Alumni Spotlight: Therese Heaton
1/21/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Therese (Heaton) Scheidt (2002-05) remains one of the most accomplished student-athletes in Michigan women's soccer history. The Wheaton, Illinois, native never missed a match in her career, playing in a program-record 92 consecutive games. Heaton ranks fifth all-time in career points (80), tied for fifth in career goals (31), and is one of eight players in program history to record a hat trick. Her freshman campaign started on a strong note, as she scored just 36 seconds into her first career match to help U-M defeat No. 13 Florida, 2-1, and still holds the program record for fastest goal to start a game. Heaton helped Michigan qualify for the NCAA Tournament in three out of four seasons (2002-04), including the Wolverines' first NCAA Elite Eight appearance during her freshman year (2002). As a senior in 2005, she represented the Maize and Blue as a team captain. She excelled both on the field and in the classroom, being named to the Academic All-District first team in 2005, Academic All-District second team in 2004 and Academic All-Big Ten team in three straight seasons (2003-05). After earning her bachelor's degree in elementary education from Michigan in 2006, she married former U-M baseball player Andrew Scheidt and spent two years doing private tutoring before taking time off to raise their four children. Just recently she reconnected with some fellow Michigan alums and will be rejoining the work force with All American Camps, heading up its newly formed women's soccer camps division. Heaton talked with MGoBlue.com to discuss her Michigan experience and the impact U-M continues to have on her life.
Q. You and your family made it back for a soccer game this fall. What are your thoughts on the facility and recent success of the program?
A. We absolutely love being able to bring our family back to Michigan. It's so nice that we only live about 40 minutes away. My husband (Andrew Scheidt) played baseball at Michigan, so we get there in the spring to see baseball games and in the fall we try to get up for a soccer game or sometimes tailgate for a football game. It's remarkable to see the facilities, not just for soccer, which is obviously a dramatic change from when I played there. The grand stand and the beautiful field -- it's just such a testament to Michigan's commitment to being the best. It's really neat to see how it's grown and I think that's translated into the success that the team's been having recently.
Q. Your husband Andrew played baseball at Michigan. How did you meet? And how much is Michigan still a part of your lives?
A. Andrew and I both lived in West Quad our freshmen year and I lived directly above two of his teammates so we knew of each other and became friends, but we didn't start dating until our sophomore year. He actually proposed the fall of our senior year -- right before a big soccer weekend -- so that was a big surprise. He purposed to me in the Law Quad, which is my favorite place on campus. It's neat that our relationship began at Michigan and then he proposed there, so obviously Michigan is very near and dear to us on many levels. Now we have three boys and a girl -- our youngest is a girl. We are all sports, all things Michigan! When my kids were born, they were dressed in Michigan stuff immediately -- they don't have much a choice in this household (laughing). Our oldest are boys and are so into sports and love Michigan. It's neat to be able to share our experiences with them and tell them about where it all began, and show them where mommy and daddy went to school and where he proposed -- they get a big kick out of it.
Q. What made you choose elementary education as your major at Michigan?
A. Education was something that I've had a passion for since I was a little girl. I always played school with all my siblings that were younger than me and I was their teacher. I loved being the teacher so I knew that's what I wanted to be from a very young age. When I was trying to select a school, I knew I wanted not only a good soccer program, but also a good education program. When Michigan was recruiting me and I stepped foot on campus, I instantly knew this was the place for me. Right when I graduated, I ended up subbing for a year, but that really wasn't my passion. So, I started doing private tutoring and that was the perfect balance that allowed me to really impact students individually. As a classroom teacher, you're pulled in so many directions that you feel you can't reach out the way you want to each individual student. So tutoring was an awesome avenue to use my education background and really feel like I was making a difference. And my kids are now in school so even when I'm not teaching in a classroom, I volunteer and help out in their classrooms, and I can also help them at home -- I get to be a teacher for my own kids, which is really valuable.
Q. You took some time off from your career to raise your children and are just getting back into the work force -- what are your plans?
A. Mike and Erin (Cobler) Penn (former Michigan baseball player and Michigan volleyball player) are part of All American Camps that have run summer volleyball camps for high schools across the country since 1992. They reach out to high school coaches across the country and bring a three day camp to them, staffed with Division I college graduates and in some instances college coaches. They are now looking to expand this to other sports and have already seen it translate well to field hockey and swimming. This year they are expanding it to basketball and soccer, and I am going to be heading up the women's soccer portion. It's just another perfect example of how Michigan is a place that never stops giving back to its alumni! Not only was I provided an amazing athletic and academic experience, I found the love of my life and formed friendships and connections with so many successful and driven individuals, and that is now translating into a wonderful career opportunity for me! I hope to pay it forward myself by providing an amazing job opportunity for recent soccer alums who would like to keep their hand in the game and coach high school girls over the summer!
Q. You never missed a game in your career and still hold the program record for most consecutive games played at 92 -- is that a feat you're proud of?
A. That to me is the most amazing statistic I hear about myself because I suffered a fair number of injuries throughout my career, but through a lot of perseverance, I was able to get healthy for the regular season and be ready to play. I take a lot of pride in that because I could have gotten knocked down several times, but I really wanted to be on the field. Michigan had amazing doctors and athletic trainers that helped me get back on the field.
Q. You scored 36 seconds into your first college game vs. 13th-ranked Florida to help Michigan win, 2-1, and still hold the program record for fastest goal to start a game. How exciting was it to start your career that way?
A. That was one of the most surreal moments of my career. I had no idea what to expect about competing at the college level. I was coming off an ACL tear so I was not sure if I was at full strength or not. We had a remarkable team that year. Abby Crumpton was the other forward and a senior and someone who taught me so much about the game. Luckily for me, she was the one a lot of teams knew about, and I was this unknown freshman. But that play -- we did the kick off, we kicked the ball downfield and I scored and I was like 'oh my gosh!' It was so cool and I thought to myself 'this is really happening.' That whole season was such a dream. Everyone was so committed to the success of the team and wanted us to do well and as a result we did have a lot of success. It wasn't until recently that another Michigan team made it to the Elite Eight so that's something we were really proud of. It's really neat to see the program turning around again and see them having a lot of postseason success -- it's fun to cheer them on and see them do well.
Q. What are you most proud of from your time at Michigan?
A. I think one thing I'm really proud of is being selected to be a captain at Michigan. Being able to serve in a leadership role as a senior meant a lot to me because there have been a lot of amazing people at Michigan that have been selected to represent their teams as captain. I took a lot of pride in being a captain and wanted to share my love of the school and of the game and try to get others to get just as excited about it.
The Scheidt family
Q. Do you still keep in touch with your former teammates?
A. Beyond obviously meeting my husband and now the family that we've built, I think the lasting relationships that have come from my time at Michigan are one of the things I cherish most. The girls that graduated with me, for example my teammate Stephanie Boyles just had a baby last week, so now we're all sharing in being moms together and that's a really neat thing. We got together last summer in Chicago and we all had our kids together. Even some of the girls that were older than us showed up with their kids. It was in August and we were all laughing and saying 'Wow, times have changed. We used to get together for preseason and run the gauntlet and now here we are chasing our kids around together.' It's great that we've grown from being soccer teammates to now best friends that support each other as our families grow and we get married. And Debbie Rademacher, who was the head coach when I was there, we still keep in touch. Her husband is still involved at Michigan so we see each other at sporting events throughout the year and keep in touch through email. We still have a really strong soccer community and even though it's been years since some of us have seen each other in person, we still keep in touch.
The recently created Office of Alumni Engagement strives to foster a community, recognize the holistic student-athlete and honor the great Michigan Athletics history. This alumni spotlight illustrates the impact that our alumni are having around the world and how they stay engaged with Michigan.
