Central Middle School makes history with first-ever soccer team

• By Erik Suchy/Staff Writer

•  Aug 28, 2024

For as long as they’ve been around, no middle school in the White Bear Lake Area School District has had its own soccer team. Now, Central Middle School will be the first to claim that honor.

This fall, the school will introduce its newly-formed boys’ and girls’ soccer teams. Boys’ and girls’ basketball teams will start this upcoming winter. Matt Riebow, Youth Recreation and Middle School Sports Coordinator for White Bear Lake Schools, said that one of the reasons for adding these sports was to reflect the same ones offered at the high school level. “We’re just trying to mirror what the high school offers,” said Riebow. 

The honor of coaching boys’ soccer will go to White Bear resident Jesse Kelley. Kelley played on the Bears varsity soccer team in high school, and he also played in numerous adult soccer leagues until a knee injury forced him to step back from playing.

“I can’t even describe it,” Kelley beamed over his new job. “It’s a big deal for kids because most of them grow up playing club soccer, so they already have the experience there. Once you switch the lead from middle school to high school, it feels like it becomes a different game. Having them prepare for it early rather than just going into the high school program will give them a good taste of what it’s like.”

Despite a soccer club existing through the district’s Manitou F.C. program, Kelley said the middle school team will be different. “The most significant difference is that the team will have more of a high school feel, especially when playing games against other schools,” said Kelley. “If these students have been playing club their whole life, now it’s a chance for middle and high school to bring it to a different level they haven’t seen before as far as competing against other schools.”

Kelley said the team intends to compete against other middle schools, such as Centennial and Stillwater, that have their own soccer teams.

Riebow stated students of any skill level can play on the middle school teams. “We don’t cut,” he said. “And we accept everybody who wants to play. That’s what makes these middle school athletics so unique.”

Both Kelley and Riebow plan to recruit students from Central and the newly formed Mariner Middle School to try out. Riebow said that if enough students are recruited for both sports, the district will consider having Mariner and Central run their own separate boys’ and girls’ basketball and soccer teams. Riebow added that the district is still actively seeking coaches for girls’ soccer and boys’ and girls’ basketball.

Practice for the boys’ and girls’ soccer teams will begin on Sept. 4 at the Price Field at Central Middle School. READ MORE