Rec Sports

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 […]

Published

1 month ago

May 12, 2025

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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’

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Rec Sports

Impact Of A Scholarship: Megan Kelly Walter

Walter was officially a two-sport athlete at Maryland. She was a speedy forward in field hockey and a gritty defender in lacrosse during her career from 1998-2001. Furthermore, she was a key contributor to two of the most decorated collegiate athletic programs during some of their most dominant years. In her freshman season with the […]

Published

17 minutes ago

June 12, 2025

Your Sports Nation

In her freshman season with the women’s lacrosse team in spring 1999, Walter won a national championship. Then, in the fall of the same year, Walter’s sophomore season with the field hockey team, she won another national title. The feat allowed her to become one of a select few athletes to win two titles in a single year.

Walter is also the last athlete to accomplish the feat, despite Notre Dame’s Jordan Faison coming close to the same achievement in lacrosse and football. According to an article published by The Wall Street Journal, before Walter, Anthony Muñoz was an offensive tackle on the USC football team that claimed the 1978 national championship, months after he pitched for the Trojans’ baseball team, which won the College World Series.

In addition to winning two championships in the same year, Walter accumulated seven ACC titles: field hockey (1998, 1999, 2000, 2001) and lacrosse (1999, 2000, 2001). She won four NCAA titles overall, with three earned on the lacrosse field. She even helped Timchal’s team extend its remarkable NCAA championship streak to seven in a row dating back to 1995, while Walter was still in high school.

“It could have gone very differently had I not had stress fractures,” Walter said. “Or had the trainers not said to me, ‘You shouldn’t be playing on turf in January, but you can go play lacrosse on grass.’”

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Rec Sports

Island youth baseballer set to represent Team Netherlands in international play

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Soccer may be considered the unofficial national sport of the Netherlands, but Staten Islander Dex Zimmerman — who holds dual American-Dutch citizenship — is set to don the iconic Oranje for the Dutch U12 national baseball team at the upcoming Youth Baseball European Championship hosted in the Czech Republic. Zimmerman, who […]

Published

4 hours ago

June 12, 2025

Your Sports Nation

Zimmerman, who will soon graduate from PS 60 in Graniteville and move onto IS 72 in New Springville, is currently in Europe for a scrimmage against the Belgian national team on Wednesday ahead of the European Championship, which begins on July 2.

Dex’s path to international baseball began about four years ago, when his father, Todd, reached out to a coach from the Dutch program to explore opportunities for Dex to get involved. At the time, he was told Dex was too young — but now, he’s ready to take the international stage.

“Out of nowhere this year, the same coach reached back out and told us they were having a tryout; we went a little less than a month ago, and he made the team,” Zimmerman proudly said of his son’s accomplishment.

Though he primarily serves as a pitcher for the Dutch squad, Zimmerman is also effective at shortstop and center field — a testament to the versatile skillset his father helped cultivate during his years as Dex’s coach, prior to his transition to club coaching with the New York Prospects last year.

“He’s a very humble boy,” Zimmerman said of his son’s attitude despite his talent at such a young age.

“We started playing baseball together when he was around 1-year-old, and I try to keep him humble, but that’s something he’s always had in him,” Zimmerman continued.

Island youth baseballer set to represent Team Netherlands in international play — Staten Islander Dex Zimmerman poses outside the home stadium of the Hoofddorp Pioniers, a local Dutch baseball team, ahead of representing the country in a youth baseball tournament.Todd Zimmerman

Zimmerman has firmly established himself as a young talent locally, but his father acknowledged that competing on the international stage will bring a new set of challenges.

“While he’s playing for the Dutch team, the field is 46 feet from the mound to home and 60 feet between the bases; those are dimensions similar to Little League, but when he’s playing travel ball for the Prospects, the field is definitely bigger,” Zimmerman said of one of the ways Dex may need to readjust his game while playing in Europe.

Dex will also get the chance to meet his Dutch national teammates for the first time, as this marks his debut traveling abroad for competition. While some cultural differences may arise, his father is confident that Dex —fluent in both Dutch and English — will form friendships that last a lifetime.

“They’re not into the small talk like we are,” Todd said with a laugh.

“He’s a little bit of an outsider for now; they’re a little bit different than us, but he’s a social kid,” he continued.

In addition to reconnecting with his Dutch roots, Zimmerman is also contributing to the global growth of baseball in real time — a role his father finds especially meaningful with the World Baseball Classic on the horizon next year.

“We’re really into that competition,” Todd said of their own fondness of how the WBC has promoted the sport globally.

“The Netherlands is ranked seventh in the world currently, since they also include Aruba and Curaçao. Andruw Jones is the head coach of the Netherlands and has recruited guys like Xander Bogaerts and Jurickson Profar to play for him, so it’s a very good breeding ground for baseball,” Zimmerman said of the nation’s senior team.

While Dex still has a long road ahead to reach that level, his involvement in the global baseball community is already laying the foundation for a lifelong love of the game — and a chance to see the world through it.

“He’s really looking forward to it,” Todd said of Dex’s excitement ahead of the tournament.

“It should be a really interesting experience getting to interact with different countries and hear different languages; he’s just really always loved the game of baseball, the fact that they took a chance on somebody from New York was really cool. They want him to stay with it for the long haul,” he continued.

The Dutch U12 team will kick off its 2025 European Championship campaign when it takes on Ukraine in Hluboká, Czech Republic on July 2.

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Rec Sports

Bates to Join International Summer Tour with Athletes in Action

Story Links RUSTON – Louisiana Tech guard AJ Bates has been selected to join Athletes in Action Basketball for an international tour this summer, traveling to the Czech Republic from June 28 to July 11. Bates will be part of a select team comprised of student-athletes from eight college basketball programs […]

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4 hours ago

June 12, 2025

Your Sports Nation

RUSTON – Louisiana Tech guard AJ Bates has been selected to join Athletes in Action Basketball for an international tour this summer, traveling to the Czech Republic from June 28 to July 11.

Bates will be part of a select team comprised of student-athletes from eight college basketball programs across the country. The team will compete in exhibition games against the Czech Republic’s U20 and U23 national teams while also participating in outreach activities, including a one-day youth basketball camp and coaching clinic.

Athletes in Action is a faith-based organization that partners with college athletes across the country, organizing sports tours and leadership training experiences aimed at fostering personal development and global impact.

As a freshman for the Bulldogs this past season, Bates appeared in 29 games with four starts. He averaged 4.6 points per game, including four double-digit scoring outings. Bates also contributed 57 rebounds, 49 assists, and 22 steals.

The two-week experience will offer Bates the chance to sharpen his skills in a competitive international setting while representing both Louisiana Tech and Athletes in Action abroad.

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Placemaking projects, caregivers, and youth sports latest to benefit from Detroit area endowment

What’s happening: More than $1 million in grants have been awarded to 42 organizations located throughout southeastern Michigan, benefiting groups falling into the categories of regional caregiving; design and access to public spaces; youth sports; and the Grosse Pointe communities. The grants come by way of the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Legacy Funds endowment, which […]

Published

4 hours ago

June 12, 2025

Your Sports Nation

What’s happening: More than $1 million in grants have been awarded to 42 organizations located throughout southeastern Michigan, benefiting groups falling into the categories of regional caregiving; design and access to public spaces; youth sports; and the Grosse Pointe communities. The grants come by way of the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Legacy Funds endowment, which was established by the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation and is managed by the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan.

What it is: The Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Legacy Funds endowment is separate from but complementary to the Foundation that shares its namesake benefactor, intended to provide smaller grants to organizations that can make an immediate impact. The grants are smaller relative to the Foundation, which awards hundreds of millions of dollars in grants to transformational projects in the cities of Detroit and Buffalo, N.Y., each year.

Why it’s important: “The Wilson Legacy Funds continue to improve the well-being of people in rural, suburban and urban communities throughout our seven-county region,” says Community Foundation President Nicole Sherard-Freeman. “From transportation for caregivers and construction of an accessible nature trail, to coaching for girls field hockey and inclusive theater performances, these grants demonstrate the positive impact that can happen when donors, philanthropy, communities and nonprofits work together.”

Where it’s going: In the Caregivers category, 11 grants totaling $240,880 have been awarded to organizations in Detroit, Pontiac, and more. Among the highlights include a $25,000 grant awarded to the Hannan Center in Detroit, which will support an individualized activities program for people with dementia.

In the Public Spaces category, eight grants totaling $313,384 have been awarded to organizations in Clinton Township, Oxford, and more. One such highlight includes a $50,000 grant awarded to Clinton Township, facilitating the installation of a universal kayak and canoe launch at the Clinton River at Budd Park.

In Youth Sports, the 18 grants totaling $358,000 will be split among organizations representing communities including Royal Oak, St. Clair Shores, and more. Those include a $10,000 grant for Special Olympics Michigan, Inc. in Bloomfield, facilitating the opportunity for young athletes with intellectual abilities to participate in select sports with peers and family members.

And in the Grosse Pointe communities, where Wilson once called home, the Funds have awarded 5 grants totaling $84,000 to the Grosse Pointe Symphony Orchestra Society, Grosse Pointe Theatre, Grosse Pointe War Memorial Association, Grosse Pointe Woods Foundation, and Services for Older Citizens.

Visit Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Legacy Funds online to learn more about this latest cohort and future grant opportunities.

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TinCaps and Parkview Sports Medicine team up to start new youth travel baseball program

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WPTA) – Next year, some new travel baseball teams will represent the Summit City. Wednesday afternoon, the TinCaps and Parkview Sports Medicine announced the launch of PSM TinCaps, a program fielding youth travel teams from the 10U through 17U level. Former TinCaps player and retired MLB vet Josh VanMeter will run the […]

Published

5 hours ago

June 12, 2025

Your Sports Nation

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WPTA) – Next year, some new travel baseball teams will represent the Summit City.

Wednesday afternoon, the TinCaps and Parkview Sports Medicine announced the launch of PSM TinCaps, a program fielding youth travel teams from the 10U through 17U level.

Former TinCaps player and retired MLB vet Josh VanMeter will run the program. VanMeter started his role as director of the PSM Baseball Academy earlier this year.

VanMeter said this new program will help boost the quality of youth and high school baseball throughout Northeast Indiana.

“There’s too many good players in and around the city,” VanMeter said. “Just from my time being an amateur and being around the players I’ve played with from all different schools, I just really think that this market needs a newer, fresher face. I just think that, humbly, I check all of those boxes.”

PSM TinCaps will host tryouts for next year’s teams on July 15 (10-12U) and July 22 (13-17U) at the baseball and softball fields at Saint Francis.

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Rec Sports

Brooklyn Park Police Reel in Positive Connections with Youth at Fishing Pond

4:58 PM | Wednesday, June 11, 2025 At the Brooklyn Park Sunfish Pond near the Community Activity Center, the Brooklyn Park Police Department spent Wednesday introducing urban kids to their local fishing hole. “I never knew that there was a pond here,” said Avery Tran, a young boy attending Brooklyn Park’s Cops N Kids Fishing […]

Published

5 hours ago

June 12, 2025

Your Sports Nation

At the Brooklyn Park Sunfish Pond near the Community Activity Center, the Brooklyn Park Police Department spent Wednesday introducing urban kids to their local fishing hole.

“I never knew that there was a pond here,” said Avery Tran, a young boy attending Brooklyn Park’s Cops N Kids Fishing event. “I’ve been here multiple times. I’ve just never seen this pond before. And it’s going to be a fun experience fishing in this pond.”

The annual event drew in a crowd of local kids, as well as law enforcement officers from around the region. In fact, there’s likely more badges here than rods or reels

“This is an opportunity to connect with our community, the youth of our community, for some of us to share our passion of fishing,” said Brooklyn Park Police Inspector Matt Rabe. “Nothing works better than sitting down, tossing in a line, hanging out with people, and just connecting on a conversational level about a joint, shared passion.”

Tran came looking to catch some fish, but also to meet officers.

“I wanted to have a fun experience with the cops,” he said. “They protect our community and I wanted to have an engaging experience with them.”

At the Brooklyn Park Sunfish Pond near the Community Activity Center, the Brooklyn Park Police Department spent Wednesday introducing urban kids to their local fishing hole.

Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley, a competitive angler, said the sport can help keep kids out of trouble.

Likewise, it puts them at-ease while meeting a uniformed, armed officer.

“Almost to the minute they all cast and start catching fish, everybody starts laughing,” Bruley said. “You can hear the laughter across the pond. You can hear the kids screaming, laughing, yelling, talking about fish. And that’s all it takes, is that interaction, right? And then that uniform is gone, that uncomfortable feeling is gone.”

Rabe acknowledged that those laughs can be hard to come by when police are busy patrolling.

“The truth is we see a lot of people in their worst moments,” he said. “And that’s difficult for them, and it’s difficult for us personally. Having an opportunity to be at our best and connect with people when they’re at their best, it changes that dynamic, it changes that relationship. It builds legitimacy in policing.”

And building legitimacy with is the overall goal.

“I want them to enjoy themselves, I want them to connect with the police officers that are out here, and I want them to see that we’re good people,” Rabe said.

Brooklyn Park

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