Ashley Beghtel possesses all the qualities one might expect to find in an NCAA
Division I athlete:
Size. At 5-foot-8, only three lacrosse
teammates stand taller, none of whom have shoulders as broad as hers.
“She’s a very physical player,” Oregon head lacrosse coach Jen Larsen said.
Aggression. Lauren Anderson, an assistant lacrosse coach at Southridge High School in Beaverton, tells of how it was “the parting of the seas” when Beghtel charged the goal for the Skyhawks. No one wanted to be in
the path of the attacker who would stop at nothing on her way to scoring.
Game smarts. Larsen and Anderson both praise Beghtel’s uncommon field awareness.
“Her perception and vision are 100 times better than anyone I’ve ever coached,”
Anderson said.
Beghtel’s powerful legs, tenacity and keen eye are all part of the package that has helped her pave her way to Papé Field. What’s
most impressive though, is Beghtel’s passion to overcome obstacles, most notably her
inability to hear.
When Beghtel was 12 months old, she
lost her hearing to meningitis. The setback was devastating to the Beghtel family,
Patty Beghtel, Ashley’s mother, said.
Faith, though, helped the family through
its dark period.
“It was the only reason we survived,”
Patty said. “Knowing someone greater than us had a plan.”
Ashley was introduced to signing at
15 months, and soon her older brother
Matt would join her. A few years later she was playing T-ball and soccer.
“She doesn’t sit around much,” her
mother said.
Entering high school, Beghtel started
playing soccer and was soon recruited by
the basketball coach because of her size
and aggressiveness. But it was the new club sport of lacrosse her brother played that
intrigued her.
“I really like to try new things,” Beghtel said through her interpreter, Leah Passman. “(Lacrosse) was something exciting and new.”
After the titillating experience of lacrosse, “soccer became that more dry,” she said.
Under the tutelage of Anderson, Beghtel’s gifts became obvious.
“She has a ton of pure athletic talent,”
Anderson said. “(As a coach) you’re lucky to get one that has the full package.”
Impressing Anderson more than Beghtel’s talents or determination to succeed in the face of her disability was her willingness to put the team first.
“She would do whatever we asked her,”
Anderson said.
After three years of playing at Southridge, Beghtel’s disability would, at times, be
overlooked by coaches, as dealing with it had become routine.
“We occasionally forgot to do the simple things,” Anderson said, such as turning
toward Beghtel during time-outs so the
attacker could read a coach’s lips.
Things weren’t so easy, however, after
Ashley transferred to Oregon (she spent the first two terms of last year at Western Oregon). In the fall, none of Beghtel’s teammates knew any sign language, leaving Ashley on the outside of small talk and inside jokes.
“It took a while for them to get used to me at the beginning,” Beghtel said. “But after a few months, they started to get used to it. They’re like, ‘Ashley’s a normal kid, she’s just a lacrosse player, she just can’t hear.’”
After admitting to her team
mates she was having a hard time communicating, her lacrosse
sisters took it upon themselves to bridge the gap.
“Seven girls decided to take an (American Sign Language) class and it really improved … our
communication,” Beghtel said. “It was really meaningful.”
Like any rookie athlete at the
Division I-A level, Beghtel is fighting for playing time in a new
system. An attacker in high school, Beghtel has been moved to defense to take advantage of her size.
“At first it was really awkward
because defense requires a lot more hearing,” Beghtel said, but admitted the less glorious part of the game suits her better.
“It’s just … heart that’s involved and I’m aggressive and that’s what makes me a defender,” she said.
Similar to the rest of her
teammates, Beghtel is excited
about building the foundation for Oregon lacrosse.
“We’re really proud to be the first team,” she said. “People will
remember that we were the team that started the program.”
Beghtel’s heart and soul are the defining characteristics of her life.
“You can teach a kid skill but … heart comes along once in a lifetime,” Anderson said.
Beghtel, who has yet to officially declare a major, said she wants to go into education and teach kids similar to herself.
“I believe that kids should have no limits,” said the former 4.0 high school student. “I want to show them they can do anything. I hope that people understand that they can be included, it doesn’t matter what situation, if it’s work, or school or sports.”
Beghtel, who still has a hard
time expressing herself to her new teammates, was extremely clear
following a recent workout.
“Don’t put limits on anybody,” she said. “You can still work hard and overcome all your obstacles.”
Beau Eastes is a freelance reporter for the Daily Emerald
