put into the season and we won the Region because of it. That is also something I want to bring with me to Slippery Rock. I want to continue to work hard to prove to everyone I deserve to be there."