MSUB SPORTS – For nearly six months as a 16-year-old, Niklas Schregel was sidelined from the soccer pitch.
 
"I just grew too fast," the Montana State University Billings men's soccer senior said with a smile.
 
Sprouting up to his current stature of 6-foot-4, the Freialdenhoven, Germany native didn't let the time away from the game he loved or his drastic change in height alter his approach to the sport.
 
One glance at Schregel might suggest an authoritative center back, one who could command the back line and aerial unit for his side. Without his uniform, the label of goalkeeper on his sheer physical presence alone doesn't seem too farfetched.
 
But despite being the second-tallest player listed on any roster in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, Schregel plays perhaps the most technical position on the pitch as a holding midfielder.
 
He's an artist on the ball, turning in tight quarters as well as anybody and reeling in seemingly awry passes with the most delicate of touches. Schregel gallops from goal box to goal box with long, graceful strides, spinning his way around defenders in the attacking third and using his figure to overpower attackers sniffing out a shot towards goal.
 
"Because of his technical ability, you could put him anywhere," said MSUB head coach Alex Balog. "It doesn't happen very often at our level that you get to work with a player who has those attributes. He has great vision, can pick out a pass, and that is why we want him playing at the center of the park."
 
In the 62nd match of his career last Saturday, Schregel came through with one of his most brilliant touches on the ball since emerging as a starter during his freshman year in the fall of 2014. With the score tied 1-1 in the 67th minute at Seattle Pacific University, Schregel strode past his defender inside the goal box and ran onto a low cross at the far post by Victor Sanchez from the right side of the field.
 
In one symphonic touch of coordination, Schregel's right foot collided with the Nike Ordem match ball and drilled it into the back of the net from four yards away.


 
All Schregel has done in his career is score goals in dramatic moments, with all seven of his career scores coming in matches decided by one goal or less. His first career goal, which came on Oct. 2, 2014 against the University of Mary, was a game-winner in a 2-1 victory for the 'Jackets. Last Saturday's was his third game-winning goal overall and second against SPU, after his decisive touch led MSUB to a 1-0 triumph over the Falcons on Oct. 22, 2016 at Yellowjacket Field.
 
Niklas Schregel Career Goals

Date	Opponent	Minute	Result
*10/2/14	University of Mary	58	W 2-1
9/4/15	CSU San Marcos	28	T 1-1
10/1/15	at Concordia (Ore.)	66	T 3-3
10/15/16	Northwest Nazarene	4	L 4-3
*10/22/16	Seattle Pacific	50	W 1-0
9/2/17	Dixie State	41	L 2-1
*10/21/17	at Seattle Pacific	67	W 2-1

 *-Denotes Game-Winner
 
Producing offensively in big moments from a defensive position on the field has made Schregel an invaluable part of MSUB's squad over the last four seasons. Everything from his demonstrative presence to his keen touch on the ball is a product of his upbringing, and the creative family he was raised within.
 
FROM A FAMILY OF ARTISTS TO AMERICA

 
Schregel grew up in the small German town of Siersdorf, where he was an active child among the 3,000-some inhabitants. Soccer commanded much of Schregel's attention, and his older brother Dominic was a major influence on his playing style as a kid. "He is a really good soccer player technically, maybe even better than me," Schregel commented on his brother.

His parents Birgit and Michael Schregel weren't the first to find out when their youngest son made the cut on a Bundesliga club team when he was nine years old, but Schregel's casual interest in the game soon developed into his biggest passion. "I was a striker growing up, but started playing in the midfield more around the U16 level," Schregel remembered. "I just loved to be everywhere on the field and be free, and the role I have now as the Number 8 is to go box-to-box and have the whole field in front of me."
 

Michael's craft as a performing musician in local bands trickled down to his sons. Schregel has always been around music, often times repeating out English song lyrics as a young child despite not learning the language until fifth grade. His voice has always been his primary instrument, but Schregel is a fast-learning guitarist as his brother-in-law Sascha began teaching him a skill with his hands five years ago.
 
Schregel has even tried his hand on stage with his father's band, contributing as a background vocalist and guitarist. "I would always sing when I was around my dad growing up," Schregel explained. "I have performed a few songs by myself now, but I want to get better and start to have some gigs on my own."
 
The stage beckons Schregel each time he returns to Germany, but he has also found a creative synergy with his teammates and fellow athletes at MSUB. During the Yellowjackets' visit to Team IMPACT member Sebastien Easton's house for dinner during the 2016 preseason, Schregel and then-freshman Ignacio Crespo teamed up on a version of John Lennon's 'Imagine' that wowed the crowd.


 
Schregel's innate creativity – both on the field and off – are traits that Balog values highly during the recruiting process. "Niklas is someone whose interests go far beyond soccer, and he is very intelligent," said Balog. "He is a very talented young man and has a personality that people find attractive. He is part of our leadership committee, and his teammates listen to what he's got to say. He has really embraced our way of running the program." 

The first trip to America for Schregel wasn't until he set out for his freshman season at MSUB in the fall of 2014. He was a late addition to the Yellowjackets'

roster, but the talent he displayed was far too much for Balog to glaze over just months before the season began. "I remember everything about it," said Balog on his introduction to Schregel at a showcase in Germany early in 2014. "He was one of the best players at the showcase, and he was attracting interest from a lot of schools. I spoke with him and didn't hear back for a while, but he got in touch later in the process and we found a way to make it work."
 
Three years later Schregel has progressed into his current role as team captain, a far cry from his timid arrival as a freshman. "It was a different culture coming here, but it was nice having two guys from Germany on the team," Schregel commented on fellow senior Tom Lohmann and 2016 senior Julian Toenges. "They already each had a year in the U.S. so they helped me out a lot with their experiences." 

Though Schregel's nerves may have shown in his first few weeks in Billings, the soccer player within emerged in time for the beginning of the season. Schregel started the first match of his freshman year and played all 120 minutes in a 2-2 double-overtime draw against Upper Iowa, and went on to start 13 games while playing in 16 of 18 in his debut campaign.
 

A summer back in Germany only yielded a higher caliber version of himself entering his sophomore season, as Schregel again hit the ground running and scored in his first game of the 2015 season in a 1-1 draw against Cal State San Marcos. By the middle of the season, the 'Jackets were positioned well at 4-2-2 in the conference standings with a big home match on the calendar against Concordia University on Oct. 17, 2015.
 
Schregel's second goal of the year had been crucial in securing a point in a 3-3 draw at Concordia earlier that fall, but a rapid sequence of events the second time around against CU would come to alter his career permanently. Trailing 2-1 in the 56th minute, a red card issued to the 'Jackets dimmed the likelihood of a comeback even further as their side was reduced to 10 men.
 
Less than 10 minutes later, Schregel's sophomore season came to an abrupt and alarming halt, his body collapsing to the turf and his hands grasping his right knee. "Every player is scared of that injury, but I never thought it would happen to me," Schregel commented on what ended up being a torn ACL. "When it happened I kind of knew right away, but I was scared to think about it." 

GROWTH ON THE ROAD TO RECOVERY
 
The 'Jackets went on to win against all odds that brisk October afternoon, thanks to a miraculous second-half hat trick by sophomore Ricardo Palomino. The emotional win was dulled by Schregel's gut as he watched from the sideline, icing his injured knee but knowing the final five matches of the year would be played without his presence.
 
With two months before he would return to Germany at the end of the semester, Schregel relied on his teammates and friends in Billings during the most trying time of his injury immediately after surgery. The basement hallways of MSUB's Physical Education building became Schregel's new training ground, as he chipped away at monotonous and painful band exercises to regain strength in his powerful dominant leg.
 
"In the beginning my whole muscle was gone, and I had to rebuild everything," Schregel remembered.

 
He credits MSUB athletic trainer Tom Ebel in aiding his return to the field, as his rehabilitation regimen was split between his spring in the U.S. and the following summer in Germany. "Tom helped me a lot, and he wants the best for you when you're hurt," Schregel said. "He helped me plan how to do my rehab when I was in Germany, and he helped me get back to where I was before with normal running form again." 

Schregel spent the ensuing months focusing dually on returning to the field healthy by the time the fall season started, and adjusting his mindset to grow into the leader his team would need him to be by his junior season. "The fact that Niklas became stronger mentally helped him get through that injury," Balog said. "He didn't put too much pressure on himself, but he took great strides during his recovery. He was diligent with his exercises, and what we have gotten out of him since he has returned is a better player year-by-year."
 
Without a setback, Schregel made a determined return to the field in Game 1 of the 2016 season, and covered 1,191 minutes while playing in all 18 matches. Perhaps his signature moment of the year was the game-winner against the Falcons, which kept MSUB's hopes for an unprecedented postseason berth alive with a record of 8-4-3 on Oct. 22.


 
Now in his second season since enduring one of soccer's most difficult injuries, Schregel has begun to reflect on his experience at MSUB over the last four seasons. "It has meant a lot from me to come over from Germany and have this experience," Schregel said. "It took me a while to adapt in the beginning, but I grew a lot, became more independent, and started doing a lot more things on my own. Coach and I have a really good relationship, and he managed to make me into a better person."
 
WHERE THE WIND BLOWS 
"Ich kann dir nicht sagen, wohin es jetzt geht, und woher der Wind weht, ich bin kein Wetterprophet." – 'Wetterprophet' by Stoppok. ("I cannot tell you, where it is now, and where the wind blows, I'm no weather prophet.")
 
Four matches remain in the career of Niklas Schregel, three of which will be at home starting Thursday as the Yellowjackets host No. 9 Simon Fraser University at 3 p.m.
 
Birgit and Michael will surely be watching from some 5,000 miles away, as the son who got his competitive edge started as a go-kart racer puts the finishing touches on a magnificent career defined by perseverance and consistency. "They have been supporters of me since I was young racing cars with my dad," Schregel commented on his parents. "My mom didn't like it; she thought it was too risky. They both helped me a lot to not be satisfied and keep working hard. Even coming here to America they were supportive of me and helped me focus on the important things."
 
Schregel is working on his degree in business management, and plans to return to Germany as he wraps up college in the United States. He will look forward to singing songs with his family by Stoppok, their favorite Germany artist. Schregel doesn't know exactly where he'll wind up, but to steal a line from one of Stoppok's most famous songs, 'Wetterprophet,' he'll go 'where the wind blows' like he did four years ago when it led him to MSUB.
 
"When I came to the U.S. from Europe, I didn't know I would be in Billings but I had a lot of expectations about college life," Schregel said. "The people here have been very nice and humble, and that was something that I didn't really expect in the very beginning. The thing that stands out most to me is everything we have done over time with Trevor and Sebastien. Those were things that don't have to do with soccer that I didn't expect at first, but I am really glad I experienced them. It makes you appreciate some things a lot more."