Tough decisions have led FCD's Beason to success... and the other side of the country
Such was the case, as Beason followed in the footsteps of his brother and father, playing two years at the school — he was the first eighth-grader to make the varsity team — before he faced a decision about his future.
Whether to stick around with brother, Chase Beason, who was a rising senior at FCD, and his father who was an assistant coach for the Furies.
There really was no choice to be made, but that didn’t make it any easier.
“It was actually pretty tough on me,” he said. “I knew the decision I made was the right one — I knew all along that I needed to play Academy soccer if I wanted to play college soccer, so that wasn’t hard for me.”
But the challenge was knowing that he would be reduced to merely a spectator as his best buddies fought for a state championship.
“Just not being able to play with my brother and letting them down, was probably the hardest part about it.”
Although Turner had known the moment was coming for years, that didn’t make it any easier.
“No, I wasn’t cool with it at all — I was jealous, I was mad,” Turner said. “From a purely soccer standpoint … I get it, from a purely soccer standpoint. My concern was, ‘Is the kid going to miss out on any experiences?’”
Three years later, Turner said his question has been answered by a resounding, “No.”
Beason, who saw most of his schedule consumed by traveling to tournaments with the North Carolina Fusion soccer program made every effort to keep himself involved with the Furies soccer program and made himself a part of the school.
He sat on the bench when he was able to at home games, he helped warm up the goalkeepers, shot video during matches, and sometimes traveled with the team to away matches.
“He stayed as involved in school as you possibly could with having to travel half of the year on weekends,” Turner said. “He’s been able to go to his proms, he’s an honor student, he’s taking like 10 AP classes … he’s a spectacular kid, and he did his best to not miss out on anything.”
With the Fusion, he captained the team this past season and played every minute of all 39 matches for the U-18 team in 2013-14.
His performance drew the attention of college coaches from all of the major programs in North Carolina, and with his choice of scholarship offers, Beason was prepared to make a college commitment last April until an email arrived his inbox.
During his freshman year, Beason sent an email to Stanford to introduce himself and hopefully catch the eye of a coach at a showcase event.
Two years later, a reply showed up in his box to let him know the Cardinal were interested. At first he wondered if it was a hoax.
“I wasn’t honestly sure at first if it was legitimate. You get a lot of those emails, so I didn’t really know what to think of it,” he said.
After checking in with his Fusion coaches, who confirmed the interest, Beason decided to postpone his decision until Stanford made a decision.
Until that moment, he had never considered playing his college soccer thousands of miles from home.
Like his decision to play Academy, it was a no-brainer to wait.
“When I got that interest, I wasn’t going to let it go and ignore it. You’ve got to consider some place like Stanford,” he said. “It was pretty exciting though, but I kind of had to hold things off because they weren’t going to make a decision on me until they watched me play that summer.”
When the offer came, Beason jumped at the opportunity and signed with the Cardinal. Having lived in one place for 18 years, there are the typical worries about going so far from home, but also, he’s embracing the journey.
“I’m a little bit apprehensive about it, you know, it’s certainly going to be a change and quite a bit different, but I think it’s something new,” he said. “I’ve been in Winston-Salem my entire life, so I’m looking forward to something new and different.”
That approach isn’t any different than the player and person Turner has known since he was a little boy.
“He’s all-in,” Turner said. “I can’t think of just a better all-around kid that I’ve ever been associated with.”
BRANT WILKERSON---WINSTON SALEM JOURNAL
Such was the case, as Beason followed in the footsteps of his brother and father, playing two years at the school — he was the first eighth-grader to make the varsity team — before he faced a decision about his future.
Whether to stick around with brother, Chase Beason, who was a rising senior at FCD, and his father who was an assistant coach for the Furies.
There really was no choice to be made, but that didn’t make it any easier.
“It was actually pretty tough on me,” he said. “I knew the decision I made was the right one — I knew all along that I needed to play Academy soccer if I wanted to play college soccer, so that wasn’t hard for me.”
But the challenge was knowing that he would be reduced to merely a spectator as his best buddies fought for a state championship.
“Just not being able to play with my brother and letting them down, was probably the hardest part about it.”
Although Turner had known the moment was coming for years, that didn’t make it any easier.
“No, I wasn’t cool with it at all — I was jealous, I was mad,” Turner said. “From a purely soccer standpoint … I get it, from a purely soccer standpoint. My concern was, ‘Is the kid going to miss out on any experiences?’”
Three years later, Turner said his question has been answered by a resounding, “No.”
Beason, who saw most of his schedule consumed by traveling to tournaments with the North Carolina Fusion soccer program made every effort to keep himself involved with the Furies soccer program and made himself a part of the school.
He sat on the bench when he was able to at home games, he helped warm up the goalkeepers, shot video during matches, and sometimes traveled with the team to away matches.
“He stayed as involved in school as you possibly could with having to travel half of the year on weekends,” Turner said. “He’s been able to go to his proms, he’s an honor student, he’s taking like 10 AP classes … he’s a spectacular kid, and he did his best to not miss out on anything.”
With the Fusion, he captained the team this past season and played every minute of all 39 matches for the U-18 team in 2013-14.
His performance drew the attention of college coaches from all of the major programs in North Carolina, and with his choice of scholarship offers, Beason was prepared to make a college commitment last April until an email arrived his inbox.
During his freshman year, Beason sent an email to Stanford to introduce himself and hopefully catch the eye of a coach at a showcase event.
Two years later, a reply showed up in his box to let him know the Cardinal were interested. At first he wondered if it was a hoax.
“I wasn’t honestly sure at first if it was legitimate. You get a lot of those emails, so I didn’t really know what to think of it,” he said.
After checking in with his Fusion coaches, who confirmed the interest, Beason decided to postpone his decision until Stanford made a decision.
Until that moment, he had never considered playing his college soccer thousands of miles from home.
Like his decision to play Academy, it was a no-brainer to wait.
“When I got that interest, I wasn’t going to let it go and ignore it. You’ve got to consider some place like Stanford,” he said. “It was pretty exciting though, but I kind of had to hold things off because they weren’t going to make a decision on me until they watched me play that summer.”
When the offer came, Beason jumped at the opportunity and signed with the Cardinal. Having lived in one place for 18 years, there are the typical worries about going so far from home, but also, he’s embracing the journey.
“I’m a little bit apprehensive about it, you know, it’s certainly going to be a change and quite a bit different, but I think it’s something new,” he said. “I’ve been in Winston-Salem my entire life, so I’m looking forward to something new and different.”
That approach isn’t any different than the player and person Turner has known since he was a little boy.
“He’s all-in,” Turner said. “I can’t think of just a better all-around kid that I’ve ever been associated with.”
