The Soccer Life - Tammy Haley

This was going to be just like every other survey on this site, but as I got into it, I realized that it needed to be more than that. I had some great coaches during my playing career. Looking back, though, I don't remember having that many of them. I was with the same coaches during my club days from the time I was about 11 to until I started playing for the high school in 9th grade and then there were a couple of coaches during my time in high school. This edition of the Soccer Life highlights my JV coach during my freshman year. That year, I played on both the JV and Varsity squads. However, it was my JV coach who seemed to really value my abilities and had faith in me to make the right decisions on the field. So while some people may have disliked being on the JV team, I saw it as a way to get more games and learn. Coach Tammy Haley was a coach and administrator during my time at Ben Davis, went to school with my Dad, and I value my time playing for her. However, her soccer playing days are just the surface of what she has meant to Ben Davis High School. So interspersed with the normal soccer survey questions, I'm going to give you some other details of her time at Ben Davis. I want to thank Coach Haley for being willing to fill out my questionnaire, but I also need to thank Sandra Squire (Principal of Ben Davis); John Clark (BD Athletic Director) and staff; Megan Kramper (Assistant Director of Media Relations for Indiana State University); and the internet for helping me find the information and photos used below.

1. Name:
Tammy Haley

2. Role (Player, Parent, Coach, Referee, General Spectator, All of the Above, None of the Above, Other):
Player, coach, administrator, team captain, team manager, fan

3. Soccer-specific Nickname (and any story behind it):

4. Age started playing:
Started at 24 yrs. and played to 48 ½.  Came out of retirement to play in the over 50 national cup at 50 years old.

5. First recollection of the game:
Over 30 indoor national champs

6. Highest level of play achieved:
Played in over 30, over 40, and over 50 national cups

7. Last competitive match – Date (if known) & Level of Play

8. Position:
Played many positions but usually stopper and center mid.

9. Jersey number:
24 & 18

10. Most memorable moment(s):
[Winning the 2000] Indoor national championship

11. Least memorable moment(s):
Same game [indoor national championship], a girl and I collided and she had a severely broken leg. I was badly bruised and sore through GK long pants, socks, and the shin guards made of plaster and another pair of socks.

12. Favorite team:
Any US World Cup Men’s or Women’s teams

13. Favorite player:
Historical: Pele
Current:

14. Indoor vs Outdoor:

15. Grass vs Turf:

16. Coaching experience:
Here's a good place to interject since Coach Haley didn't provide anything here, but she, obviously, was my coach so she had coaching experience. I'm also going to combine this with the "Other sports played" question below.

Coach Haley was my soccer coach in the early 90's, but she began her coaching career in the late 70's. For basketball... Coach Haley was the Ben Davis High School girl's head basketball coach from 1978 - 1984, compiling a 67-52 record and winning a sectional and regional title along the way, and making it to semi-state in 1981. That's her on the far left with her 1979 team.

As if being the Head Coach of the girl's basketball team wasn't enough, during that same timeframe, she was also the assistant coach for the girl's volleyball team in 1978 and 1979. A team that just happened to be the 1979 girl's volleyball state champions. 

Apparently not one to sit around and twiddle her thumbs, not long after leaving her duties as the assistant volleyball coach, but while she was still coaching the girl's basketball team, Coach Haley became the girl's softball coach for their inaugural season. She was not only coaching the team, but she also helped with the design of the field AND the uniforms. 

All of this while being in her mid- to late-twenties. Tamara Haley was a 1973 graduate of Ben Davis High School, went away to college at Indiana State University where she was a three year letterwinner in volleyball (unfortunately, I couldn't get any stats of her college volleyball career because ISU lost a lot of data in a fire), and came back and spent her entire career teaching students at Ben Davis HS. I personally knew her because of her involvement with the soccer team, but even during that time of her career, she was involved in multiple things. She was a coach, the coordinator for both boys and girls' teams, and the event manager. 

She was also heavily involved with the Special Olympics during my time at the school. 

Now she's the contact person for the Ben Davis Former Athletes and Coaches Club.

A person with this much dedication to the school couldn't have always been that way, could they? Yes. Yes they could. Let me recap her senior picture activities listing: 

• Americanism (yeah, I don't know either)
• Ecology Club
• President
• Pep Band
• Symphonic Band
• FTA,
• YFC,
• Junior Classical League
• Lettermens,
• GAA
• Vice-President
• Yardleys, and
• Student Council Representative.

That's a lot of things to do to fill your time.

"In 1971, we weren't in the yearbook or newspaper. I guess we were just happy for any opportunities. We were called the Girl's Athletic Association. We were encouraged to do as many sports as possible even if they overlapped. I played every sport. My most memorable was going to the first ever IHSAA sponsored state volleyball championship game. Now girl's sports are considered newsworthy. Girls who play sports have more opportunities like better coaches, facilities, uniforms, referees, scholarships, and recognition," said Haley.

I would argue that it is because of women like Coach Haley, who not only participated in playing the sports, but also took a significant leadership role in helping the next generation of women athletes that helped create those opportunities. 

17. Refereeing experience:

18. Favorite World Cup moment(s):

19. Honors/Awards:

20. Other sports played (and to what level):

21. Other Comments:
Extra:  It is cool to know one of the women’s premier players, Lauren Cheney, [is] from Ben Davis. She has been fun to follow while at UCLA and now on the world stage.

Lauren [Cheney] Holiday, another one of those females who went through Ben Davis athletics that were helped by the women like Tammy Haley who helped paved the way.

Some additional photos of Tammy Haley's time at Ben Davis and ISU: