Navy women’s lacrosse junior Lindsay Beardmore recently chatted with PressBox about growing up in a lacrosse family, her experience on the USS New Orleans in Japan last summer and more. The 5-foot-3 attacker posted 17 goals and 17 assists for the Mids in 2022. Her great-uncle, Bud Beardmore, coached the Maryland men’s lacrosse team from 1970-1980, winning national championships in 1973 and 1975. Bud’s sons Jim and Steve played for Maryland after Bud left.
Lindsay Beardmore is a native of Annapolis and graduate of Archbishop Spalding.
PressBox: How did you become interested in lacrosse?
Lindsay Beardmore: For me, I kind of grew up always having a stick in my hand. It really stemmed more from my dad’s side of the family. Having the Beardmore last name was kind of a big legacy in the sport of lacrosse. My dad’s uncle, so my great-uncle, Buddy Beardmore was the men’s lacrosse coach at the University of Maryland. Two of [my dad’s cousins, Jim and Steve] played at Maryland. I just always wanted to grow up to live up to the name in a way and kind of show what I could do on a larger scale.
PB: How did your family influence your game growing up?
LB: It was definitely a little bit of pressure, but I kind of liked having pressure on me. They definitely paved the way, as Uncle Buddy would say, to be the best. Just kind of wanting to be like that and having that mindset of wanting to be the best was just something that I always looked for.
PB: Did you have any cool moments with your family going back to College Park?
LB: When Uncle Buddy passed away they had a nice little ceremony, recognition for him at one of the men’s games, and it was really cool because you got to see all of the players that played for him during the championship-winning [seasons]. Even sitting up in the boxes and getting to talk to so many of them, just hearing stories about what lacrosse has done for them and their life. I even got to hold a few of their NCAA championship rings. It was something that was kind of put in the back of my head from early on that I kind of wanted to have a chance at that.
PB: How did your family help develop your game?
LB: My dad, [Bruce], was one of my coaches for a very long time growing up, so I was always kind of known as the coach’s kid. We’d go out to any field that we could find [like Severna Park High School or in College Park], just getting in those extra sets and reps where he would just feed me a million balls and we would go out for hours with a speaker. We would bring out little water balloons and tie them up to a goal and just shoot for hours on end. Always having that stick in my hand and always having that support system that I did from my family really allowed me to be where I am today.
PB: What are your favorite memories from Archbishop Spalding?
LB: I loved everything about Spalding. I wouldn’t have changed anything for the world. There were so many things. I think something that I really took away from Spalding was the close-knit family that we had with the community there playing lacrosse. The sisterhood that we had is something that I’ll never forget, especially because I also played field hockey at Spalding and it was really cool to see how many of my teammates from lacrosse played field hockey together. It was kind of nice every once in a while to take a step away from lacrosse and try out something else, but we were all still together with our best friends every day. Even if we were running on the line, running sprints with our coaches, even on those tough days of preseason, it was just looking around and seeing the girls who were to your left and right. Those are just the memories that I stuck in the back of my head.
PB: Why did you choose to go to the Naval Academy?
LB: Growing up, it was something that I wanted to do in the back of my head. I knew I wanted to serve in some way. I just didn’t know if it was going to be this sort of a dream come true. Coming from a local area, it’s definitely very competitive to get into a school like Navy. And once I had [head coach Cindy Timchal] and the rest of the coaching staff on my side in order to get into a such a prestigious institution, that really helped me dive into the application process. My grandparents had sponsored Midshipmen growing up, so I kind of always grew up around them. … I got to see so many of them retire as captains and colonels. They were jet pilots and you name it, so many different stories that I got to hear growing up. Even my grandfather served in the Army, so I knew I wanted to serve. I just didn’t know if it was going to be at an institution like here or if I was going to be playing lacrosse somewhere and doing ROTC. The stars just aligned and I ended up here and I haven’t looked back since.
PB: Have you thought about your service selection?
LB: I’ve definitely thought about it. I still have a little bit under a year now, which is crazy to think about. It still feels like just yesterday I was a freshman. But I would say every other month I kind of ebb and flow. Every time I start to really like a community, another community piques my interest. Every summer we have summer training, so this past summer I got to go with two of my teammates to Japan. We had a surface cruise, so we were on a ship in Japan for a month, which was absolutely amazing. Or we got to do to thing called POTRAMID where you spend a week with different communities [the summer before sophomore year]. Every time I started to love a community, another one just pulls you in another direction. So we’ll see where it takes me.
PB: You were on a surface ship in Japan?
LB: Yes, we were on the USS New Orleans (LPD 18). You get assigned to somebody on that ship and see what life is like as a Surface Warfare Officer. … It was amazing. When we first got there, we had 24 hours of traveling to get there and then we went underway, so driving the boat around off Sasebo in Japan. We got to steer the ship at nighttime. We got to go off the ship after the first week of going underway. We got to tour around Sasebo, see a bunch of temples and hike up mountains. It was absolutely amazing.
PB: What’s your favorite memory at Navy so far?
LB: There’s so many to choose from. I can think of two big ones that really stick out to me. One of them was for lacrosse, which was when we beat Army in the [Patriot League] semifinals last year. Even though we didn’t win the [championship] game, being able to find that hunger and come out with a win at the end of the season was a really big deal for our team. Even though the season didn’t end how we wanted it to, still making it to that stage was a big deal for us. And then another really big memory that I can think of that’s kind of more so a Navy-specific thing was [the Herndon Monument Climb] our plebe year and kind of capping off that very challenging year but very rewarding year with all of my classmates.
PB: What’s it like to play in an Army-Navy lacrosse game?
LB: It’s surreal. I love the pressure. There’s definitely a lot of pressure that comes with it, but everybody is just so driven and really wants to win. … Growing up in Annapolis, we would go to the stadium to watch the Mids play all the time, but now [coming] full circle and being able to perform with some of the greatest girls on our team or even on the other team, it’s just so empowering to see so many strong women playing a sport which we love. The only thing is [Madeline Lenkart], one of my old teammates from my club team, is on Army so it’s always fun to see her out on the field.
PB: What’s your favorite thing about Annapolis?
LB: Probably going downtown and getting food anywhere. … My go-to right now has been Fox’s Den and getting some pizza and brussels sprouts.
PB: What’s your favorite thing about the Naval Academy?
LB: I would probably say the people. Everybody’s very driven and is working toward a common goal. You don’t really find many people that slack off. Everybody wants to be the best. Whether that’s coaching themselves or pushing each other, everybody’s working toward a common goal. Realizing that there’s so much more beyond ourselves is something that I really admire about this place.
PB: Who’s your best friend on the team and what’s a story that underscores your friendship?
LB: Caroline Stefans. She’s No. 5. She’s one of my classmates. She is one of our defenders, so me playing attack and her playing defense is always something that kind of puts us to the test. It’s very funny to see us, whether it’s in a scrimmage during practice or just playing against her to see how we can push each other while kind of getting under each other’s skin.
PB: Who was a player you looked up to when you first got to the Naval Academy?
LB: Reagan Roelofs. She was one of the greats and she probably always will be. She was one of the attackers who played with me my freshman year. She really had a very prominent leadership style that [carried over] to the rest of us, especially being an underclassman. She kind of took the rest of us under her wing and showed us the way.
PB: What advice do you have for younger players who are going through the recruiting process?
LB: I would say to keep an open mind and a positive outlook. The recruiting process keeps changing with the new rules. I committed here before the new rule change [that college lacrosse coaches can’t contact players until Sept. 1 of the athlete’s junior year of high school]. It can be very stressful. There’s a lot of pressure put on young women when it comes to the recruiting process, but I would just say to take a step back and enjoy it. It’s a decision that means a lot and it’s going to change their lives forever, so don’t take it for granted and don’t settle.
PB: What are your goals for after lacrosse?
LB: We’ll see where service assignment goes, but as of right now, I want to make a career out of either the Navy or the Marine Corps, whichever one I service assign, and then maybe even pick up a coaching gig on the side wherever I’m stationed.
Photo Credit: Phil Hoffmann/Navy Athletics
Issue 279: February/March 2023
Originally published Feb. 15, 2023