By Chuck Reherman
Sports Editor
Myka Heimbach has receieved several awards for her play on the soccer field.
She added one more this past week for both the field and classroom.
Heimbach has been named a United Soccer Coaches High School Scholar All-American for the 2018-19 school year.
Heimbach was one of only 64 female players across the country to receive the award and the only one from the state of Oklahoma. She was also only one of four that were selected to the honor for the midwest part of the six-state area (Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas.
It was another first for Heimbach and Yukon High School. She was named to the All-Region team for the 2017-2018 school year. Heimbach finished her high school academic career with a 4.0 grade point average. She just missed being named to the All-American team despite scoring 33 goal her senior season. She was also named to the Scholar All-Region team.
“I feel very honored,” Heimbach said. “I am amazed at being named to the award. I knew he (former YHS head coach Steve Scott) was going through all the steps for the award, but I didn’t think that I would actually get it,” she said. “So it is really awesome to be named to the award.”
The scholar All-American award is one of the toughest to earn since an athlete has to put in the time in the classroom as well as on the pitch.
“This is one of the top two awards a player can get,” Scott, who coached Heimbach all four years, said. Scott broke the news to Heimbach the day the honors were announced.
“You have to have both criteria to be named to the scholar team,” he said. “You have to have the academic excellence as well as being an excellent player on the field.
“You can’t be just one or the other,” he said. “And, it counts for all eight semesters, not just this past year. We had to call to get her eighth semester added, because the deadline was going to be close. They look at cumulative grade point and where you rank in your class (all seniors across the country). We were able to get the full eight semesters in by the deadline.
“In the seventh semester, she was in the top 15 percent, but when we got her eighth semester she was in the top 10 percent (it was actually in the top eight percent).”
With the seventh semester in she was 10.5 percent, but the eighth semester moved her up 2.5 points.
“My dad and I were looking at it and he said since it was 10.5 I couldn’t say I was in the top to perecent,” Heimbach said. “When I got that one and it was eight, I said, guess what, I’m in the top 10 percent
“It is very cool to finish in the top 10 percent across the country,” she said. “
Heimbach will get to attend the United Soccer Coaches Association national banquet during their annual convention and be recognized in January in Baltimore, MD.
“I am excited to get to attend the banquet,” have never been up there,” Heimbach said. “I should be a neat experience.”
Heimbach, who finished her high school career scoring 84 goals, is headed to Northeastern State University in Tahleuqah this fall.
