July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.

Myers not a typical coach

Rays of Insight

By RAY COONEY
President, editor and publisher

James Myers was not the stereotypical wrestling coach.
And that’s a good thing.
It’s probably an unfair generalization, but wrestling coaches tend to be, let’s say, a little intense. Picture a man, red-faced, stomping back and forth, screaming instructions at his wrestlers.
It’s certainly not every coach, but anyone who has spent time at a big high school wrestling tournament has seen that type of behavior.
But they’ve never seen it from James.
Instead, the Jay County High School wrestling coach always kept an even keel.
Sure, he’d sometimes get excited during a match and sometimes wished his wrestlers would perform better, but he didn’t let his emotions get the best of him.
Jay County High School athletics director and former football coach Steve Boozier has always appreciated that about his colleague.
“We always tell kids to be ducks — be calm and cool and collected on top, and paddle like crazy underwater,” Boozier said. “That’s just the way James handles it.”
They will work together in a different capacity during the 2014-15 school year, as James resigned his wrestling position Monday.
He did so to take a new job, as assistant principal and dean of students at JCHS.
“He’s going to be great at assistant principal,” said Boozier. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him get flustered. He never shows his emotions, in a negative sense.”
That demeanor served him well in leading the Jay County wrestling program for 12 seasons.
The Patriots have especially flourished in recent years, ending a 23-year drought at their own East Central Indiana Classic in 2011 and repeating a year later.
They’ve also had strong tournament showings, having brought home six state medals since 2008.

But it’s the mentality as much as the medals that the athletes carry with them.
“James cared about the kids a lot, not only in the wrestling room, but also in school,” said 2014 JCHS graduate and three-time state medalist Eric Hemmelgarn, noting that in his first year at the high school Myers made it a point to chat with everyone. “He just cared for the students altogether. That was a pretty important aspect to me.”
The program will miss James’ skill as both a coach and mentor, a man who sought to get the best out of his athletes while also trying to instill in them the importance of leadership, character and respect.
It must also be mentioned that the wrestling program will greatly miss his wife, Nichole. She has been a stalwart at wrestling events over the years, leading the troops in the concession stand and doing more behind-the-scenes work than most could imagine.
The fortunate news for the Patriots is there is already a top-level leader on staff who is a logical choice to replace James — assistant coach Eric Myers (no relation).
He’ll have to go through the application process, but in addition to the name, he shares many of James’ qualities.
And he’s already proven himself as a coach, having led South Adams to its best run of success in school history.
If selected, Eric will do an excellent job leading the JCHS program into the future.
And James will continue to be a part of Patriot wrestling.
He plans on helping the new coach with the transition. And he will be involved in the youth program through his sons, A.J., 8, and Andrew, 3.
During my years working with James, I was always amused by the way James talked about his athletes following matches.
Even when he was discussing an individual he would often use the pronoun “we”, almost as if he had been on the mat with his wrestlers.
It’s a way of speaking that exemplifies the way he coached. It was a team effort, from the coaches, to the grappling partners in the wrestling room, to those who earned the glory on the mat.
“We’re in it to make kids better,” said Myers. “It was never about me as a coach. It was about us as a team and the kids and the program. You just go in and you do your best every day.”
That’s a mentality to be admired.
So while the wrestling team is losing a coach, JCHS as a whole should be thrilled to have James as one of the leaders of its administrative team.[[In-content Ad]]
PORTLAND WEATHER

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