Background
Vaninger grew up in Saint Louis, Missouri and attended Saint Mary"s High School where he played on the boy’s soccer team
Vaninger grew up in Saint Louis, Missouri and attended Saint Mary"s High School where he played on the boy’s soccer team
After graduating from high school, Vaninger attended Saint Louis Florisant Valley Community College from 1970 to 1972.
He earned three caps, scoring one goal, with the United States. national team He continues to coach youth soccer in his hometown of Saint Louis, Missouri. Early career
That season, Vaninger scored twenty-three goals.
He played two seasons on the school’s soccer team, earning junior college All American honors both seasons.
Professional
In 1973, Vaninger signed with the Saint Louis Stars of the North American Soccer League (NASL). He spent five seasons with the Stars until they folded at the end of the 1977 season.
He then moved to the Fort Lauderdale Strikers for the 1978 and 1979 season. However, in 1979, he played only one game and left the NASL to sign for the New Jersey Americans.
In 1980, he joined the Miami Americans of the American Soccer League where he played for one season.
In 1980, Vaninger signed with the expansion Saint Louis Steamers of Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL). He played two seasons with the Steamers until 1982. Some sources state that he continued to play professionally until 1983.
Vaninger is tied for the MISL record with 3 powerplay goals in one game.
National team
Vaninger earned three caps with the United States. national team in 1974 and 1975. His first game came September 5, 1974, when he scored the lone United States. goal in a 3-1 loss to Mexico.
His last game came in a March 26, 1975 loss to Poland in Poland. In 1989, the expansion Saint Louis Storm of MISL hired Vaninger as an assistant coach.
In 1990, he became the Director of Youth Development.
Vaninger was the director of the Busch soccer club before being replaced by Steve Pecher in 1999 when he left to become the Director of ing and Education for the Missouri Youth Soccer Association. In 2002, Vaninger was inducted in the Saint Louis Soccer s Hall of Fame.
In addition to playing with Florisant Valley, Vaninger was also a member of Saint Louis Kutis.