Credit: Courtesy of Teddy Hage

From left to right, junior John Pordage, junior Lucas Yemin, non-Wayland resident Miguel Kast Puga, junior Alex Crawford, junior Reece Davies, junior Zach Thoen, junior Riley Martins, junior Matyas Kylberger, senior Kailas Srinivasan, senior Jack Quinn, junior Teddy Hage, junior Michael Likerman and junior Henry Legere come together after their win against Beetlejuice FC on Friday, Dec. 15 at Teamworks Sports and Recreation Center in Acton.

Bubba FC is an indoor soccer team that started two years ago and consists of about 11 Wayland High School Class of 2025 and 2024 students. The team is not affiliated with the school, since the playing season is in the winter.

The team travels to either Teamworks Sports and Recreation Center in Acton or ForeKicks Outdoor and Indoor Sports Complex in Marlboro every Friday night for its games. Both Teamworks and ForeKicks have an indoor turf field for soccer. The team’s first game was against Brutus FC at 11:20 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 8. The game resulted in a win for Bubba FC, kicking off its season on a high note with a final score of 13-4.

The striking name “Bubba FC” was not random. “FC” is commonly put after a soccer team name, as it stands for “Football Club.” Picking a name for the team was important to the players, and many teams in the league chose to have entertaining names. For example, there are teams named Red Sharks, Taco Cats and Guppies.

“The name Bubba FC originates from [junior] Riley Martins, because we call him Bubba,” junior Teddy Hage said. “He’s our captain, so we’re Bubba FC.”

Last year, a group of WHS Class of 2026 students decided to also create an indoor soccer team, calling themselves Beetlejuice FC. On Friday, Dec. 15, Bubba FC played Beetlejuice FC at 10 p.m.. Because many of the players are teammates during the regular soccer season, some players shared that there was an elevated sense of competitiveness.

“I think it’s just nice to play during the off season and just be with your friends,” junior Matyas Kylberger said. “It’s good for camaraderie.”

Bubba FC triumphed over Beetlejuice FC, with another 13-4 win. Before the game, Bubba FC had a match against Leominster FC, and in a close battle, Bubba FC emerged victorious with a final score of 8-6.

For the Beetlejuice FC and Leominster FC games, junior Alex Crawford and non-Wayland resident Miguel Kast Puga joined Bubba FC for the night to play on the team. Crawford plays for the Major League Soccer (MLS) Next IFA team. Kast Puga, who is visiting from Chile, attended WHS in 2021 for several months and played on the boys varsity soccer team.

“Crawford and Kast Puga were a crucial part of the team,” junior Michael Likerman said. “[We] couldn’t have done it without them.”

Along with enjoying the competitiveness of the game, the team also has gained attraction from its Instagram account. Starting from a relatively small group of players, over the past year, interest in the team has grown.

“Bubba FC started two years back where it was a really small group but [then we] combined with all the grades,” Kylberger said. “But last year, it really started to take off when the Instagram [account] was created and all the amazing content was posted.”

Some posts on Instagram have even received views from professional soccer players such as Argentine soccer goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez. Bubba FC posts regularly on Instagram, constantly pushing out content for people to view.

“We felt really proud of the work we’ve done,” Kylberger said. “It’s just cool to see how far we’ve come, and to have professional players with upwards of 10 million followers viewing our Instagram. That meant a lot to us.”