With the Waterloo Community School District already planning to combine Waterloo East High School and Waterloo West High School into the new Waterloo United High School, many students, staff, and families are eager to know when these changes will fully take effect. Recent announcements suggest that the transition is already underway, beginning with select athletic programs.

The swimming and wrestling teams, which have already combined athletes from East and West, recently received approval from the athletic department to wear and represent the new Titans colors in the coming years leading up to the opening of the new school. These athletes will be among the first to showcase the new branding and identity.

Freshman Simon Kline shared his excitement about representing the new identity. “It’s exciting to be the start of something great, feels like starting a new and improved era,” he said.

The girls wrestling program has been unified since the sport was first sanctioned in 2022, with its inaugural season taking place during the 2022–2023 school year. Since its beginning, the program has been led by Head Coach Josef Kadlec and Assistant Coach Dan Dunning. Kadlec emphasized the strong foundation already in place. “I feel like we already have a pretty strong team chemistry with the girls meshing together, cheering for each other, and encouraging each other regardless of the school that they’re from as it is. However, I do think that there will be more of a rallying as we transition into using the new logos, wordmarks, colors, etc. I think that this transition will help to ease some tensions in the outside community by allowing us as a program to not have to have team apparel that only represents one school right now,” he said.

Another program beginning its transition is girls golf. Joshua Barta, currently the Waterloo West boys golf coach and Waterloo East girls golf coach, was recently named head coach of the newly combined Waterloo girls golf team. “I’m excited to be able to coach the girls team and being one of the first programs to coach what’s soon to be the Titans.”

In addition to girls golf, other programs beginning to merge this spring include girls soccer, girls tennis, and boys tennis. While coaches for these teams have not yet been officially announced, further updates are expected soon, especially following the recent announcement of the new school’s principal.

While these early changes may seem small, they are the beginning of the transition into becoming the Waterloo Titans. For many in the Waterloo community, the merging of programs represents a change that will shape the future of students and athletics in the city.