WBL MIDDLE SCHOOL SOCCER

Dear WBL Middle School Soccer Families,

Welcome to the 2026 WBL Middle School Soccer season! We are excited to get another season underway and wanted to send out some important information about this year’s program and our first practice.

A Quick Look at Our Program

The 2024 season was the first ever WBL middle school soccer season. That first year included a mix of students from both Mariner Middle School and Central Middle School, with boys and girls playing together.

In 2025, we saw a big jump in participation. We formed a separate girls team and boys team. The boy's numbers continued to climb. Today, we have a handful of 8th graders who have been with us since the start. Players from local leagues such as the Vadnais Heights and surrounding rec programs, Manitou club teams, experienced and new players all came together to play soccer, have fun and grow in experience. 

For the 2026 season, the WBL School District is beginning the transition toward having separate Mariner and Central teams. This year will be a hybrid transition, with the goal of fully forming Mariner and Central teams beginning next year. If participation continues to grow as it has and as we expect, we may have multiple teams at each school next year. Mariner and Central teams will both be a combination of 6,7, and 8th grade players this year.

Registration closed yesterday with the final players having signed up. We will have 25 Mariner team players and 25 Central team players.

First Practice – Tuesday, September 1

Our first practice for both teams will be:

Tuesday, September 1, 2026 (This is to accommodate 7th and 8th graders returning to school on this day).
Price Field – behind Central Middle School located at  4857 Bloom Avenue, White Bear Lake, MN, 55110.

Central students:

● School gets out at 4:00 PM.

● Practice will begin after school and run until 5:30 PM.

● The PE locker room will be available after school for students who need to change. We will meet out on the field after school.

● After practice, coaches will be onsite to help with activity buses if needed.

Mariner students:

● Mariner students will take the activity bus to Price Field immediately after school, as they did last year.

● Because of the approximately 20-minute process involved in getting students from Mariner to the field, Coach Lucas Larson will practice with the Mariner squad until approximately 5:50 PM.

● PE locker rooms will be available upon arrival if needed. We encourage getting gear on if possible on the bus to save time.

● Coaches will be onsite to help with activity buses or anything else if needed.

Players who need to catch the activity bus home after practice because they do not have a ride from Central, or students who need to leave earlier than 5:50, can finish practice at 5:30 PM or whenever they need to leave.

Students who need to use an activity bus to get home will walk from Central, across the field and to the high school outside of the Field House (The side of the high school next to the large parking lot). One of the coaches will help with this. There will be four activity buses that will bring our student players to a drop off spot located near your home. Activity buses leave at 5:45 PM from the High School. 

More transportation information including times and routes can be found at https://www.isd624.org/departments/transportation

What to Bring Tuesday

● Water bottle – fill up in school prior to practice

● Shin guards – required

● Soccer cleats – helpful, but not mandatory for our field/turf

● Soccer ball – we will have 10 balls per team, so bringing your own is not necessary, although it can be helpful

● T-shirts and shorts for practice. We recommend having warm clothes for cooler days.

Game Schedule

CLICK HERE FOR CENTRAL MS A DIVISION SCHEDULE

Team Central will receive updates from me, Coach Jesse Kelley, and Team Mariner/Central will receive updates from Coach Lucas Larson.

Please reach out anytime with any questions. We are looking forward to another fun season and to continuing to grow WBL middle school soccer. 

See you on Tuesday, September 1st, 2026 at Price Field.

Coach Jesse Kelley
WBL Central Middle School Soccer
jesse.kelley@isd624.org

Coach Lucas Larson

WBL Mariner Middle School Soccer

lucas.larson@isd624org