Vince D’Adamo: Be it as an administrator or coach, what did you enjoy most about being involved in athletics?
Steve Meyer: Athletics help the student-athlete understand the advantages to teamwork and get them to realize that hard work pays off. I also enjoyed watching the maturation process during the four years as how those who continued with athletics improved not only within the sport but also as a person. I enjoyed the opportunity to coach football as I was learning the game and enjoyed working with the coaches I did to help me understand the game. The adjustments that had to be made every game and the results. The opportunity to work with some of the parents who believed that their athlete was going to play at the highest level. It's great to have a dream and work hard for it but you really have to work hard and believe in yourself and your coaches.
D’Adamo: It is often said that athletics and academics coexist, how much have you found that to be true?
Meyer: In high school, it needs to co-exist and most of that is on the coaches. I was lucky to be an on-campus coach and had grades available to me so I could monitor that. When I became Assistant Athletic Director, I was able to keep all the coaches updated on grades by sending them out every 2-3 weeks. In college, when I was coaching at San Jose State it depended more on the actual program. Football had an Academic Adviser while other teams did nothing. There were some situations that were not legal that I was aware of after the fact involving student athletes at the college level.
D’Adamo: Beyond victories and defeats, when bringing in a coach, what are common denominator qualities you seek?
Meyer: We always looked for a coach who could communicate to players, parents and media the ideas that they wanted to make happen within their programs. Knowledge and experience are always important and having a coach on campus helps. It was important that they taught the fundamentals of the sport and coached the players up to make them better. They always had to have a good attitude (“Playing the game shows some of your characteristics, losing shows all.” Yogi Berra) and had to instill that upon the student-athlete.
D’Adamo: From the student-athlete perspective, what life lessons do you hope they learn from sports?
Meyer: I always tried to instill the family feeling within the teams I coached. You needed to trust your team members and understand that just as there are in families, the possibility of disagreements would happen. Learn to handle adversity no matter how difficult it seemed. Understand that coaches yell at them not because of who they are but because of who they can be. Total respect for the sport, the opposition, the officials and everybody associated with the game. Set priorities in their lives that would help them to be successful in their future endeavors.
D’Adamo: Within your family, who have been the most influential people?
Meyer: Without a doubt my father was the most influential growing up. He would work all day at Mare Island and then I would ask him to play catch when he got home. He never said no. He was my coach most of my years growing up so we had our moments but I survived. My wife, Charlotte, has been very understanding and without a doubt the best choice I ever could have made. I don't know where I would be if I hadn't married when I did.
D’Adamo: Name a historical figure, dead or alive, in or out of sports you would most like to meet. What would intrigue you about meeting him or her?
Meyer: John Wooden-UCLA Basketball. I would like to sit down with him and pick his brain about how he handled different situations. I know times have changed but it would be interesting to see how he handled today's student-athlete.
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