North Platte Kids Klub Launches After-School Soccer Program

NORTH PLAT, Nebraska (KNOP) – Graeme Eaglesham grew up in Scotland where football was free. After that, he got a scholarship and went to the United States. After he realized that the United States had a “pay to play” model when it came to kids’ sports, he wanted to change that.

Eaglesham began helping out at the football club, but soon found that children were being excluded from playing because their parents could not afford the hefty costs involved in children’s sports.

Eaglesham and a few of his friends started the group Future Kids in North Omaha as a way to reach out to a community of kids who may not have the money to play sports but want to.

In addition to providing passionate coaches who care about the kids who participate in the games, Future Kids schedules games and creates teams for these kids to play together.

Future Kids offers its services free of charge to parents and children and is instead supported solely by donations and grants.

Eaglesham wanted to expand its operations out of Omaha, and for some time had expanded into Lincoln and other areas.

In January, Eaglesham began teaching kids how to play soccer as an after-school kids club activity at Cody Elementary School in North Platte.

He hopes to expand to other schools and offer summer camps in the future so he can share his passion for football with the next generation.

“If my parents in Scotland had to pay me $1000 for the season, I might not be who I am because in my home country of Scotland, they tell me everything I know about football. I’ve had the privilege of having some great coaches,” Eaglesham said. “And I feel it’s my duty to pass it on. That’s why I started Future Kids so that people can experience that type of coaching and hopefully take it with them.” to make sure.”

Future Kids already teaches kids in Kearny and Lexington, and North Platte is now the westernmost point the group operates.

Kids Klub Director Carrie Lienemann was thrilled to have Eaglesham come to North Platte and share his skills with the community.

“Graeme and I started Zooming with each other and it felt like a perfect fit,” says Lienemann. “We love football here so much that he came and let our kids be exposed to a part of it and the mentorship that comes with some of it along their program is what their mission is for me. It seemed like a no-brainer for them to come and do this because it fit perfectly with our after-school mission.

Copyright 2023 KNOP. All rights reserved.