Liberty-Benton Eagles Soccer

Grow our own.

It means growing our own players — right here at home. We don't add another practice to your week; we train the coaches your kids already have — rec, travel, and school — in one Eagles way of playing, so every kid in the district gets better soccer right where they are.

Coach with us See how it works
  • Home-grownour own players
  • K–8one way to play
  • Every teamrec to varsity
  • Coach-ledtrained by Eagles
Kids of many ages in yellow, blue, red and green pinnies spread across the Liberty-Benton grass field at a session, with the district's red barn and tree line behind.

Liberty-Benton

This is our district,
on the ball.

Real kids, real coaches — one Eagles way, rec to varsity, right here at home.

Our mission

The LB Soccer Academy exists to give every kid in our district better soccer — not by adding to their week, but by training the coaches they already have in one Eagles way of playing, from a first practice all the way to future varsity Eagles.

Our vision

  1. Every kid plays — welcome from day one
  2. All year round — no gaps, no lost kids
  3. Grow them early — keep them forever
  4. Love for the game — grows with every touch
  5. Endless touches — every kid, a ball, every practice
  6. Skilled and confident Eagles — built one year at a time

One idea, start to finish:
we grow our own — by growing our coaches.

Today's second-graders are our varsity in ten years. The fastest way to get more of them playing better soccer isn't another practice they don't have time for — it's making the practice they already go to great. So Eagles staff train the coaches — rec, travel, and school — in one shared way of playing. One clinic reaches a whole roster, every practice, all season long.

  • Coach the coaches

    We train the volunteers already on the field. Train one coach and you reach a whole team — every practice, all season, for years.

  • One Eagles Way

    Same words, same games, same standard at every age — so a kid's soccer never restarts when they change teams or move up.

  • Nothing extra to your week

    Better coaching inside the team your kid already plays for. No new night on the calendar, no team to choose between.

Seventy percent of kids quit by fourteen.
Almost always, it starts with a bad early experience.

Kids don't quit because the game is hard — they quit when the early years are boring, joyless, or nobody knew their name. We can't run every practice in the district ourselves. But we can put one great way of coaching inside all of them:

No kid should get worse coaching just because of which team they landed on. We put the Eagles Way inside every team.

  • One shared way of playing — K–8, every team.
  • Coaches trained to make the early years fun, not a grind.
  • Every kid known by name — the number-one reason they come back.
  • Your kid's own coach, trained in the Eagles Way.

One ladder. Neighborhood to varsity.

The Eagles Way is one curriculum with four stages. A kid climbs it as they grow — same words, same game, same standard — no matter which team they're on or who's coaching them. That continuity is the whole point.

  1. K–2

    Grassroot Eagles

    They leave loving it.

    Fun is the curriculum: coordination, ball love, and goals. We train their coaches to run practices little kids can't wait to come back to.

    K–2 · U6–U8 · fun first
  2. 3–5

    Rising Eagles

    Where players are made.

    The skill-building years: dribbling, passing, 1v1, small-sided games. Coaches get session plans that pack in thousands of touches and deepen every season.

    3–5 · U9–U11 · real skill
  3. 6–8

    Next XI Eagles

    Learning the system.

    Our actual system — shape, patterns, set pieces, our vocabulary. By freshman year, walking into varsity feels like coming home, not starting over.

    6–8 · U12–U15 · the system
  4. 9–12

    Varsity Eagles

    Home.

    Game nights under the lights, a packed house, and a roster stocked with kids who've been coached the Eagles Way since they were eight — playing a system they've known for a decade.

    The dream

Coaches, this is for you.
Keep your team — we make your practice better.

Becoming an Eagles-Affiliated Coach asks nothing extra of you or your players. You keep your team, your roster, and your Saturdays. We hand you a better practice: the Eagles Way, ready to run, with a high school coach in your corner.

What you keep
  • Your team & your roster
  • Your practice nights & games
  • Your voice on the field

You're still the coach. Nothing about your season changes.

What you get
  • The Eagles Way session-plan library
  • Preseason coach clinics
  • A high school coach who mentors your practice

Everything you need to run the best practice of any team in town.

How you become affiliated

  • 1 · Come to a clinic

    A ~2-hour preseason clinic where Eagles staff walk you through this season's Eagles Way block. One evening.

  • 2 · Take the plans

    Grab-and-go session plans for your age group — arrive-and-play warmups, skills, and small-sided games. No prep required.

  • 3 · Get a mentor

    A high school coach drops in on your practices, answers questions, and helps you run it — all season, not just once.

  • 4 · Wear the badge

    You're an Eagles-Affiliated Coach — part of one district-wide way of playing that carries your kids all the way to varsity.

Coach your team we bring the Eagles Way to your practice your kids climb the same ladder to varsity. You keep your team. We raise the whole district.

The Eagles Way

One way of playing,
taught to every coach.

The Eagles Way is the curriculum every affiliated coach is trained in — the Standard, the shape of a session, and what to teach at each age. It's why a kid's soccer gets better without one new thing on your calendar.

The Standard Six non-negotiables every coach carries

  • Touches

    Max touches, always. No lines, no laps, no long lectures. If a kid is standing still, the drill is wrong.

  • Brave

    Praise the brave, not just the skilled. We reward the kid who tries the move and loses it — we build players who want the ball.

  • Play

    Every session ends with a game. Games are why kids come back. We always finish playing.

  • Fun

    If they're not smiling, we're doing it wrong. At these ages fun isn't the reward for development — it is the development. Kids who love it keep showing up, and kids who keep showing up get good.

  • System

    One vocabulary at every age, so an eight-year-old and a varsity starter speak the same soccer.

  • And above all — every kid known by name. Being known is the number-one reason a kid comes back.

The session shape Same four beats, any age

  1. Beat 1 · Arrival 15%

    Ball-mastery warmup

    Everyone on a ball the moment they arrive — no waiting, no standing. Simple moves and foundations while you see who's here.

  2. Beat 2 · Teach 20%

    Skill of the day

    Short teach → reps → a mini-challenge. Demo in under a minute, then let them try it. One idea per session, not five.

  3. Beat 3 · Compete 40%

    Small-sided games

    The bulk of it. 1v1, 2v2, 3v3 — the day's skill shows up inside a real game with a score.

  4. Beat 4 · Finish 25%

    Open scrimmage

    End on a game they own. Light touch — let them play, celebrate the brave, send them home wanting more.

More ball, less talk. When in doubt, roll another ball out and coach inside the game.

The curriculum What to teach, by age band

Grassroot EaglesK–2 · U6–U8

Fun, coordination, ball love — fun is the curriculum.

What good looks like: every kid has a ball and a smile, nobody stands in a line, and they leave asking when they get to come back.

  • Dribbling & stopping — run, freeze on command
  • Changing direction — turns, cuts, dodge the "sharks"
  • Shooting & scoring — big goals, everyone scores
  • Simple 1v1 — me and my ball vs. one friend
Say these “Little touches, keep it close!” “Freeze — now go the other way!” “Great try — go again!”
Rising Eagles3–5 · U9–U11

Real skill — the toolbox that beats a defender.

What good looks like: kids take players on without being told, first touch settles the ball, and they've got a go-to move they trust under pressure.

  • 1v1 moves — scissor, chop, stepover
  • Passing & receiving — inside, outside, sole; both feet
  • First touch into space — not into feet
  • Small-sided decisions — pass, dribble, or shoot?
Say these “Head up — what do you see?” “First touch into space.” “Try your move — I love the brave.”
Next XI Eagles6–8 · U12–U15

The Eagles system — how we play as a team.

What good looks like: kids know their position and its jobs, play out of the back on purpose, and use our words without prompting.

  • Team shape & positions — spacing, roles, staying connected
  • Playing out of the back — build, don't just boot it
  • Pressing & transition — win it back fast
  • Set pieces & vocabulary — one shared language
Say these “Open up — check your shoulder.” “We lost it — press together!” “Play through the lines, be patient.”

One game, taught the same way, from a kindergartner's first practice to game nights under the lights. Bring it to your team →

Never miss a clinic.

The academy runs a handful of coach clinics and showcases — your kid's own team schedule stays with your team. Add the calendar to your phone once and every date shows up automatically.

  • Preseason clinicsOne ~2-hour coach clinic before each season — Fall (mid-Aug) and Spring (mid-Mar). That's it: two a year.
  • Mentor visitsA high school coach drops in on affiliated coaches' own practices, all season long.
  • ShowcasesTwo “Play with the Eagles” all-comers days a year, plus game-night appearances under the lights.
Add to calendar

Sign up.

Coaches join for clinics, session plans, and a high school coach mentor. Parents, tell us your kid's team and we'll reach their coach. Everyone's welcome — nobody turned away.

I'm signing up as

This is how you'll get clinic reminders and urgent weather/cancellation alerts — no app to download.

Coaches: what you coach. Parents: your kid's team, so we can reach their coach.

Signing up turns on alerts. You'll get clinic reminders and urgent weather/cancellation notices — one tap after you sign up turns them on for your phone, text, and email. Message rates may apply; reply STOP anytime.

The year your child graduates high school — grade this fall in parentheses.

Which program?

So we can set aside a jersey in the right size — you can update it later.

By signing up you're just saying hello — we'll reach out with details.

Soccer involves inherent risks, including injury; The LB Soccer Academy, Liberty-Benton Local Schools, and its coaches, volunteers, and staff are not liable for injury or loss during participation. Players may be photographed or recorded, and those images may be used in Academy and school materials, including social media. Questions? Email athomas@Liberty-Benton.org.

No kid sits out for gear.

The gear closet is simple: a bin of cleats, shin guards, socks, and balls that any kid on any team can take — need some? take some. No forms, no questions. Affiliated coaches can pull from it for their players, and it travels to every showcase, so a kid who forgot or outgrew theirs still plays that day.

Grab gear for your kid

Questions,
answered.

The things coaches and families ask most. Still wondering something? Just ask us.

What is the academy, exactly?

The academy is the coaching, not another team. Eagles staff train the district's rec, travel, and school coaches in one shared way of playing — the Eagles Way — so every kid gets better soccer at the practice they already attend. We don't add sessions to your kid's week; we make the ones they already have great.

My kid already plays rec or travel — how does this reach them?

Through their coach. When your kid's coach becomes Eagles-Affiliated, their normal practice runs on the Eagles Way — better sessions, more touches, one clear system. Nothing changes on your calendar. Tell us your kid's team on the form and we'll invite their coach.

Do I have to bring my kid to academy sessions?

No. The academy runs through your kid's own team, so there are no extra required sessions. The only academy-run dates are optional Play-with-the-Eagles showcase days — a couple of fun, all-comers events a year — plus game-night appearances.

I'm a coach — what do I get, and what's the commitment?

You get preseason clinics, a grab-and-go session-plan library for your age group, and a high school coach who mentors your practices all season. The commitment is light: one clinic per season and running your own team the Eagles Way. You keep your team, your roster, and your voice on the field.

What ages and grades does it cover?

Kindergarten through 8th grade, boys and girls, in three curriculum stages — Grassroot Eagles (K–2, U6–U8), Rising Eagles (3–5, U9–U11), and Next XI Eagles (6–8, U12–U15) — that feed straight into varsity. Coaches are trained for the stage they coach.

Is it for boys or girls?

Both — equally. It's one way of playing and one standard for the boys and girls sides alike. Kids are grouped by age, not gender, and everything we teach serves both.

What about cleats and gear?

No kid sits out for gear. Our gear closet — kept stocked by the community — has cleats, shin guards, and balls. Any affiliated coach can pull from it, or just ask an organizer. Need some? Take some — no forms, no questions.