In 1982, Linn-Mar fielded it’s first soccer team in the school’s history. Still in it’s infancy as a mainstream sport, the team was made up of both male and female athletes from both Linn-Mar and Marion High Schools, and was run as a “club sport” for the first three years. Bob Lillibridge (a Linn-Mar parent) started the team and was the first head coach and remained at the helm until 1993. In the team’s first season, it failed to win any games, but in it’s following year managed to win nearly every game.

In 1985, the team became a Varsity sport, and the team won 5 games, lost 4, and tied 1. By 1988, the team earned the title of Metro Champions. And the following season saw the first season of play in the Mississippi Valley Conference.

After the 1993 season, Coach Lillibridge passed the reigns down to his son-in-law, Tom Vogel. Coach Vogel led the team through some great years of soccer including the 1996 season where the team went undefeated in conference play, winning 13 games overall, losing 1, and tying 2. The team followed it’s success in ’97 with a District Championship.

It was during the 1990’s that club soccer began to prove it’s value in the Cedar Rapids area; early programs like Little Caesars gave Linn-Mar players the opportunity to play more often and develop their skills with other area athletes. The Lions would continue to develop it’s players during this time and team records were set, that still stand today, as it ended the 20th century.

Following the 2000 season, Coach Vogel decided to step away from soccer and hand the team over to the then assistant coach, Corey Brinkmeyer. Brinkmeyer has guided the ship since the 2001 season taking the Mens Soccer teams to new heights, much like his predecessors before him. The Lions have qualified for the State Tournament six times (2004, 2005, 2008, 2014, 2015, 2016), placing Fourth in 2014, and earning the title of Iowa State Champion, a year later, in 2015.

“We currently provide opportunities for our players to improve throughout the year, but focus on developing them from November through March, as a team. We play in THE MOST competitive conference for boys soccer in the state and it is critical that our players are active year-round, not just when the season rolls around. It makes no difference to me if we have students that play 4 sports or only focus on soccer…the goal has always been to have athletes on our teams, STUDENT-ATHLETES; I put a large focus on performance in the classroom, even above performance on the field, and hold our athletes to a higher standard.”
–Corey Brinkmeyer