Austin Peay is a Division I school located in Clarksville, Tennessee. The Governors compete in the Atlantic Sun Conference. Photo provided.
Emily Steiner helped the Bulldogs reach the district final twice throughout her high school career. Photo provided.
Photo provided.
The SBAAC American Division Player of the Year in girls soccer has found her home at the next level.
Batavia senior Emily Steiner recently made her commitment to Austin Peay official. She will join a Division I program that competes in the Atlantic Sun Conference. The school is located in Clarksville, Tennessee.
For Steiner, choosing Austin Peay came down to wanting to go to a school that felt like home.
“When I went for my visit, the players and the coaches made me feel wanted. They wanted me to go there, and I didn’t feel that with other schools. I also met with an academic advisor, and they seemed like they really help the athletes. The campus was beautiful. Everything about it just pulled me to the school,” Steiner described.
Steiner tallied 19 goals and 11 assists during her senior season, ranking second in the SBAAC in both categories. But her success didn’t just magically happen. She has worked year-round at her game, competing for multiple club teams through the years, most recently playing for Kings Hammer.
Competing at the Division I level in any sport requires a year-round, all-in commitment level. She is ready to make that commitment and already has made it throughout her entire career up until this point.
“I’ve always enjoyed playing soccer every day. Some people don’t want to practice every day, a couple times a day, but I’m ready for that. I’m prepared. I know that I’m gonna have to do that, and like my dad has been telling me, I’m going to have to work extra hard. All these girls are good, not just one of them, not just two of them, all of them are and I’m really going to have to rise. I plan on doing extra workouts, doing extra practices, just so I can try to get that starting spot.”
Drew Poling just wrapped up his 12th season as Batavia’s head coach, and Steiner is the first Division I player the Bulldogs have had in his tenure. He says that she has displayed a model work ethic throughout her time as a Bulldog.
“She basically sets the standard for what our athletes should want to achieve. Her work rate is top level, her desire to win everything {is top level}. She worked at it far greater than any other athlete that I’ve had. {Our} practice time was 4:30-6:30, but then she set her own practice times beyond that. She would work on her craft outside of our normal practice,” Poling explained.
Steiner leaves quite the legacy behind at Batavia, highlighted by two district final appearances, with the second one coming this fall.
She hopes that she and her teammates inspired future Bulldogs with the success they had.
“I feel like {we’ve been} role models. Yeah we might go to a small school, but we can still end up somewhere big, or you can still do what you want to do, as long as you work at it.”