2024 All-Area Girls' Soccer Player of the Year: Kaiser 'epitome of what Centennial soccer is'

Jun. 15—CHAMPAIGN — A freshman stood above the rest as Thair Al-Saqri looked toward building his first Centennial girls' soccer team roster three years ago.

Al-Saqri had heard rumblings about this "tall freshman" with the initials P.K. First from some of the players on the Chargers' boys' soccer team who had watched her showcase her skills on the field. Al-Saqri soon learned the name of the freshman earning such plaudits: Payton Kaiser.

Kaiser had recently arrived from Florida before her freshman year of high school with her father Jay taking a job on Bret Bielema's Illinois football coaching staff as the director of college personnel and the program's NFL liaison. The family had lived in Florida during much of Payton's childhood prior to the move to east central Illinois, with her dad working for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Miami Dolphins.

The three years that have followed saw Payton Kaiser develop into the face of Centennial girls' soccer as a midfielder with her junior season the culmination of that process, as Kaiser — The News-Gazette's All-Area girls' soccer Player of the Year for the 2024 season — finished with 13 goals and 10 assists for the Chargers.

Centennial had a breakthrough season this spring, as well, posting a 12-9-1 record before losing 3-1 to Champaign Central in a Class 2A regional championship match.

"From day one, she never let up and was basically treating every practice like it was our last practice," Al-Saqri said. "And when a coach or someone sees that, you're like, 'Wow, this girl has something special.' ... She's just been building and building every year, and it's just the growth is exponential with Payton. I've never looked at a girl and was like, 'This is a girl that deserves to play Division I soccer (in college). She has it, without a doubt. She was the girl that other teams would have to plan for playing. And we could really build our team around Peyton as a freshman."

"When a freshman comes to a team, everyone's like, 'Oh, she's a freshman. I'm not going to listen to her.' Her freshman year, her game spoke for itself. ... The team followed her lead, which as a freshman, is hard to accomplish. But it just spoke volumes by how she not just led by example but how she led as an overall person, too."

Getting her start in soccer

Where Kaiser's origins in soccer can be traced to is a passion ignited by her older brother, Karson. That Karson is one year older allowed Payton to see the game through his perspective, and the younger sibling quickly became hooked on the sport after she started playing it when she was 4 years old. While Karson gravitated toward several different sports — among them football in following his dad's sports interest — Payton made soccer her full-time focus athletically.

Payton found an outlet for that love affair with the game in the highly competitive travel soccer scene in Florida, getting her start there at age 7.

"That competitiveness, I mean, every sport has that, but a lot of people think soccer is just running, but it's more than running," Kaiser said. "I think also, the teammates made me fall in love with it, too. And so many different coaches, and just learning so many different things. The more I developed, the more I fell in love with it."

What Payton has learned along the way is the benefit sports can bring. She's looked at each move her family has made — Jay and wife Camille sat their kids down at an early age and explained to them that the nature of Jay's work might lead to the family having to uproot their lives at times — as an opportunity.

In that regard, Payton has taken full advantage of her three years in C-U.

"It was difficult moving (from Florida)," Payton said. "Knowing what I was leaving behind was really hard. But I mean, immediately when I started soccer, I started making friends, and then made so many friends just through my freshman year, and then playing soccer at Centennial, as well. But soccer is something I definitely always, kind of look to, especially when I moved, and I didn't know anyone.

"But then I also had the mindset that I knew I had so many new opportunities to meet people, new coaches, new teammates, and it's honestly been awesome now that I've been here a few years to have, the coaches that I've had and then the seasons I've been having here."

Adapting well to her new roleCamille and Jay would be the first to admit their soccer background was limited before Payton got involved in the sport. But it's been Payton's ability to really soak up the knowledge she's received from her coaches that has played a significant role in her growth.

Payton said the switch for her was really flipped heading into her junior season with her decision to play for Central Illinois United's Girls 07 team after playing previously for Illinois FC.

"I think that was really the big jump for me because it became even more competitive," Payton said. "I didn't know it could get that much more competitive. I just had to work even harder than I always have. I think that's really what made it happen for me this year."

Back to the trust factor Payton's had to place in her coaches. That became evident early on in her freshman year at Centennial when Al-Saqri pitched the idea of Payton changing positions from a center back to midfielder.

It's a role that Payton has taken to since that switch.

"I'm trying to control the whole field," Payton said. "Whether it's passing around the field, I'm just really trying to control the game. Because the ball usually goes through the middle of the field, and we're trying to keep the game calm or speed the game up. It feels great to be able to have that control, but also more chances. Because before when I was on defense, I didn't have the chances to score like I do now."

Prepping for her future

What Payton accomplished this past spring resulted in the standout midfielder reaching one of her main individual goals: collecting All-State honors from the Illinois High School Soccer Coaches Association.

The next step in the process is getting Kaiser in front of college scouts as much as possible. That college recruiting process — at least soccer's version of it — has been totally new to the Kaiser family with Camille and Jay having to learn as they go.

"She's always had an edge to her. She's always been driven, always been hungry," Jay said. "She's gotten very few Bs in her entire career in school. ... She's very upset about it, because that's not her standard. She's competitive and takes things personal. Like I said, she's driven and, that's all her. ... She's wired a little different."

Payton will head to the Girls' Academy Playoffs and Showcase in Norco, Calif., with college coaches in attendance for the event, which begins on Wednesday. Accompanying Payton on a lot of these trips has been Camille.

It's why Payton said her mom is her "biggest supporter" and that without Camille's willingness to spend plenty of time on the road "I wouldn't be where I'm at."

To Camille, she's happy to do just that, although mom did tease her daughter one time about driving to a practice that took as much time to get there as the practice itself lasted.

"She has made some sacrifices with it, too," Camille said of her daughter. "I enjoy being part of it. We're new to navigating this sport as far as recruiting."

Leaving her mark at Centennial

Through this personal journey Payton has been on the last three years, the Centennial program has also been on an upward trajectory. That the Chargers had a winning season was one thing. But Centennial also won nearly as many games (12) this spring as the previous three seasons combined (13).

Al-Saqri doesn't shy away from admitting just how influential Kaiser has been in making that happen on the field for the Chargers, who have won 12 regional titles in their program's history but none since 2017.

"She is the epitome of what Centennial soccer is, not just because of the accolades," Al-Saqri said. "Soccer is life for Peyton. And that often gets overlooked for someone. She's a great person. ... She's someone that everyone wants to be around. And there's a reason everyone wants to be around her: Because she just had that great personality. She has that. You know how some people are a magnet? Payton is a magnet where people come to her, which is a beautiful thing to see."

What isn't lost on Kaiser, however, is the positive reinforcement around her.

That's not always the easiest aspect to find. Negativity has been a form of adversity Payton has confronted in soccer. Especially in the travel and club soccer world. That has been something Payton has had to learn how to deal with.

"Not always having people believe in me, and just kind of having to overcome that and knowing that I'm working for myself and my team, and I don't need anyone else's opinion to affect me, I think that's really what I overcame," Payton said. "Especially moving here. I was like, 'I have a new opportunity and now I can show out.'"

So far, Payton has done just that.

And followed through on the potential Al-Saqri said was evident immediately before her freshman year.

Back then, when Al-Saqri first watched Payton in tryouts for the first time, he remembers asking himself, "Who's that?"

He knows who Payton Kaiser is now.