2025 IndyStar Sports Mom of the Year never says no. 'When help is needed, she is there'

Indianapolis Star

11-05-2025

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 [phone]. Get IndyStar's high school coverage sent directly to your inbox with the High School Sports newsletter.
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