Soccer has become a popular team sport among young athletes, and this fall it became a part of the athletic offerings at Coal City Middle School.
Students in grades six to eight had the opportunity to participate in the co-ed program and in the inaugural season 51 signed up to play—22 students on the A Team and 29 on the B Team. Everyone who came out was given a chance to play.
The players came into the program with varying levels of experience. “A half dozen or so were either new to soccer, or maybe played minimally many years ago,” said Coaler coach Mike Kostbade. And “a handful of players came into the program quite experienced, playing travel ball concurrently with our season,” he added.
Kostbade, a science teacher at Coal City High School, shared coaching duties with middle school math teacher Tommy Fatigante. Both have experience coaching at the high school level and are familiar with the athletic program expectations.
The coaches practiced with players for 90 minutes each school day on a field located on the northeast side of the middle school campus. The season kicked off in early August and wrapped up in mid-September.
Although soccer Is currently not a sanctioned Illinois Elementary School Association [IESA] sport, there are several school districts that offer soccer at the middle school level including Morris, Minooka and Sandwich. The A Team played seven matches with a couple of intersquad green-white scrimmages, and the B Team had six matches and three scrimmages.
“I was very pleased with how the season went. This was a very motivated group of kids that really enjoyed playing together. With such a short season, I feared there wasn’t going to be enough time to get our newer players familiar enough with the game, but they did a great job learning from their coaches and teammates. Both squads played quality soccer, putting together winning records,” Kostbade said.
There were 22 eighth graders on the team this year and the coaches anticipate a majority of the 29 sixth and seventh graders will be back next season. There is an expectation that the fall 2024 season could see even more students looking to be a part of the team. With that in mind, Kostbade said there could be a need for tryouts, but it’s something that will be determined later.
As the coach looks ahead to another season, he’s excited for the potential to add more games to the schedule.
The idea of establishing a middle school program was introduced by the Coal City Soccer Club in 2021. However, due to the uncertainty that came with the potential closure of the district’s largest taxpayer no action was taken. The concept was revisited in December 2022 and based on recommendations from middle school administration and the district’s athletic director, the Board of Education agreed to give soccer a try.
“Our town has a great tradition of strong sports involvement. The addition of this program has definitely added to that tradition, with more kids than ever participating in extra-curriculars,” Kostbade said.
The cost to start the program—uniforms, equipment, coaches and referees— is fully covered by the Coal City Soccer Club and they will continue to fund the program through the 2025 season.
Kostbade commends the Coal City Soccer Club for its investment in the program and points out the assistance that has been provided by Mike Elberts, the youth organization’s scheduling director, and Coal City Middle School’s assistant principal Rodney Monbrum.
Coal City Soccer Club’s support of the middle school program follows its mission to provide children within the community the best possible learning experience.
Kostbade said, “middle school soccer is a great sport for the novice to not only enjoy, but to thrive in. You don’t need great size, you don’t need tons of equipment or private coaching, you just need to show up and let the sport win you over.”
“The addition of middle school soccer will unquestionably strengthen our high school program,” Kostbade said.