Sports : Former Viking player McAbee to coach his first varsity game tonight

Kyle McAbee will coach his first varsity soccer game tonight, leading VS at Western Dubuque.

Editor’s Note: This is the second in a series featuring Vinton-Shellsburg athletes and coaches who are continuing to pass lessons about life and sports to young players. Today, we meet Kyle McAbee, who will coach his first high school varsity soccer game tonight.

A member of the very first Vinton-Shellsburg varsity boys soccer team has returned to become its coach.

“I started playing soccer in 4th grade,” says Kyle McAbee, a 2012 graduate. “I played for Heartland soccer club my freshman year of high school.”

McAbee became part of the first VS boys soccer team in Vinton in 2012, playing goalie. He later played at Coe College for a season.

“My favorite memory from my Viking career were probably the practices in high school because of how close the team was. We all got along pretty well and just had a good time playing soccer,” he says.

McAbee began coaching AYSO players when he was a sophomore in high school.

“Then when I graduated I came back and was an assistant coach under Tim Kearney in 2013. Now I'm a first year head coach in Vinton. My favorite memory coaching was upsetting #2-ranked CPU in 2013,” he says.

Now a coach, McAbee says the things he remembers most from his high school coaches were actions, not words.

“I would say the best coaching advice I've gotten is that all the coaches I had in high school set a really good example for me to follow – from coach Lyle and Boisen in football to Coach Kearney in soccer. They all had their own coaching style, so I took a little bit from each of their coaching styles and applied it to my own.”

McAbee leads the Vikings to Western Dubuque for their season opener tonight and looks forward to a successful season.

"I'm really happy with how the boys played in their scrimmage against Denver last week," he says. "The seniors have really stepped up and lead the team and the underclassmen have really done well in filling their roles, as well. I've really enjoyed getting to know the guys and coaching them so far."

See the Viking soccer schedule/score page HERE.