As a goalie, Katie Meyer threw her physique into over a thousand unflinching dives to make game-winning saves. She helped lead Stanford College to a 2019 NCAA championship with a number of late-game blocks, however earlier than that she made quite a few saves at Newbury Park Excessive Faculty in Ventura County.
On Saturday, within the final gentle of the day, a number of hundred individuals gathered on the soccer area to recollect Meyer, who died earlier this month. She was 22.
“She was simply the lifetime of the social gathering, however in a great way,” Eileen Belanger, Katie’s advisory instructor at Century Academy, mentioned exterior the memorial. Belanger’s voice cracked as she recalled writing a commencement speech about Meyer.
“I may have gone on for hours speaking about Katie,” Belanger mentioned. “She was simply so laborious to sum up in a single speech.”
Meyer’s booming voice and robust kick on the sphere instantly stood out to Pepperdine College head coach Tim Ward when he first noticed her. He recalled the summer season of 2020, when he co-coached an impromptu women’ soccer league at an area park with Katie. Ward mentioned Katie threw herself into being a mentor to all the ladies. There have been instances when the ladies would attempt to rating off Katie, launching a number of volleys at her directly, they usually discovered a lot pleasure in her presence.
“It was loopy stunning,” Ward mentioned to the group on the memorial.
Meyer was discovered useless in her dorm room on March 1. Her dad and mom, Gina and Steve Meyer, informed NBC’s “As we speak” that their daughter died by suicide. They mentioned they believed Katie might have acquired an electronic mail from Stanford College concerning a disciplinary motion. Stanford College was unable to share details about “confidential pupil disciplinary issues,” a spokesperson mentioned in an emailed assertion. Within the weeks following Meyer’s demise, Stanford vowed to deliver on further psychological well being companies for college kids.
Katie Meyer was a ball of vitality, many on the service mentioned, who was enthusiastic about soccer but in addition about educating younger athletes in regards to the varieties of obstacles they may overcome. That zeal was infectious to anybody who watched her play or discovered themselves in her orbit.
Like most college students from Gen Z, Meyer shared her life over social media. Meyer posted TikTok movies of herself in her Stanford dorm room on the brink of exit, generally placing on make-up and choosing her outfit. She shared movies from a hospital mattress when she had knee surgical procedure and her personal restoration within the health club. She shared her love of Lego bricks and Star Wars together with being a task mannequin to youthful athletes.
13-year-old Grace Ae stood exterior the memorial along with her dad and mom, Laura and Vince. Grace, who can also be a goalie, known as Meyer a real inspiration.
“She’s simply an unbelievable function mannequin and massive motivation,” Grace mentioned.
Steve Meyer, Katie’s father, mentioned his household feels “emotionally rinsed” and the help they’ve acquired from pals and the neighborhood has been a giant assist. She all the time wore a radiant smile, he mentioned, and all the time requested her dad to take her on wagon rides and to gather flowers.
He recalled enjoying yard soccer with an 8-year-old Katie and kicking the ball too laborious and knocking her down. “Oh no,” Steve Meyer mentioned. However then she bought up and requested him, “Is that each one you bought?”
Over Christmas, Katie Meyer bought to play along with her youthful sister Siena in a sport of soccer at Newbury Park Excessive Faculty. “It was stunning,” Steve Meyer mentioned.
He learn considered one of his final textual content messages to her after he visited her at Stanford: “I had the most effective time seeing you. And simply being with you. I hope you could have a tremendous day. I like you, dad.”
He added, “I’m blessed to be her dad.”
Gina Meyer, Katie’s mom, mentioned, “She got here into this world a complete spitfire of vitality.”
She recalled stroking her daughter’s hair as a toddler after which touring collectively when Katie was older.
“It was the purest mother-daughter love and pleasure,” Gina Meyer mentioned. Looking into the group at her daughter’s memorial, she mentioned, “She could be in absolute awe, searching at this.”
Her family and friends spoke earlier than a big image of Meyer and a #19 jersey, which she wore at Stanford.
Stanford College head coach Paul Ratcliffe mentioned Meyer impressed the faculty neighborhood, main “Go Stanford” chants at totally different sport video games.
“Katie, thanks for bringing a lot pleasure into our lives,” Ratcliffe mentioned, his voice cracking.
Her former teammates with the Camarillo Eagles youth soccer league from the ages of 11 to 17 recall Meyer as a pressure of nature.
“She was so passionate in regards to the sport,” Sadie Lutz mentioned.
“She pushed everyone,” Carissa Dykes mentioned.
“Everybody bought so completely happy when she bought to follow,” Avery Smithson mentioned.
Jason Klein, Newbury Park Excessive Faculty athletic director, mentioned, “She was a galvanizing participant, the place if one thing massive wanted to occur, she was the one which was going to make it occur.”
Jonathan Deemer, who dated her at Stanford, known as her a superb pupil athlete with a magnetic persona and who “had a future as brilliant because the floor of the solar.”
“It’s not about what she did, however who she was,” Deemer mentioned. “Even in demise, even within the worst circumstances possible she will’t assist however encourage us.”
Stanford teammate Naomi Girma mentioned in February 2021 Katie Meyer tried to sneak right into a bodily remedy session to see her run after recovering from a sport harm. However attributable to COVID-19 restrictions, Meyer wouldn't have the ability to see Girma in particular person. Meyer watched the remedy session by means of a window with the largest smile.
“Outdoors the ability, she ran as much as me, gave me the largest hug and proudly confirmed me her badge,” Girma mentioned, noting Meyer wrote “Naomi’s Finest Pal” on the again of her pupil athlete badge.
Samantha Meyer, Katie’s older sister, just lately dreamed of her sister dancing on a soccer area.
Samantha mentioned, “I actually consider Kat has given me the job of figuring out her and serving to others heal and discover peace.”
Meyer was just some months away from her commencement at Stanford. Buddies and teammates mentioned she was heartbroken through the pandemic as a result of she couldn't follow along with her teammates. When COVID-19 restrictions allowed for follow once more, the group reminisced about their time collectively.
“There's a utterly finite period of time that you simply get. You get 4 years,” Meyer mentioned in a September 2020 interview. “That signifies that we've got to take each single day extremely, extremely critically. We’re a group, we’re a household and we’re there for one another.”
In the event you or somebody you realize is exhibiting warning indicators of suicide, search assist by calling the Nationwide Suicide Prevention Lifeline at (800) 273-TALK (8255).
Occasions workers writers Brittny Mejia, Hayley Smith and Leila Seidman contributed to this report.
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