Bently Lieberum Preparing for Youth Pro Bowl

TIONESTA, Pa. (EYT) – West Forest Elementary fifth grader Bently Lieberum was recently selected as a Youth Pro Bowl All-Star for 2022.

(Photos courtesy of Heather Nulph.)

The ten-year-old tailback, who played this fall for the AC-Valley/Keystone youth football program of the ABC Youth League, will be playing in the sixth annual event that features youth football players from all over the United States. The 2021 festivities and game were held in Florida, but in 2022, the Youth Pro Bowl will be held in Las Vegas, Nevada, from February 3 through February 6.

To help with some of the costs of training and the trip to Las Vegas, Bently and his family have organized a fundraiser through Poppin Popcorn that allows those interested in donating to purchase a collection of food items including chocolates, popcorn, snacks and candy, and cheese and sausage. The fundraiser also has a link for people to donate to the trip if they are not interested in any of the food items for purchase.

Lieberum received the official news back on October 13 and wasted little time to start training for next February’s game. He is in his second week of preparation and has trained alongside 12- to 14-year-old athletes at D1 Training North Pittsburgh in Cranberry Township to help push himself to an even higher level. He is slated to head to the Greater Pittsburgh area twice a week until late January 2022.

The 2021 campaign saw Lieberum break his arm but continue to play football through the injury. He recorded double-digit touchdowns and four two-point conversions on the season. Despite the injury, he was selected as an ABC League All-Star and will be playing in the game on November 13.

Though football is his number one sport, Lieberum also wrestles during the winter and plays baseball during the spring and summer months. For a ten year old, he has become an impressive athlete, and sports have really helped him make strides in his personal life.

“In the second grade, he was diagnosed with autism,” Bently’s mother Tiffany Miller explained. “He has really come a long way, and since beginning sports, he has really opened up and become more independent. Now, he is starting to break out and be able to adapt and train at different places. He has definitely had to work a little bit harder than some other athletes to overcome this.”

January 31, 2022, will be the official check-in for the Youth Pro Bowl as the teams will practice for a few days to get ready for a few days filled with activities and competition.

“This is something really exciting for a small-town kid with big football dreams,” Miller said. These sort of things do not really happen too much in small towns like Tionesta. I could not be more proud and also thankful for the support from his youth football team.”

Bently Lieberum has already overcome a great deal of adversity in his young life, but his hard work and perseverance have allowed him to put his skills to the test next February in contests that garner national attention.