Photo by JJ Fiddler
Some things are just meant to be, even in high school football. And Scott Meyer coaching at Wilson might be one of those things—recently resigned from Jordan, Meyer will be the Bruins’ new defensive coordinator, bringing with him 84 years of family history, in addition to coaching acumen.
To tell the story where it begins, you’ve got to go back to 1926, to the first practices held for Long Beach’s second high school football team—Scott’s grandfather, Cliff, was the captain of that inaugural 1926 Wilson team, playing QB/HB in the single-wing. Cliff went on to a distinguished career as a coach in Long Beach, spending 34 years as a coach and athletic director, coaching the first Wilson football team to beat Poly, and winning two CIF baseball titles with the Bruins (in 1947 and 1950). For all these reasons, the football stadium on Wilson’s campus is named the “Cliff Meyer Athletic Facility.” A member of the LBCC Hall of Fame, the Long Beach Baseball Hall of Fame, the Century Club Hall of Fame, and the Wilson Hall of Fame, Cliff coached too many players to count while at the school, including 11 future major league baseball players. One of the football players he helped bring along was Jon Meyer, his son, who graduated in 1954.
Jon went on to follow in his father’s footsteps, taking over the coaching reigns and serving as a longtime coach and administrator—he’s currently the LBUSD School Board of Education representative for Wilson’s district. While coaching the Wilson football team, Jon Meyer coached his son, Scott, who graduated in 1983. Scott is returning to the school he knows so well not just because his family seems to belong there, but because his son, Nick, is entering the school as a freshman next year—the fourth generation of his family to do so.
“Coming back to coach Nick,” says Scott. “That was the big thing—once I resigned from Jordan, this was kind of a no-brainer. Being able to watch my son play, and coach as a defensive coordinator.” When Wilson coach Mario Morales approached him a few weeks ago about the position, Meyer says he was immediately interested, both because of his son, and because of his family history.
He leaves behind him a Jordan program that was healthier than when he found it, with a number of athletes who went on to get scholarships, and a team that became competitive in the Moore League for the first time in years. “It was hard to leave, because of the six years we’d put in over there,” Meyer says. “Before the injuries last year, we’d really built some momentum, so it’s hard to step away as things are starting to grow.”
After the stress of building a team and being the man up top, Meyer says he’s looking forward to stepping back a little. “On game days I was driving to Little Caesar’s to pick up the pre-game meal,” he says. “Now, I can just come coach football, and worry about the defense.”
Meyer says the Bruins plan to continue running the stack, which Morales likes for its attacking style, also a hallmark of Meyer’s athletic defenses at Jordan. He and Morales will face an uphill battle in trying to fill a lot of holes left in the roster thanks to graduation. Compared to the state of the Jordan program when he arrived, it should be a walk in the park for Meyer, who will also have the support of an historically active Wilson booster club.
He also knows his way around the place. In addition to Jon and Cliff, Scott’s mother, sister, and uncle all attended the school as well. And with a fourth generation Meyer attending the school next year, it certainly shouldn’t come as any surprise that Scott finds himself back in the hallowed halls and fields his family helped to build. “It was always in the back of my mind that I wanted to come back here,” says Meyer. “I just never knew when it would be…”