The Liberty soccer teams have had success in the first few years since Liberty’s opening. The boys’ team has gone to state multiple times and won their first state title in 2023. The girls’ team made their first state appearance in 2024. The hard work these teams put in was done in the dark.
Before this year, the soccer teams had to share the practice field with their Varsity and JV teams, along with the turf (football) field with the track teams. There was no option to hold practices after dark because there were no lights on their practice field.
Ryan Steward, assistant girls’ soccer coach, shared how the new lights on the practice field make the girls feel.
“The softball, baseball, tennis and throwing areas all had lights and we didn’t,” Steward said. “Now that we do have lights, it feels more like we belong. Since we’ve been a very successful program, I think it will be a great way to showcase what we have.”
The lack of lights in years past has also made it harder for the team to get students to show up to their games. Most of the games started at 4:15, right after school was dismissed.
“Starting our games right after school was a barrier because so many other athletes are participating at that time, so we don’t get a lot of other students to come,” Steward said. “I think that it just creates a better atmosphere for us playing under the lights.”
Hosting games later in the day also allows more time for parents to come to games, or students from other schools. The girls’ team is hoping to get more attendance from not only Liberty students, but also other schools as well.
“We’re hoping to get more community engagement, and to get more students like elementary [and] junior high students to come out to our games because one of the things we really want to do is be a staple in the community,” Steward said. “We want everyone to know that we play for them and we represent our community.”
Allie Hunter, 11, shares that having a large audience and playing under the lights is an improved environment for the players to be in.
“The lights allow us to play on our amazing grass field, during the night, and gives us more excitement and determination,” Hunter said. “There will be more of an exciting atmosphere, they [players] will be more focused, and they will be competitive.”
On practice days, six different teams would be trying to use the same fields at once. It got very hectic and was an unneeded task that coaches had to deal with.
“The practice field is often really wet and sloppy,” Steward said. “And the game field we don’t want to overuse either, so by actually being able to have later practices it allows for more of our teams to get better practice and more field space than ever before.”
Allowing students to take a break between school and practice can be a good use of time for their academics. Students could do their homework, get extra help from a teacher, or take a test right after school. Students wouldn’t have these opportunities if they had practice immediately following school.
“It would be able to give kids a break after school and sometimes we need a mental break just transitioning from school to practice,” Steward said. “So it allows them to just reset and whether it’s to reset and actually work or reset before practice and then do their homework later, it just usually adds a little bit of help.”
This change also gives athletes more time in the classroom during the day. Now the athletes won’t be constantly leaving their classrooms early.
“Our academics change a lot,” Hunter said. “It allows for more time in the classroom, so that we don’t have to get dismissed early for earlier game times.”
The next home game for the Liberty girls’ soccer team is on Tuesday, April 28, against Cedar Rapids Kennedy.
