![Watching a small group scrimmage, Ben Lundt, St. Louis City SC goalkeeper and founder of Lundt Pro Soccer Training, shouts words of encouragement to players on Sunday, April 26 n the Lafayette grass soccer field. “The idea behind [the event] was to bring the professional soccer players closer to the community because usually people only get to see us on TV or in the stadium. [Families] actually having the opportunity to have their kids on the field with us is the most important aspect,” Ben Lundt said.](https://lancerfeed.press/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/IMG_6823-1200x800.jpg)
![In celebration of winning his second straight state title in the 215 weight class, junior Carter Brown backflips before leaving the mat. Brown won his bout against junior Kobe Rhymes of North Kansas City High School by fall in just 41 seconds. "Carter does what Carter does. We expect [success] out of him and his goals are bigger than the state championship," coach Sam Ritchie said.](https://lancerfeed.press/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/IMG_2784-1200x800.jpg)
On Sunday, April 26, St. Louis City SC goalkeeper Ben Lundt and his wife Mekenzie, founders of Lundt Pro Soccer Training, hosted their inaugural session on Lafayette’s grass soccer field.
The three hour camp consisted of four separate stations with each coach: goalkeeping, defending, passing and attacking. After the training ended, the kids in attendance were able to have a meet-and-greet and get autographs from the players. Attendees also had the opportunity to enjoy a complimentary latte or lemonade from Coma Coffee Roasters at the end of the camp.
Along with Ben, St. Louis City’s forward Simon Becher and defenders Timo Baumgartl and Tomas Totland were in attendance as coaches.
“We’ve played soccer our whole lives, so now being in a coaching role is really fun. Actually bringing [soccer] to the kids and giving them a bit of our knowledge is very impactful and meaningful,” Ben said.
Creating the organization has been an important mission for the Lundt family, with their main focus being on expanding coaching accessibility for kids in the community.
“Kids might not have access to professional coaching, [so] we are working with the community, being super flexible, and ultimately, getting them in touch with the professional athletes in their town,” Mekenzie said.
Having recently moved into the area in December, the Lundt family was familiar with Lafayette, which encouraged them to choose the high school as the host site.
“When we were reaching out, the [Lafayette] facility and usage staff was super helpful, so we realized that we wanted to do our first event here,” Mekenzie said.
Additionally, Ben hopes to share his knowledge of playing soccer on the collegiate and professional level to kids aspiring to become professional soccer players themselves.
“I played club soccer, I played college soccer in the United States [and] I played professional soccer in the United States, so giving that knowledge to kids on the field is something I never had [growing up],” Ben Lundt said.
According to the Lundt Pro Soccer Training’s website, small group goalkeeper training sessions cost $75 per athlete, and the larger camp sessions with St. Louis City coaches are $160 per athlete. Small group goalkeeper sessions at Babler Elementary are for kids ages 8 to 12 and 13 to 17, with roughly six spots available per session.
Along with Lundt Pro Soccer Training’s efforts, St. Louis City as an organization has established six mini-pitches, small hard courts pitches designed for soccer, across the St. Louis area, with their most recent installment being at the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Center in East St. Louis on Nov. 21, 2025.
CITY Futures, a free youth soccer development program run by St. Louis City, utilizes these mini-pitches to provide more training opportunities for all kids in the St. Louis community.
“The mini-pitches serve as an important extension of the club’s CITY Futures platform, providing children and adults access to play in spaces that will instill hope and foster well-being,” said the organization in an article published on Wednesday, Aug. 16, 2023.
Lundt Pro Soccer Training will host their next camp event on Sunday, June 14, to celebrate the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup this summer at Sogility Training Facility in St. Charles for kids ages 5 to 16.
