2025 Sports Mom of Year Lawrence North’s Tamika Beeler
IndyStar 2025 Sports Mom of the Year opens arms to all Lawrence North students “I could care less about the sport.” It’s all about the kids for Tamika Beeler. Our 2025 Sports Mom of the Year comes to Lawrence North with open arms. When Tamika Beeler gets in her car, the GPS pulls up her […]
IndyStar 2025 Sports Mom of the Year opens arms to all Lawrence North students
“I could care less about the sport.” It’s all about the kids for Tamika Beeler. Our 2025 Sports Mom of the Year comes to Lawrence North with open arms.
When Tamika Beeler gets in her car, the GPS pulls up her “work” address as 7802 Hague Road.
As it turns out, the GPS is a creature of habit. And while Beeler is not employed at that address, the location of Lawrence North High School, she makes enough trips there — often six days a week during the football season — her car is convinced she is driving to work.
“It just thinks that’s where I’m going,” Beeler said with a laugh.
Beeler’s dedication to Lawrence North started out with the football program. Her youngest son, Caleb, is a senior who will be leaving for college at Indiana Wesleyan later this month. When Caleb was 5 years old, she started helping youth coach Raymond Barnett as the “team mom.” Those duties started out as making sure the kids had snacks after the games. More than a decade later — from the youth league, to Fall Creek Valley Middle School to Lawrence North — she is like family to those who know her best.
“I’m so thankful for Miss Tamika,” said Lawrence North senior Davion Chandler, an Indiana football recruit who has known Beeler since he was 6 years old. “I feel like when you have people like that around, you are bound to have seasons like we had last year. You look forward to going out and playing for people who support you the way she does. She’s been taking care of me since I was a little boy.”
Beeler’s selfless dedication and endless energy — Lawrence North football coach Pat Mallory calls her “my do it all” — makes her the choice as our 2025 IndyStar Mother’s Day “Sports Mom of the Year.” Though the 1999 North Central graduate did not play sports herself, something clicked when she started helping out with Caleb’s teams.
It was not necessarily the game of football itself she loved, though you can find her — and hear her — about halfway up the bleachers at the 50-yard-line of every Lawrence North game. It was the people Beeler came to love. As Caleb started playing football, she noticed some of the kids did not always have a family member there to support them. It was then her role as “team mom” took on a different meaning.
“I couldn’t care less what sport they are playing whatsoever,” Beeler said. “All of these kids have a background. They need somebody who is going to understand that. Being out there, you see the parents that come and the parents that don’t come. Some of these kids need a, ‘You did an amazing job’ or ‘You killed it out there.’ There’s nobody to tell them they killed it out there. Some of these kids, they just don’t have anything … these kids are what brought me in.”
Beeler credits her husband, Rodney Beeler, for making their home a welcome place for kids to hang out. But Rodney, admittedly the more laid back and quiet half of the couple, said he marvels at his wife’s generosity.
“Her heart is in it,” Rodney said. “It’s not a chore to her. It’s not like, ‘Oh, coach (Mallory) called so I gotta go up there.’ She wants to help. Some people do it for, ‘I get this or that,’ but she does it for nothing. She’s so good at what she does that it will be hard to fill her shoes.”
Thankfully for Lawrence North, at least for now, she is not going anywhere. At the start of the football season last fall, Beeler went out of her way not to make a personal connection with the freshmen. With Caleb going through his senior season, she thought this would be her last year helping out. The fewer the connections, she figured, the easier it would be to walk away.
“With the freshmen this year I was like, ‘Nope, don’t talk to me,’ she said with a laugh. “‘(They were like) Miss Tamika, Miss Tamika!’ I’m like, ‘No, stop it. Stop it.’”
That did not last, of course. The bonds strengthened. And now, even though Caleb will be off to college, Beeler is planning to come back and help again next season. Maybe a little bit more in the background. But she will be back.
“When help is needed, she is there,” Lawrence North athletic director Mike Penrose said. “She never says no. Tamika has become an invaluable part of our Wildcat family, providing a bridge between the coaches, parents and administration. She is loved by so many people around here.”
Beeler has three older children: daughter Amaya, 24; son Rodney, 23; and son Jayson, 20. They were all involved in sports, too. But Caleb’s personality seemed to mesh best for Tamika to get involved. Caleb calls her “my best friend.”
“She puts her all into everything,” Caleb said. “I’ve been seeing that since I was a kid. She greets everybody with open arms. It’s like, ‘If Miss Tamika don’t like you, you did something wrong.’ That’s why you don’t hear anybody saying they don’t like her.”
Rodney said Caleb and Tamika have a special bond that is difficult to describe. Their birthdays are two days apart — Sept. 9 and 11 — which may have something to do with it.
“They are just alike,” Rodney said. “It can go either way. Sometimes I’m the referee. (Caleb) is the baby of the family. But I know he enjoys the support, and I couldn’t ask anything more from him. He’s always pushing himself.”
Mallory is happy to have Tamika back next season. “I knew you wouldn’t leave me,” he told her when she confirmed she was coming back to help next season.
“It’s been part of my life for six years,” she said. “How do you just let it go?”
During the football season, often the only day she does not come to school is on Sundays. But if there is youth football, she will come to help with the concession stand. She coordinates the meals through the week, which can mean preparing them, coordinating with the parents and/or making trips to the grocery store. She attends practices. The only other day she does not come to the school — unless there is a home game — is Friday.
“I feel like it will jinx them,” she said.
Even though she is not officially part of the coaching staff, she does do some coaching. Just not of the X’s and O’s variety.
“Some of (the freshmen) are standoffish when they come in,” she said. “One thing I’m not is easy on them at all. I’m going to hold them accountable. Even if they see me on the field or been sent to me, I’m not going to take it easy on them. I am real with them but I’m not their friend. I want to understand them if they are willing to tell their story. But I’m not going to push or pry.”
Part of Beeler’s nurturing nature is her background. She went to school for early childhood education with plans to run her own daycare. But once she had kids, she had to make a choice between “Mommy, mommy, mommy” or “Miss Tamika.” She raised her kids and worked in social services.
But once she started getting involved with Caleb’s football teams, she was hooked. Caleb said he could even sense that at an early age.
“She built a bond with all the kids,” he said. “I knew she was going to play a part in it because that’s just how she does everything. It definitely means a lot to her.”
Beeler’s investment in the kids is obvious on Friday nights. She cheers for the center. The kicker. The coaches. If the public address announcer incorrectly identifies the tackler, she will correct it. “I want them to know I’m there supporting them,” she said. She is proud all 21 seniors from last year’s team that finished 11-1 and was ranked No. 1 in the state will graduate.
“Everybody loves her,” Chandler said. “When coach Mal rips you, she’ll be right there to make you feel better. You can talk to her outside of football stuff. I always look forward to seeing Miss Tamika after games and giving her a hug.”
Rodney jokes his wife is more known around Lawrence North than him, even though he graduated from there and she went to North Central. Even outside of football season, she helps out with track and field and is a regular volunteer in the building for other events like teacher’s appreciation nights or open houses.
“She’s got the steering wheel when it comes to LN,” Rodney said. “She’s the quarterback. I don’t know what they would do without her.”
Beeler certainly does not do it for recognition. She is not an overly emotional person. But when she found out she had been selected for this award, it brought her to tears. Not because it was about her, but because those close to her felt she was worthy of recognition.
“I know if one of these kids was riding with their parent and saw me on the side of the road, they would stop,” she said. “I see kids out at their jobs and hear them say, ‘Miss Tamika, Miss Tamika!’ That means a lot. I like doing this because I want to do good for them, not because there is anything in it for me.”
No matter what the GPS says, that does not sound like work at all.
Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649. Get IndyStar’s high school coverage sent directly to your inbox with the High School Sports newsletter.
Previous ‘Sports Mom of Year’ winners and stories
2024, Katie Hupfer: ‘You can’t put a value on playing sports.’
2023, Crystal Clark: ‘How Sports Mom of Year dealt with unimaginable.’
2023, Amy Dinwiddle: ‘Susan Jordan died a hero. Sports Mom of the Year lives lessons learned from her.’
2022, Susie Strange: ‘Her daughter’s gym closed. So IndyStar Sports Mom of the Year started a gymnastics team.’
2021, Kris Schepers: ‘IndyStar’s Sports Mom of the Year ‘has been a mother to many more than just her own boys.’
2020, Kathy Loggan: ‘It may not be easy, but I’ll be here.’ Kathy Loggan is this year’s Sports Mom of the Year
2019, Angie Young: ‘I don’t know how she does it.’ Meet the inaugural IndyStar ‘Sports Mom of the Year’
Donald Trump released yet another deranged statement on Tuesday, demanding that a transgender high school student be barred from participating in the California state track and field championships, which are scheduled to be held this weekend in Clovis, Calif. The inane thoughts that make their way from Trump’s obviously diminished mind onto his Playskool social […]
Donald Trump released yet another deranged statement on Tuesday, demanding that a transgender high school student be barred from participating in the California state track and field championships, which are scheduled to be held this weekend in Clovis, Calif. The inane thoughts that make their way from Trump’s obviously diminished mind onto his Playskool social media platform should not demand the attention of any right-thinking Americans, and yet in this case the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) snapped to attention, rewriting its qualification rules in an attempt to appease those behind what’s become a national hate campaign directed at a 16-year-old high school student.
The student Trump was referring to in his post is named AB Hernandez. She is set to compete in the high jump, triple jump, and long jump at the state championships, and she has spent the past few months being harassed by a local group of bigots. This group is led by Sonja Shaw and Jessica Tapia, both members of the Save Girls Sports association. Shaw is currently running for California superintendent of public instruction, and Tapia was recently fired from her teaching position at Hernandez’s high school for refusing to respect trans and nonbinary students’ pronouns. At a qualification meet earlier this month, Tapia and Shaw led a group that spent hours heckling and harassing Hernandez as she competed.
Cerise Castle of Capital & Main has done a fantastic job covering this story, which has all the familiar beats: Hernandez has been on the track team for three years and never drew any attention until now; she finished first in triple jump, eighth in high jump, and third in long jump at the qualification meet; she has shown nothing but grace and maturity in the face of intense bigotry. “There’s nothing I can do about people’s actions, just focus on my own,” Hernandez told Castle. “I’m still a child, you’re an adult, and for you to act like a child shows how you are as a person.”
Shortly after Trump targeted Hernandez with his statement, the CIF announced that it was changing the rules to allow “biological girls” who failed to qualify for events in the state championship the opportunity to compete in those events anyway. “Any biological female student-athlete who would have earned the next qualifying mark for one of their Section’s automatic qualifying entries in the CIF State meet, and did not achieve CIF State at-large mark in the finals at their Section meet was extended an opportunity to participate in the 2025 CIF Track and Field Championships,” the CIF said in a statement.
Hernandez will still be allowed to compete, which makes this rule change an awkward and misguided attempt at compromise that will only embolden people like Tapia and Shaw, who claim that Hernandez’s presence in the competition somehow infringes on the rights of her cisgender competitors. The CIF has essentially made it official policy that any student (or more likely any student’s parent) who feels aggrieved about not qualifying can pin their personal failure on Hernandez and show up to compete anyway.
Here we are once again confronted by a central truth about the people who lead these anti-trans campaigns in sports, which is that although they are first and foremost hateful bigots, they are also huge fucking losers. Sports serves many valuable purposes: Creating a place where someone like Hernandez can find community, camaraderie, and comfort in her body is a big one, but so is teaching kids and young adults how to deal with failure. The freaks who make it their mission to antagonize Hernandez and other trans athletes always claim to be acting out of a duty to fairness. Anyone who has ever played or seriously engaged with sports knows, however, that “fairness” is often the first word out of the mouth of a loser. There is always, always something “unfair” for the loser to latch onto and turn into an excuse. Walk around any youth sports competition and you’ll hear plenty of them: That team has a kid who is too big and strong; the rich kids from one county over have access to better equipment; my kid would have won if he hadn’t rolled his ankle last week.
Sports will always, eventually, take something from you, and then it will leave enough space for you to convince yourself that your loss was unjust. What you get out of the experience often comes down to what you do with the impulse to fill that space. Years of cultural conditioning has taught athletes that it is best to ignore that impulse, to accept failure on its own terms and derive whatever lessons you can from it. But now we are faced with a growing chorus of hateful losers who want to reverse all of that conditioning, and in the process turn sports into something small and stupid. The lesson these people want to give to their children is that if circumstance places their athletic failure near the success of someone who belongs to a specifically marginalized group, they are free to huff and puff and stomp their feet until the President of the United States himself intervenes to validate their tantrum. The quicker these people get shoved into a locker, the better.
Rogue Rowing Junior athletes headed to nationals – Ashland News
Six to represent Rogue Valley in Florida, including first ever team in para event By Holly Dillemuth, Ashland.news The water at a nearly full Emigrant Lake reflected bright blue skies and expanding horizons for the Rogue Rowing Juniors as they carried their boats to the dock Saturday morning. The irrigation lake is a training ground […]
Six to represent Rogue Valley in Florida, including first ever team in para event
By Holly Dillemuth, Ashland.news
The water at a nearly full Emigrant Lake reflected bright blue skies and expanding horizons for the Rogue Rowing Juniors as they carried their boats to the dock Saturday morning.
The irrigation lake is a training ground for the team of student-athletes who have rowed their way to a competition at the national level next month. Representing Ashland, St. Mary’s, and North Medford high schools and Logos Public Charter School in Medford, the Ashland-based team will compete with rowers from around the country at the U.S. Rowing Youth National regatta in Sarasota, Florida June 12 through 15.
Amelie Requejo, an Ashland High School senior, carries her boat to the lake before Saturday morning practice. Ashland.news photo by Bob Palermini.
The qualifying team, made up of two seniors and four underclassmen, is raising funds to make the trip. As of Monday, rowers had fundraised more than $5,200 for the trip through a Go Fund Me, just shy of their $6,000 goal. Crowdfunding has allowed rowers to focus their efforts on training for the event.
The following student-athletes qualified for nationals in 2,000 meter races:
Ashland High School sophomore Tobias Pew and AHS junior Marcel Starbird: Men’s Youth Para Inclusive Double. Pew also qualified for a non-para event in the U17 Single Scull
A Rogue Rowing veteran, Requejo will make her fourth visit to nationals in June, her last big race as a member of the team.
Dilansa, also acquainted with the competition, will return for her second time qualifying for nationals.
It’s the first time Pew and Starbird, both 16, Brownlee, 18, and Medley, 17, have qualified for the competition.
Marcel Starbird selects his oars at the Rogue Rowing boathouse before heading out for Saturday morning practice on Emigrant Lake. Ashland.news photo by Bob Palermini.
On land after practice, Starbird said he is just hoping to do as well as he can at nationals, as he supports his teammate, Tobias Pew. The duo will compete together in the first para event for the Rogue Rowing Juniors team. Pew, whose right foot isn’t fully developed, competes with a prosthetic foot on his right leg.
“It’s harder to press on the foot plate, so you don’t get quite the amount of power, energy,” Pew said.
But don’t let that fool you though — about his abilities or his determination.
“He’s pretty gritty,” Starbird said of teammate Pew, “And he can be really motivating. I know he’s always going to be giving it his all, so I’ve got to give it my all.”
Tobias Pew (left) and Marcel Starbird train on the calm waters of Emigrant Lake during Saturday morning practice. Ashland.news photo by Bob Palermini.
Pew qualified for nationals in the single boat division, but entered the para division to broaden his opportunities in the sport. His coach encouraged him to get certified to compete in para rowing events last year.
Born in China, Pew was adopted in the United States when he was 18 months old. He credits his mom with getting him into the sport in seventh grade after quitting baseball. His mom knew a master rower through the adult rowing club and after getting into it, he’s hooked.
“I’m so integrated into this club, I can’t imagine not being in it,” Pew said.
“The first year I came here (2022), I didn’t know how far you could go,” he added. “It quickly became a goal of mine to make it to nationals, compete, represent the Rogue Valley down in Florida. I’m definitely super excited to finally fulfill that item on my bucket list.”
He’s also looking forward to reuniting with friends from around the United States he has met since starting the sport.
“We’re going to compete against three other boats, and it’ll be pretty cool,” Pew said.
Requejo, team captain of the Rogue Rowing Juniors, is poised to compete in June in Youth Single and Youth Quad (four-person boat) with Brownlee, Medley, and Dilansa.
Esme Medley (left) and Brianna Brownlee launch their boat from the dock at Emigrant Lake. Ashland.news photo by Bob Palermini.
As a four-time nationals qualifier, Requejo recalls the humidity and the heat in Florida as well as the “hustle and bustle” of national competition.
“It’s just a much bigger regatta than anything we’ve ever been to (as a team), so making sure that we can stay focused on the boat and how we’re rowing instead of everything around us is really important,” she told Ashland.news via phone.
“We know how to row,” she added. “We do it every day, and making sure we don’t forget that is really important.”
Goal-wise, Requejo said she just wants the team to do their best, both in single and quad events.
“This is the second time I’ve been rowing a quad, and I think there’s something different about being able to row a quad at nationals than just a single,” Requejo said. “You’re bringing your teammates with you, which is really nice to have their support, and they’re going through the training with you.”
Requejo also is looking ahead to a bright future beyond the youth national competition.
“I’ve been recruited to row at Stanford, so this team has been very transformative for me,” she said.
For Requejo, it all started with a summer camp at the age of 12.
“I started rowing right before COVID,” she said. “I wasn’t really wanting to do it, but I got into a boat the first day and loved it.”
Going to practice, seeing friends, getting a workout in, and getting outside were important to her.
“I’d say the most amazing time is in the morning when the sun hasn’t quite risen, so you get to see the first rays of light and the water is just glass,” Requejo said. “It’s really magical.”
That affinity for the water and sport have led her to give back, too.
“For my senior project, I started coaching a little bit, so I think whether it be rowing or coaching, I’m going to try and stay around it,” she said.
A culture of support
After sending the rowers out on the lake on Saturday, coaches Mattea Fountain and Jillian Deller each followed along in motorboats. Using a bullhorn, Fountain called out directions to rowers during their warm-up sequence on the water.
The six Rogue Rowing varsity athletes who qualified for the Youth National Championships have been preparing with intensive training sessions. Ashland.news photo by Bob Palermini.
Fountain, a former coxswain herself, noted the athletes’ devotion to their sport and to each other.
“A lot of these kids wouldn’t be friends (otherwise) because they’re from different school districts, different grades. But because of rowing and spending so much time together, they’ve all gotten really close,” Fountain said. “The team has a really good culture, supporting each other no matter what. That’s been really special to watch.”
Fountain praised all of the athletes heading to nationals, and shared how the sport prepares them for life.
“It gives you so many opportunities,” Fountain said. “Rowing is the no. 1 sport for scholarships for women.”
Two of the athletes headed to nationals this year have scholarships waiting for them after graduation.
“(Brownlee) … it’s only her second year in the sport and she got recruited to row for Washington State (University) and she’s going to nationals,” Fountain said. “She is so strong and has such amazing awareness.”
“Rowing is good as a sport to keep you in shape and to get you moving and outside and meeting people, but it’s also really good for life lessons and learning how to work with people and how to work hard,” Fountain added. “It’s just a great way to learn how to be a person and how to be responsible for yourself. I think I’d be a very different person if I hadn’t rowed in high school.”
Esme Medley (front) and Brianna Brownlee practice in a double scull on Emigrant Lake. Ashland.news photo by Bob Palermini.
Recruiting always open for the team
Rogue Rowing Juniors, formerly known as Ashland Rowing Club, rows at Emigrant Lake almost daily, with weekday morning and Saturday morning practices added in to prepare for nationals.
The club used to have more than 70 rowers in its ranks prior to 2020, according to Fountain.
“After COVID, it kind of dwindled down, and we’re currently trying to rebuild,” Fountain said. “It’s a really cool sport. Getting to be out on the water in the afternoon … it’s really special, but it’s hard to convey that in schools. It’s hard to get our name out there.”
Coach Jillian Deller has been working with Rogue Valley schools, attending eighth grade open houses and P.E. and weight room classes to help spread the word about the team. No experience is necessary to join the team.
The team has two seasons, fall and spring, making it easy to work with athletes who are in different sports.
“We really do recruit all year-round,” Deller said, with summer and fall being among the most popular seasons to try it out.
Rogue Rowing Varsity Coach Mattea Fountain (center) sends the team off with a cheer following Saturday morning training. Ashland.news photo by Bob Palermini.
To learn more about the fundraiser for their trip, visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/vqkqk-help-rogue-rowing-juniors-reach-nationals.
Donations pay for flights, food, registration fees, hauling boats (by Oregon Rowing Unlimited) and car rental fees while the team is at nationals.
To find out more about Rogue Rowing, visit https://www.roguerowing.org/about-us.
Rogue Rowing Juniors is also offering summer camps for youth ranging from eighth grade to senior year. To learn more, reach out to Fountain at [email protected].
Email Ashland.news staff reporter Holly Dillemuth at [email protected].
Nicolo Zaniolo: Fiorentina winger could face lengthy ban after allegedly assaulting two Roma youth players | Football News
Fiorentina winger Nicolo Zaniolo could be facing a lengthy ban after Roma accused their former player of assaulting two youth team players. The incident allegedly happened after Fiorentina beat Roma 2-1 in the Primavera youth league title play-off semi-final on Monday, with Zaniolo watching the game from the stands. Zaniolo, who spent the 2023-24 season […]
Fiorentina winger Nicolo Zaniolo could be facing a lengthy ban after Roma accused their former player of assaulting two youth team players.
The incident allegedly happened after Fiorentina beat Roma 2-1 in the Primavera youth league title play-off semi-final on Monday, with Zaniolo watching the game from the stands.
Zaniolo, who spent the 2023-24 season on loan at Aston Villa, denied any wrongdoing after Roma issued a statement on the “regrettable incident” but the Italian soccer federation reportedly opened an investigation on Tuesday.
“On the evening of May 26, at the end of the Primavera Fiorentina-AS Roma semi-final played at Viola Park, Nicolo Zaniolo (a player from the Fiorentina first team) illegally broke into the Roma locker room area, accompanied by an acquaintance, despite not having accreditation,” Roma’s statement read.
Image: Zaniolo during his time at Roma from 2018 to 2023
“According to witnesses, Zaniolo appeared visibly upset. He urinated in the facilities reserved for Roma, provoked the players and, without any verbal exchange, physically hit Mattia Almaviva and violently pushed Marco Litti against a bench.
“Litti was recovering from shoulder surgery. Both players were examined in hospital: Almaviva received a prognosis of 10 days, Litti 21 days.
“AS Roma expresses its full solidarity with its young players and is deeply outraged by the violent and unjustifiable behavior that occurred at Viola Park.
“We trust that the competent institutions will act decisively to ensure justice and protect the values of Italian football.”
Zaniolo is on loan at Fiorentina from Galatasaray. He joined the Turkish team from Roma after five years at the capital club, during which he was named Serie A young player of the year in 2019.
Image: Zaniolo spent the 2023/24 season on loan at Aston Villa from Galatasaray
“At the end of the match, I went down to the locker room to congratulate the Fiorentina boys and then I went to the Roma locker room to greet and congratulate them on their season too,” Zaniolo said in a statement released by Fiorentina.
“But at a certain point they started insulting me so, at that point, to prevent the situation from degenerating, I preferred to leave.”
Zaniolo apologises but was ‘provoked’
Zaniolo then took to his personal social media account on Tuesday to apologise for the incident but insisted his reaction was “provoked” and no “physically aggressive behaviour” was used.
“I want to apologise with all my heart for what happened yesterday,” he said on Instagram.
“I know I reacted in a bad way and I take full responsibility. I went there with the sole intention of sending a positive signal, of being close to the boys in a difficult moment after the match.
“Unfortunately, I was verbally provoked by a boy and, mistakenly, I lost my temper. It is a mistake that weighs on me, especially because I know I have to be an example for young people.
Image: Zaniolo has not played for Italy since being ruled out of Euro 2024 with a foot injury
“However, I want to point out that the facts are far from what has been reconstructed and that on my part, apart from a verbal argument, there was no physically aggressive behaviour.
“I know I have disappointed with this episode, but I hope you can understand that it was not my intention to disrespect anyone.
“Having said that, I renew my apologies. As a man, as an athlete and as a person who loves this environment, I just want to rebuild and look ahead with humility.”
Zaniolo was considered one of Italy’s most promising prospects and made his international debut as a teenager in 2019.
But injuries derailed his career. He has not featured for Italy since being ruled out of last year’s European Championship after breaking his metatarsal while on loan at Villa in the penultimate match of the season.
Sky Sports to show 215 live PL games from next season
From next season, Sky Sports’ Premier League coverage will increase from 128 matches to at least 215 games exclusively live.
And 80 per cent of all televised Premier League games next season are on Sky Sports
Lady Tigers stopped by Kingswood; Tigers in state semis
After a tremendous run in the playoffs, the Lady Tigers softball team (31-11-1) were unable to solve the big bats of Kingswood. They fell in two 7-1 and 16-6. The youth on the team that delivered the goods means next year can be as good or better than this one. In today’s youth sports world, […]
After a tremendous run in the playoffs, the Lady Tigers softball team (31-11-1) were unable to solve the big bats of Kingswood. They fell in two 7-1 and 16-6. The youth on the team that delivered the goods means next year can be as good or better than this one.
In today’s youth sports world, young does not mean inexperienced. That world is like child labor because from a very young age they are expected to be playing or practicing the sport most of the year. The player’s parents have to foot the bill rather than getting paid. Most have played more games before they get to high school than they will play in high school. In fact, if they are not able to start or play a lot their freshman year they probably won’t.
The baseball team is following the path the Lady Tigers just got through with. After coming back from a 6-4 loss to Pharr-San Juan-Alamo in the opening round of the Regional finals, the Tigers made their four runs stand up for wins in the next two 4-1, 4-2. This puts Dripping Springs (2810) in the State semis opposite the Kingswood boys (36-3). They will be trying to break the jinx the Lady Tigers had. In the new format for state divisions, the state semis are not played at the state tourney any more. Instead the teams play at a neutral site, best of three this week. Winner plays for the title.
Vs K1: Big innings were common for Kingswood in the two games. They came out swinging in the first inning. Starting pitcher, Sadie Bradford could not get out of the first inning giving up 5 runs, including a homerun. The Lady Tigers got outhit 10-3, with Bradford getting two including a double and the lone run in the second. Lillian Wearden got the other. Bradford started the game: .2IP, 4H, 5R, 5ER, 1W, 0K, 1HR. Tatum Green finished: 5.1IP, 6H, 2R, 2ER, 0W, 1K.
Vs K2: The second game was brutal as the Lady Tigers were outhit 18-6. Kingswood opened the top half of the first with three and the Lady Tigers matched it in their half. Four more crossed the plate in the second but DS could only manage one to fall behind. Five more crossed in the third. DS scored twice in the fifth but Kingwood would instigate the run-rule in the sixth with four more.
Lorelei Gamble would finally get a few swings and came away with two hits, including a HR and RBI. Green had two hits as well. Morgan Crain had a hit and 3RBI; Jai-Lynn Flores 1H (rbi). Gianna Hauser RBI. Other runs were by Morgan Riley 2, Kira Preslar, Emma Phillips, Kelly Hatcher. On the mound for Lady Tigers: Bradford 2.1IP, 6H, 7R, 6ER, 1W, 1K, 2HR; Green: 1.2IP, 8H, 5R, 5ER, 1W, 0K, 2HR; Addy Knapp: 2.1IP, 4H, 4R, 4ER, 2W, 0K.
LADY TIGERS DOMINATE ALLDISTRICT 26-6A SELECTIONS
As should be expected, the Dripping Springs Lady Tigers got their full quota of All-District players named at the meeting held with the coaches voting on the honors.
Pitcher Addy Knapp (12) winds up for a throw. PHOTO BY CELESTE GAMBLECatcher Lorelei Gamble (17), shakes hands with pitcher Sadie Bradford (15), after a meeting on the mound. PHOTO BY CELESTE GAMBLEThe Lady Tigers wrapped up their season with a full quota of All-District honors. PHOTO BY CELESTE GAMBLEPHOTO BY GABRIEL DE LEON PHOTOGRAPHY
Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer makes nearly 11 million dollars per year over an eight year contract. Vasha Hunt/AP Newsroom hide caption toggle caption Vasha Hunt/AP Newsroom Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer makes nearly 11 million dollars per year over an eight year contract. Vasha Hunt/AP Newsroom If you had to guess, would you say […]
Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer makes nearly 11 million dollars per year over an eight year contract.
Vasha Hunt/AP Newsroom
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Vasha Hunt/AP Newsroom
Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer makes nearly 11 million dollars per year over an eight year contract.
Vasha Hunt/AP Newsroom
If you had to guess, would you say the president of a university usually makes more money than the football coach? Well, you may be wrong. A college’s football coach is often their highest paid employee. The University of Alabama pays its football coach on average close to $11 million. Today on the show, why are college football coaches paid so much? Do their salaries really make economic sense?
Related episodes: Why the Olympics cost so much (Apple / Spotify) Want to get ahead in youth sports? Try staying back a year (Apple / Spotify)
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YOUNGSTOWN — After 75 years of spreading joy wherever he went, Walter Eugene “Bebe” Payne left behind a legacy of laughter when he passed on Sunday, May 11, 2025. A down-to-earth, charismatic and jovial figure, Bebe still charmed family and friends even as his health declined in his final years. Born July 6, 1949, Bebe […]
YOUNGSTOWN — After 75 years of spreading joy wherever he went, Walter Eugene “Bebe” Payne left behind a legacy of laughter when he passed on Sunday, May 11, 2025. A down-to-earth, charismatic and jovial figure, Bebe still charmed family and friends even as his health declined in his final years.
Born July 6, 1949, Bebe was the youngest child of Mildred and Walter “Uncle Dudley” Payne, and the constant companion of his older brother, Wilford. He attended Thorn Hill and John White elementary schools, as well as East Junior High and East High School during Youngstown’s post-World War II heyday.
After high school and a brief stint at Youngstown State University, Bebe enlisted in the United States Air Force and was initially stationed at a Strategic Air Command Base in Great Falls, Montana. He was then deployed to Cam Ranh Bay during the Vietnam War, saw combat during the Tet Offensive and was exposed to chemicals such as Agent Orange that contributed to the illness that eventually took his life.
Following his tour in Vietnam, Bebe continued his service at Bolling Air Force Base in Washington, D.C. He then received an honorable discharge from the Air Force and remained in the Washington, D.C., area, eventually settling across the Potomac River in Alexandria, Virginia, but remaining fiercely proud of his Sharon Line roots.
As a child, Bebe used to wear his baseball cap to bed and his youth was characterized by a love of sports, music and dancing, passions he carried throughout his life. He starred in Little League baseball for Andy’s Auto Glass, on the East Jr. High and Price Memorial A.M.E. Zion Church basketball teams, and in the band and on the track team at East Sr. High. He also participated in the Youth Choir and Youth Usher Board at Price Memorial and was a member of McGuffey Centre Boy Scout Troop 18, where he achieved the rank of Life Scout.
A veteran, telecommunications technician, athlete, music lover, movie buff and fisherman, Bebe was rarely seen without a hat or a smile. He was beloved by all the children in the family for his eagerness to engage with them and amuse them. An avid golfer, youth basketball coach and local DJ, he delighted in traveling with his wife and the love of his life, Elaine, to whom he was married for 34 years.
In his civilian career, Bebe worked as a telecommunications technician troubleshooting and repairing data communications circuitry and related hardware before retiring from Verizon with 37 years of service. In his golden years, Bebe honed his golf game and took frequent trips to Las Vegas and Sunset Beach, North Carolina, with Elaine, in addition to regularly attending sporting events and organizing fantasy sports leagues.
Even as he aged, Bebe made a point of staying in touch with youth culture, and his dapper wardrobe and massive hat collection were two of his trademarks, along with his zest for life and his talent for entertaining others. He will be remembered as a loving husband, a doting father and grandfather, and a “cool uncle” to many nieces and nephews.
Bebe is survived by his wife, Elaine Gates Payne; son, Michael Mangum (Mandy); granddaughter, Mika Mangum of Cumberland, Maryland; grandson, Isiah Bishop of Frostburg, Maryland; stepgrandsons, Markel Spencer of Alexandria, Virginia, and Avery Spencer of Cumberland, Maryland; goddaughter, Chloe Gardiner of West Hartford, Connecticut; mother-in-law, Lola Gates of Cumberland, Maryland; sisters-in-law, Carole (Clint) Gardiner of West Hartford, Connecticut, and Sylvia “Loodie” Gates of Hagerstown, Maryland; and brothers-in-law, John (Sukhvinder) Gates of Cumberland, Maryland, and Steve Gates of Gettysburg, Pa.
Bebe also is survived by his aunts, Emma Gatewood (Arlette Gatewood, deceased) and Lynn Williams Phillips, both of Youngstown; as well as a host of cousins and countless friends.
Bebe was preceded in death by his parents, Mildred Louise Gatewood Payne and Walter A. Payne; his brother, Wilford A. “Wil” Payne; his paternal grandparents, Richard E. and Nannie Jones Payne; and maternal grandparents, Mayhue and Ella Current Jackson Gatewood.
Visitation for Bebe will be 10 a.m. Friday, May 30, 2025, at L.E. Black Phillips & Holden Funeral Home, 951 McGuffey Road, Youngstown, OH 44505, followed by a celebration of life at 11 a.m.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America or any nonprofit that supports families affected by Alzheimer’s or funds research for a cure or better treatment of the condition.
