News Feature: Helping Out a Friend
Published Wednesday, May 19,
2010
“You never think something like this will happen to a good
friend. It’s something you just hear about,”
Kyle Jett’s good friend is Ryan Beale. At Nansemond-Suffolk,
they were lacrosse and basketball teammates and standouts. Both
were three-sport athletes as Beale played volleyball in the fall
and Jett played football.
They especially starred on the lacrosse field. Jett went on to
play at Hampden-Sydney and was one of the best midfielders the
Tigers have had during his four years. Beale, a strong long-stick
defender, played at Lynchburg College. They were conference rivals
as Tigers vs. Hornets during the ’08 and ’09
seasons.
On Oct. 17, 2009, in Beale’s junior year at Lynchburg, he
was in a single-car accident in Georgia and wasn’t wearing a
seatbelt.
Beale survived, but was paralyzed from the waist down. He spent
from October to April in Atlanta’s Shepherd Center, one of
the best spinal cord centers in the country, before recently being
able to come back to Suffolk. Even with the care and therapy at the
Shepherd Center, it’s the tip of the iceberg of what Beale
has in front of him.
“No matter how hard working you are, no matter how athletic
you are, it doesn’t matter, everything can change in a matter
of seconds, especially if you’re not wearing a seatbelt. You
can be strong and athletic. It doesn’t matter,” Jett
said.
“Every time I get in a car now, I think about it,”
Jett said.
More than that though, Jett is helping a friend who’s helped
him plenty of times before.
“It’s hard not to want to help out when it comes to
Ryan and his family. They’re a great family and his parents
are the nicest people you’ll ever meet,” Jett said.
“He’s always been there for me, so I was trying to
think of a way to help out financially since the accident and
everything after has put a big burden on his family.”
Jett has organized the Ryan Beale Charity Golf Classic set for
Friday, June 18 at Nansemond River Golf Club.
Beale’s personality, even now, makes this an easy project
says Jett.
“Ryan is such a well-liked guy, by everyone…at NSA,
younger kids in the lacrosse program always loved him, too, because
he was a hard worker and because of how he played,” Jett
said.
Beale’s play on the field was perfectly fitting of a fast,
6-foot-2 athlete wielding 6-foot-long defender’s stick.
Discretion, or simply getting rid of the ball, was often the smart
choice for an offensive player if Beale was closing in.
“And he was so well-liked because of his sense of humor. He
still has it and it’s great that he’s still joking with
us. It’s great because that’s how we know him, so it
would’ve been difficult to see him not like that,” Jett
said.
“He’s made it easier for his friends and family.
He’s not getting down and that’s what’s good to
see,” Jett said.
About 60 golfers are registered for the tournament so far.
Jett’s goal is for a total of 144 players.
Jett’s even drawing enthusiastic support from places perhaps
surprising at first.
“A lot of lacrosse friends from Cape Henry and Norfolk
Academy are signing up, too. We played with and versus these guys
for 10 years or so,” Jett said.
There are still plenty of openings for golfers, as well as
sponsors or anyone wishing to donate items for a silent
auction.
The tournament is a Florida Best Ball format, with a shotgun start
set for 1 p.m. For more information, Jett can be reached at
JettK@hsc.edu.
This story was featured in the May 19th edition of
the Suffolk News-Herald (www.suffolknewsherald.com)
by Andrew Giermak.
