Leo Gibson (born August 9, 1983) is a

Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who currently plays for and is the former head coach for the Kansas City Comets in the

MASL The Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) is a North American professional indoor soccer league. The MASL features teams playing coast-to-coast in the United States and Mexico. MASL is the highest level of arena soccer in North America. MASL players ...

Career

College

Gibson was born in

Monrovia Monrovia () is the capital city of the West African country of Liberia. Founded in 1822, it is located on Cape Mesurado on the Atlantic coast and as of the 2008 census had 1,010,970 residents, home to 29% of Liberia’s total population. As the ...

, Liberia, but came to the United States in 2002, having previously played for the Monrovia Black Star youth team in the

Liberian Premier League The Liberian First Division, formerly known as Liberian Premier League, is the highest division of football in Liberia. The first division league began in 1956 and have only once been won by a club outside Monrovia. It has been dominated by Migh ...

. He played

college soccer College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and the Philippines. The United Kingd ...

at King College in Tennessee in 2002 and 2003.

Professional

Gibson had a trial with the

Dallas Burn Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

in 2004., before eventually signing with the

Minnesota Thunder Minnesota Thunder was an American professional soccer team based in Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1990, the team played in the USL First Division (USL-1), the second tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2009. The team played its hom ...

of the

USL First Division The USL First Division (usually referred to as USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States and Canada from 2005 to 2010. During its existence, it formed the second tier of soccer in the United States soccer league system b ...

in 2005. However, a hand injury kept him from playing any games that season. He remained with the Minnesota through the end of 2008, becoming an integral part of the team in the 2006 and 2007 seasons especially. In 2007, the

California Cougars The California Cougars were an indoor soccer team, founded in 2004. The team was a charter member of the Professional Arena Soccer League (PASL-Pro), the first division of arena (indoor) soccer in North America. They played their home matches a ...

of the Major Indoor Soccer League selected Gibson with the 40th pick in the

MISL The Misls (derived from an Arabic word wikt:مثل#Etymology_3, مِثْل meaning 'equal') were the twelve sovereign states of the Sikh Confederacy, which rose during the 18th century in the Punjab region in the northern part of the Indian ...

Draft. He informed the team that he preferred to not play in California and the Cougars traded his rights to the

Detroit Ignition The Detroit Ignition were an American indoor soccer team that has played three seasons, most recently 2008–09. In April 2006, Greg Bibb, president of Hantz Group Sports and Entertainment, introduced the teams as a new Major Indoor Soccer Leag ...

on November 15, 2007 in exchange for a first round pick in the 2008 Supplemental Draft. On March 17, 2009, having been released by Minnesota, Gibson signed for the

Cleveland City Stars The Cleveland City Stars were an American professional soccer team based in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Founded in 2006, the team played in the USL First Division (USL-1), the second tier of the American Soccer Pyramid in 2009. The club fo ...

for an undisclosed transfer fee. He played 27 games and scored 2 goals for Cleveland before the club folded at the end of the season; after a brief return to indoor soccer with

Philadelphia Kixx The Philadelphia KiXX was a professional indoor soccer team based in Philadelphia, USA. The team competed as an NPSL expansion franchise and then played in the Major Indoor Soccer League. History The team's original owner was Ed Tepper, also pr ...

in 2009–10, he signed with

USL Second Division The USL Second Division (commonly referred to as USL-2) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States, operated by United Soccer Leagues (USL). It was at the third tier of soccer in the United States, behind Major League Soccer ( ...

side

Charlotte Eagles The Charlotte Eagles are an American professional soccer team based in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1991, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The team plays its home games at ...

in 2010. Gibson was signed to play in the

's return to Kansas City with the

Missouri Comets Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas to th ...

on October 16, 2010. Named the MISL’s Offensive Player of the Month in November, it was Gibson’s move to the Comets’ DEFENSIVE end on New Year’s Eve that provided the club its much-needed spark in the back. Despite playing the first seven games on offense, Gibson still tied for the team lead in blocks with 20, which tied him for 6th overall in the league. Gibson was a tenacious defender, but he was often able to find the back of the net for the Comets, finishing 8th in the league in scoring with 45 points and finishing tied for the second most 3-point goals with four. As a reward for his efforts, Gibson was named 1st Team All-MISL. Gibson was named head coach of the Comets on October 29, 2019.

Honors

;Kansas City Comets * Major Indoor Soccer League Runners-Up: 2012-13 * Major Indoor Soccer League: 2013-14 ;Individual *All-MISL First Team: 2010-11, 2012-13, 2013-14 *All-MISL Second Team: 2011-12 *

Major Arena Soccer League The Major Arena Soccer League (MASL) is a North American professional indoor soccer league. The MASL features teams playing coast-to-coast in the United States and Mexico. MASL is the highest level of arena soccer in North America. MASL players ...

MVP: 2014-15 *All-MASL First Team: 2014-15 *All-MASL Second Team: 2015-16, 2021 *All-MASL Third Team: 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20 *Ed Tepper Humanitarian of the Year: 2017-18

References

External links

Cleveland City Stars bio

Detroit Ignition bio

Minnesota Thunder bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gibson, Leo 1983 births Living people Detroit Ignition players Men's association football forwards Men's association football midfielders Liberian men's footballers Liberian expatriate men's footballers Major Indoor Soccer League (2001–2008) players Monrovia Black Star FC players Minnesota Thunder players Cleveland City Stars players Charlotte Eagles players Footballers from Monrovia USL First Division players USL Second Division players Kansas City Comets (2010–) players Philadelphia KiXX (2001–2008 MISL) players Major Indoor Soccer League (2008–2014) players Player-coaches American men's futsal players Rockford Rampage players Major Arena Soccer League coaches American soccer coaches King Tornado men's soccer players Major Arena Soccer League players Men's association football player-managers