The Pointer UW-Stevens Point Student Newspaper
In celebration of its 100-year-anniversary, the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) will recognize the milestone with a number of activities and events, distinguishing student-athletes and coaches who have contributed to the success of the most accomplished Division III conference in NCAA history.
One event hitting home at the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point will be the naming of WIAC all-time coaches.
With a mile-long list of accomplishments, Sheila Miech, the UWSP women’s soccer coach since 1987, has been announced the Women’s Soccer all-time coach.
“I first found out about the award from a student in my class who heard it on the sports channel the evening before. I wasn’t even sure what my student was talking about until I came home and read it in the paper that evening,” Miech said.
This isn’t Miech’s first time being acknowledged for her superior coaching. Last season she earned the WIAC Coach of the Year award for the ninth time in the 19-year history of the league. She is also a three time Division III Central Region Coach of the Year, last receiving the award in 2000 when the Pointers qualified for the Division III Final Four.
Lauryn Semling, a senior defender on the women’s soccer team, speaks highly of Miech’s countless years of success here at UWSP.
“She has all the components needed to make college soccer fun and enjoyable for everyone involved, and really makes it more of a family than a team, all while we win championships. When a team is having fun and getting along while having talent on their side, it is hard to stop them,” Semling said.
“Soccer goes under the radar sometimes so many people don’t understand just how great our program truly is, and we owe it all to her. She has built it with the help of her assistants and her players,” Semling continues.
Miech is just the second female coach in any division of NCAA women’s soccer to reach 200 career victories and lose just 12 regular season matches in the 20-year history of the league. She has won 14 conference championships and led the Pointers through the longest conference winning streak in NCAA history with 70 straight WIAC wins from 1997 to 2003.
“Some of my favorite things about Sheila are her dedication, love and passion. She has willingness like a mother figure and will do anything for her players. She is accommodating and open to change, which is respectable because sometimes coaches get stuck to their ways and don’t like to try new things,” Semling said.
In March, Miech will become the first female inductee into the Wisconsin Soccer Coaches Association Hall of Fame. The WIAC will honor her at an awards banquet on Aug. 4, 2012 at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, WI.
“I have an incredible amount of respect for her and she will always be someone I look up to. I can’t thank her enough for everything she has done for me and taught me,” Semling said.
Emma St. Aubin
astau255@uwsp.edu
