Nyah Biegler commits to play soccer at Eastern Illinois University
By FRED KRONER
Nyah Biegler found herself at a crossroads before she found herself behind the wheel of an automobile.
Entering Mahomet-Seymour High School as a freshman in the fall of 2017, Biegler was an accomplished soccer player who had competed in the sport for more than half of her life.
She doesn’t remember her first birthday, but there is video to support the story she was told.
“I took my first step on my first birthday with a soccer ball,” Biegler said.
She had been a part of Olympic Development programs as well as elite travel teams. Before that, she said, “I started competitive rec soccer when I was six-years old.”
And yet, here she was, a high school freshman who was accustomed to traveling to Indianapolis three times a week for practice.
“On the weekends, I had games in D.C. or North Carolina,” Biegler said.
She knew her way around a soccer field, but she wasn’t certain that was a path she wanted to continue following.
“It got a little overwhelming and I got a little burnt out,” she said. “Soccer was my most prominent sport, but it was too much.
“I couldn’t balance my social life. I was training all the time.”
Biegler found herself in the crosshairs of a dilemma: should she continue as she had been, leave it behind completely or seek a middle ground.
“I needed a break,” she said, “and time to re-evaluate. Originally (upon entering high school), I did not want to play in college.”
Her parents, Heather and Neil Biegler, were both supportive and understanding.
“She was missing friendships at school and near home,” Heather Biegler said. “It is difficult finding the right balance.
“Nyah was always a talented soccer player and we wanted to create opportunities for her to excel with professional coaching and high-level competition, but we also wanted her to be a balanced kid.”
The teen-ager opted to leave the Indiana Fire program, which had been her soccer home for 2 ½ years.
She hooked up with a club team in St. Louis as a freshman before joining the M-S high school program in the spring of 2018.
As a sophomore, she reduced her travel time even more, switching to the Bloomington-based Illinois Fire where her father, Neil Biegler, is one of the assistant coaches.
“It was time to back off the travel,” Heather Biegler said. “She loved playing high school soccer and pickup games with the boys’ team.
“Something about the camaraderie of her schoolmates, maybe even a little of the recognition from her community, helped reignite her passion for the game.”
Nyah Biegler was an All-Area second-team selection as a freshman after scoring seven goals and assisting teammates on 10 other goals. As a high school sophomore, she was an All-Area first-team choice after registering seven goals and 12 assists.
Her position could best be described as “soccer player.” Through the years, the 5-foot-11 Biegler has been used as an outside midfielder, a center-back, a defensive midfielder, a forward and as a center-attacker.
“I float throughout where they need me,” she said.
“We honestly didn’t care if she played ball at all,” Heather Biegler added. “I think most parents with children in club sports recognize they aren’t going to recoup the money and time invested with free college.
“We just love seeing her doing something she enjoys, and it had given her confidence, leadership abilities, and taught her to be an encouraging teammate. She also manages her time much more wisely when she is busy.”
Nyah Biegler began seeing signs of self-improvement which had nothing to do with her athletic career.
“I used to be super-shy, probably until the middle of junior high,” she said. “Now, it’s absolutely the opposite.
“I don’t know how that happened other than talking to coaches on the phone and at camps. I was presented with a lot of opportunities to meet new people and I developed communication skills with adults. I gained a lot of things.”
Heather Biegler is making strides, too, though she finds some habits are hard to break.
“Nyah was always pretty quiet,” Heather Biegler said. “I remember as a little girl, we weren’t allowed to cheer for her because she hated the attention.
“We were only allowed to give her a thumbs up. I’ll catch myself to this day still giving a thumbs up like I’m the Fonz (from Happy Days) or something.”
Throughout the transition period of cutting back, Nyah Biegler followed up on a suggestion from her parents to attend ID camps, which are hosted on various college campuses as a way for coaches to further critique prospects.
She estimates that she has attended more than two dozen of the identification camps since starting her high school career.
“It’s hard putting yourself out there when there is the possibility you could be rejected,” Nyah Biegler said.
And, as she has discovered, there are chances to be embraced and welcomed, too. Even though she has two years of her high school career left to play, Biegler had received four scholarship offers.
In December, she attended an identification camp at Eastern Illinois University, in Charleston, along with about 30 other high schoolers.
“I had a good camp,” Nyah Biegler said. “I liked the coaches and I liked the (EIU) players, but I wasn’t expecting anything.”
She had been to a camp at EIU previously, but wasn’t a recruiting target.
“They weren’t recruiting my grade yet,” he said.
This time, however, the EIU coaching staff extended a scholarship offer, and the teen-ager decided to put an end to a recruiting process that she wasn’t sure two years earlier she wanted to even go though.
“It was actually the perfect fit,” she said. “I loved it there.”
Biegler gave a verbal commitment to the Panthers.
She plans to major in biology as a pre-med major and hopes to follow in the footsteps of her father and grandfather (Jerry Foster) and become an anesthesiologist.
Soccer has been the vehicle to her future and the trip is one Heather Biegler won’t soon forget.
“I enjoyed my time in the car driving with Nyah,” Heather Biegler said. “We got vital one-on-one time and I enjoyed learning about my daughter.
“After she finished her homework in the car, we listened to books, music or talked for hours every week. I cherished that time.
“As my other two children (now ages 14 and 10) became more involved in sports, it became more difficult to manage. Now, I miss that time.”
Biegler’s junior season at M-S will start – weather permitting – on March 19 with a home match against Bloomington.
For her, there is always a next step.
“I would like to continue getting better and take us to state,” she said.
