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Brandy BeverlyWare County High SchoolWaycross, Georgia by Robert Preston, Jr. photography by Jonathan Chick |
It’s nice to have choices about your future. Just ask Ware County High senior Brandy Beverly. The three-sport, straight-A student-athlete has the grades and the talent in two of her three chosen sports to carry her through college. She plays softball and tennis, and also swims for the Ware County Gators. Despite the time she spends on the field of play, her grades have never suffered. She’s number 23 out of 293 students in the Class of 2009 and motivates herself to make the grades necessary to stay at the top. Like most stellar athletes, Beverly became involved with athletics at a young age. Her parents, Roy and Sherry Beverly, were both athletes, though Sherry admits that their daughter gets her athletic ability more from Roy than her. “I made the team, but that’s about it,” Sherry says, laughing. Roy, on the other hand, was an excellent football player for the Gators in the late 1970’s. He was All Region offense and defense, and was also the baseball team’s MVP. In addition, Roy also wrestled. He looked like a lock to secure a scholarship to play football, but a knee injury during the 1979 season kept him off the college gridiron. Despite their athletic backgrounds, Roy and Sherry didn’t push Beverly into sports. They let her know they wanted her involved in some kind of activity but left the rest up to her. “We tried to let our kids make their own decisions about what to play. We wanted them active but we let them decide,” says Roy. Beverly’s older brother, Roy II, gravitated toward tennis. Beverly, meanwhile, opted for softball. At five years old, she started playing T-ball, and continued through the recreation leagues in Ware County. By the time Beverly was 11 years old, people were beginning to notice that she was developing into a very good softball player. “She played catcher when she was 11 or 12. She was the only one who could throw the ball to second base,” says Sherry. Beverly was also turning into a fierce competitor, and Sherry credits that to her father. His competitive nature rubbed off on Beverly, says Sherry, and by the time she was 12, she knew the difference between winning and losing. And she wanted to win. As Beverly entered high school, she thought she would use softball as a way to go to college. Beverly plays left field, and patrols the corner with excellent speed and a sure glove. She is a very able hitter, but prefers playing defense. She is drawn to the individual aspect of playing defense – one player against the ball, with all the attention focused in one spot. “She makes the plays she’s supposed to make and occasionally makes a really great play. She’s a better athlete that I was. She’s gonna show her daddy up, and that tickles me,” says Roy. In any sport that Beverly has played, she is drawn to something that brings out the individual aspect of the activity. But that doesn’t mean that she exists to satisfy her own ego on the field. Far from it, in fact. When asked about her best memory, she didn’t hesitate. It involves a teammate, not her. During the 2008 season, a freshman teammate hit a home run against Effingham County. It was a big at-bat in a big game. The homer energized the Gators, and Ware County went on to win the game. Beverly is not without her own heroics, though. Her father remembers the Gators’ first postseason softball game. In the sixth inning, Beverly laced a go-ahead double to put Ware up 8-7 and the Gators eventually won the game 12-7. |
   Favorite:
One thing about me no
"I play the tuba!" |
As good as her softball career has been, it’s been usurped by tennis. Seven years ago, Beverly picked up a tennis racket and hasn’t looked back. “I like the fact that it’s an individual sport. I only get upset with myself if something goes wrong. It’s easier when I don’t have to rely on someone else to win,” she says. Beverly plays #2 singles for the Gators, and made All Region last season. (She started out as a doubles player but her competitive nature proved too demanding on her partners, so she moved into singles play.) Her favorite tennis moment also happens to be her mother’s favorite too. Once, Beverly played a marathon match, lasting over three hours in the freezing cold. The rest of her team had finished their matches and both Ware and the opposing team gathered courtside to watch the conclusion. Beverly, staying true to her competitive nature, outlasted her opponent for the win. “That was a do-or-die match,” remembers Beverly. She would like to pursue tennis in college, though she isn’t really hanging her post-secondary education hat on that. She says she hasn’t received any offers but has her eyes on Valdosta State, maybe even the University of Georgia. She plans to major in sports physical therapy. “If I can’t play, I’d still like to be around sports,” she says. Beverly possesses a strong serve and a solid forehand. She also makes adjustments well during the course of a match, something that enables her to pull out close sets. Her third sport of choice is swimming, which she picked up because her friends were doing it. Though swimming might not be her primary sport of focus, she’s done well, and was named team captain for this season. As with everything else, she jumped in with both feet (literally and figuratively) and gave swimming 100 percent. “It’s a great way to stay in shape during the winter,” she says. Beverly competes in the 200 yard freestyle relay, the 400 yard freestyle relay, as well as the 100 and 200 yard freestyle events. However, her emphasis of late has been keeping her grades up. Academics have always been a priority for Beverly as she understood from a very early age that she needed good grades in order to succeed. Beverly is self-motivated to excel in the classroom and manages her time wisely. “She’s motivated herself to make good grades. She probably gets that more from her mom,” quips Roy. “When she entered kindergarten, we were told that we would get out of her what we expected. So we’ve always expected more, and she’s given us more,” says Sherry. After practice, Beverly heads home and starts studying. Though she does a good job of keeping herself on-task with schoolwork, her parents certainly don’t mind stepping in if she loses focus. “If I start slacking, Mom and Dad definitely let me know,” she jokes. Beverly’s favorite subject is math. “I’ve always done well in math. It has just come naturally to me,” she says. Right now, Beverly is taking AP calculus. Her favorite teacher is, predictably, a math instructor: Mrs. Soper, who Beverly says is always willing to take extra time with a student who needs a little help. Because of her grades and her talent in softball and tennis, Beverly has a few options as her high school years draw to an end. She wants to play tennis in college, but she says would consider an offer to play softball. Her work in the classroom and on the field earned her Female Student Athlete of the Year last season for Ware County. As important as sport and school are to her life, there is more to Beverly than those two activities. She has served her community by volunteering for Relay for Life for ten years, Rebuilding Together for four years and SwampFest for three years. Beverly also plays tuba in the band – not a small feat for her 5’ 3”, 125-pound frame. “The tuba is bigger than me,” she laughs. Beverly is also very active in the Kettle Creek Southern Congregational Methodist Church youth group, Salt and Light. “She’s never given us a minute’s trouble growing up. She’s stayed out of trouble and done everything we’ve asked her. I thank the Lord for that. If I knew the next one would turn out like her, we’d have another child. We’ve been very blessed,” says Roy. • | |
January 2012
Robert Preston Jr. 
Micki K Photography 
