Makylie Miller is one of five seniors and a captain on a potent Aberdeen Central girls’ soccer team.
The Golden Eagles wrapped up their regular season with a 10-1-1 regular season record following a win over Mitchell on Tuesday and are gearing up for the Class AA playoffs beginning Tuesday.
Miller is in her fourth year on the varsity, her third season as a starter. One difference between past seasons and this year’s campaign is that Miller plays a different position, which carries a different role and responsibility on the field.
Because of her ball skills, controlled first touch and poised distribution, Central coach Merle Aske decided to bring Miller up from the back line of the defense into the midfield for her senior season, converting Miller from a center back to a central defensive midfielder.
“With the move from center back to the defensive midfield, she is able to get herself into the attack a lot more, so we are able to utilize her both on offense and defense,” Aske said.
While Miller still maintains defensive responsibilities, she is able to use her combination of speed and control on the ball to establish an attack from the midfield and stay further up the field as she is no longer the last line of defense.
“Now that I am more up the field, I need to have an attacking mindset even though I am still a defensive midfielder,” Miller said. “I enjoy getting up the field and being a part of the attack.”
Miller and the rest of the senior class bring a wealth of regular season success and playoff experience to the squad. From 2019 through the current season, the Eagles hold a combined record of 47-7-3 and have advanced to at least the quarterfinals of the playoffs every season, including a championship game appearance in 2019. They fell in the semifinals last season. With that resume, the group knows what it takes to be amongst the best in the state.
While Central returned Taryn Hettich, who served as a captain last year, Aske decided to appoint Miller as a captain as well.
“We made Makylie a captain because of not only her work ethic, but she is also one of the nicest kids we have on the team,” Aske said. “She is willing to help out anyone on the team with any questions or concerns. She wants to be the best that she can be, but she also wants everybody else to have that same opportunity.”
For a program to maintain success from year-to-year, the upperclassmen need to instill winning values into the younger players. With strong leadership from past Central players, Miller learned how to establish a winning culture.
“Now that I have gotten older, I have realized that we will only go as far as us captains push the other players,” Miller said. “When I was younger, I got to watch the other captains on the team push us through and get us to state, so this year I want to give it my all since these are my last games coming up.”
One of the lessons Miller learned from past captains is how to push teammates in practice, which is an important tenant for a leader under Aske’s coaching style. Aske stresses the importance of treating drills like in-game situations by wanting players to put pressure on teammates who possess the ball so then each individual player is accustomed to duress during the game.
Miller has been at the forefront of bringing the intensity to training sessions dating back to preseason workouts to prepare the team for the season, and most importantly, the upcoming matchups against quality opponents in the state playoffs.
“As she has developed as a player, she has developed as a leader as well,” Aske said. “The seniors this year do a really good job of setting the example for the younger players, and Makylie has been doing that for a couple of years. When she’s on the field, she is giving 100 percent and she has the skills to be able to win the ball even in adversity.”
