Rachel Beckler begins her second season as an assistant coach for the Kennesaw State soccer team after being appointed to the position by head coach Rob King at the begining of the 2014 fall season.
Beckler, formerly Rachel Baer, returns to her hometown area after a three-year stint at North Greenville University in Greenville, S.C. While at NGU, Beckler served one year as an assistant coach, before being promoted to head coach for her final two seasons in Greenville.
Following a rebuilding year for NGU in 2012, Beckler guided the team to new heights in 2013, earning six more wins than the previous season and made the program’s first-ever appearance in the Conference Carolinas Tournament. With the Crusaders, the team was awarded the 2012 Conference Carolinas Team Sportsmanship Award and the 2013 National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) South Region Team Sportsmanship Award.
At the helm NGU, Beckler coached six all-conference honorees, seven conference all-academic honorees and one player named to the NCCAA All-South Region team.
Along with her collegiate coaching career, Beckler was also involved in the South Carolina Olympic Development Program (ODP) and coached the 2001 girls age group from 2013-2014.
The Marietta, Ga., native played three years at UNC Charlotte before transferring to Kennesaw State for her final collegiate season. In her first and only season with the Owls, Beckler led the Atlantic Sun Conference in goals (11) and shots (73) as well as ranking second in points (27) in overall play. In conference action, she led the league in points (20), goals (9), shots (51) and game-winning goals (3). For her efforts, Beckler was named to the 2008 National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/adidas NCAA Division I All-Mid-Atlantic Region Third-Team and also received A-Sun First-Team All-Conference and A-Sun All-Tournament Team accolades.
Following her outstanding campaign, Beckler, who ranks in the top 10 in several career and single-season program records, was named the 2008-09 Kennesaw State University Female Student-Athlete of the Year.
Outside of the collegiate world, she has four years of playing and coaching experience in the United Soccer Leagues’ W-League, playing with the Charlotte Eagles from 2011-12 and the Carolina Cobras in 2013, and serving as an assistant coach for the Cobras during the 2014 season. She has also been involved with Athletes in Action, which has provided her the opportunity to train internationally with the Paraguay and South African women’s U-17 and U-20 national teams.
Beckler attended Harrison High School and was the 2005 Cobb County/Marietta Daily Journal Female Soccer Player of the Year after leading the Hoyas in goals as a senior. She currently has her USSF National “C” coaching license.
A 2009 graduate of Kennesaw State where she earned a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies, Beckler and husband Scott were recently married on Aug. 1, 2014 and currently reside in Marietta, Ga.
