The Virginian-Pilot
By David Beemer
Eight years ago, Princess Anne High School's girls soccer team hosted Ocean Lakes in the Sportsplex for a match that was slated to be a blowout. By the end of the first half, Princess Anne scored four times, leaving Ocean Lakes with little to show for its efforts. Seeing that Ocean Lakes wasn't going to get back in the game, Coach John Craig - a former keeper himself - took the opportunity to see what his youngest keeper, a freshman, could do.
And so, before a home crowd expecting another half dominated by Princess Anne, Heidi Beemer took to the pitch. Heidi's biggest game to date was the middle school city championship, and I could tell by her sideline enthusiasm that she was pumped.
With nothing to lose, Heidi entered that rare, out-of-body state athletes call "the zone," playing the best half of soccer of her young life. Spectators in the stands groaned as Heidi blocked and caught the would-be goals, her feet quick, arms outstretched and body lunging.
I counted 36 shots on goal, with only two making it to the back of the net. The little girl I played catch with had announced herself in a new way, and her performance gave me a glimpse, perhaps for the first time, of the impressive young woman she would become.
That afternoon, Heidi, lanky and with long blond hair and a smile that hides her intensity to win, declared that she was going to be a great keeper. I will remember that day for the rest of my life.
In following years, Heidi trained and traveled with the State Olympic Development Team and was invited to the Region I training camp. She earned a full soccer scholarship to Virginia Military Institute and helped its fledgling soccer program advance in the Big South tournament her last two years.
Little did I know that a letter I wrote to The Virginian-Pilot 15 years ago supporting the admission of women to VMI would continue to echo through time and our family history.
In a previous letter to the editor, the mother of a cadet criticized the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to strike down VMI's all-male admissions policy. This was part of my response in July 1996:
"Speaking from experience, VMI is in for significant changes. As a 1987 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and a career officer for more than eight years, I can testify that women have served and will continue to serve our country with honor and distinction.
"Yes, VMI is going to change. Women's heads will not be shaved clean. And women will not be required to run as fast, jump as high or do as many push-ups as male cadets. So what?
"What VMI will become is a taxpayer-supported school providing the best education and military indoctrination possible, a unique and very different education experience offered to all members of our society, not just young men."
It was clear to me then that women would excel, even though I suspected it would take years for the culture of VMI and its alumni to truly acknowledge women. I had no idea at the time that my older daughter would eventually be a product of this integration.
For the past year, Heidi has served as Alpha Company 2nd Platoon lieutenant and vice president of education and operations for the Cadet Equity Association, which promotes equity among students and prosecutes sexual harassment and discrimination.
Virginians should be proud of our state's military academy. Founded in 1839, VMI is the nation's oldest state-supported military college. Every year, roughly half of VMI's graduates earn commissions in the armed forces, and I am proud that Heidi will soon commission and serve our nation as an Army officer.
As follow up to a summer NASA internship for future leaders of the space program, Heidi studied at the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah. She's been working to detect life in desert soil samples, preparing one day to explore Mars as an astronaut geologist.
I'm awed that my little girl - the outstanding goalie, VMI soccer player, chemistry major, astronomy minor and volunteer for Special Olympics and Habitat for Humanity - graduates with honors Monday and plans to earn her Ph.D.
But nothing Heidi does surprises me any more. I wouldn't be shocked if she became the first woman to punt a soccer ball on Mars.
David Beemer, father of two college-age daughters, is a 1987 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy. He has lived in Virginia Beach since 1991.
