Photo by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
Spain Park’s Tatum Ahlemeyer (19) possesses the ball in an area game at Heardmont Park on April 9.
Humility is defined as the absence of pride or arrogance.
Pride and arrogance could not be further from people’s minds when they talk about the way Tatum Ahlemeyer conducts herself.
If the Spain Park High School senior and star soccer player showed those characteristics from time to time, it would be understandable. Ahlemeyer has played on the Spain Park varsity team since she was in seventh grade, helped lead the program to the 2022 Class 7A state championship and has the Jags on a similar path this spring in her senior season.
Instead, there’s a common theme in the stories told about Ahlemeyer.
Following a thrilling win over Vestavia Hills in the state semifinals in 2022, Ahlemeyer’s first instinct was to console the Vestavia goalkeeper, who had just surrendered the game-winning goal.
Leading up to the state championship game that same year, Ahlemeyer wrote a personalized card for each player on the team, detailing their personal importance and significance to her.
For the last six years, Ahlemeyer has been the type of player to pick up cones and carry equipment to and from the field, no matter her status on the team. That duty is often seen as a rite of passage of sorts for younger players throughout many sports, but Ahlemeyer has never let that be the case in her time at Spain Park.
Ahlemeyer even runs beyond what’s required of her, to ensure teammates have an encouraging voice alongside them.
Those are just some of the many ways Spain Park coach Robert Starr has seen Ahlemeyer impact his program over the years. And naturally, Ahlemeyer would never bring up any of them on her own accord.
“You don’t get those kinds of people very often,” he said.
The 2024 season has already been a special one for Spain Park, with the hopes that it culminates in another championship. The Jags had won each of their first 18 games through April 9, with only a few regular season games remaining before the playoffs began.
Ahlemeyer is one of five seniors on this year’s team, part of a group that has played together for many years, dating back to their Berry Middle School days.
“What people have said over and over and over again, by parents, teammates, coaches and players, is that this team connects so well,” Ahlemeyer said. “It’s hard to get that with high school teams because groups are changing so much. We’ve been able to grow up and get to know each other really well over the years. It’s come together this year.”
There is some young, dynamic talent mixing with those older, experienced players as well. Players like sophomore Reese Oldfield and many others have provided a boost for the Jags.
“We’ve got the right mix of returning players who have been there and done that, and good leadership,” Starr said. “We have some talented players and some younger ones.”
Ahlemeyer began playing with the varsity team her seventh grade year. People joke with her that she did not say a word during the first two years of her career, but she has matured and grown more confident as
she has progressed.
“Your play improves throughout the years and you grow in confidence that way,” she said. “One of the really cool things has been being able to shape the culture to what you see is best. Having the opportunity and privilege to do that along with the other seniors, that’s been the biggest change [in me].”
Ahlemeyer will never be mistaken for the loud, boisterous leader, but she has become more comfortable in her leadership position and the weight it carries.
“It’s important that your words and actions embody that and stay constant through the highs and lows,” she said.
Starr commends Ahlemeyer for how deeply she cares about “one through 18,” meaning every player on the roster. Her gentle spirit is one of her greatest strengths, but sometimes she has to push that aside and not be so respectful toward opponents.
That’s a conversation they have certainly had a few times over the last few years.
“It’s time if you’re a dominant player, go out and act like it,” Starr has told her. “Don’t be apologetic. If you’re better than that person, then just be better than that person.”
Ahlemeyer considers her faith to be one of the most important aspects of her life, and that is one of the things that attracted her to Lipscomb University, where she has signed to play college soccer.
“I can’t wait to get up there, but I’m trying to soak in all these last moments,” she said. “It’s going by fast. It’s been the best.”
Starr firmly believes Ahlemeyer should have been more heavily recruited, but he has no doubt she will be a great benefit to Lipscomb’s program. He’s witnessed firsthand the work she puts in, many times by herself in the mid-summer heat, kicking soccer balls against a bench on the practice field.
“If anybody spends any time with Tatum, it’s like, ‘Yes, I want this kid,’” he said.
“Soccer has been a really sweet and special avenue, and it’s made me who I am in so many ways,” Ahlemeyer said. “You learn so much about yourself, and I know that through soccer I have come to learn the character of the Lord in so many ways, and it gives me purpose.”
Ahlemeyer also played basketball growing up and is part of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and First Priority clubs at Spain Park.
“I hope and pray that in every circumstance, whether it’s on the field or off the field, first I know I am an ambassador for Christ,” she said.
Starr knows full well that he will be telling stories of Ahlemeyer and asking others, “What would Tatum do?” for many years to come.
“You can appreciate the soccer talent, but the soccer is secondary. I can appreciate the genuine person that she is,” he said.
“She’s unlike anybody I’ve coached before.”
