Charleston softball's Ryan Meyers leaves for Alma 7th grade football coaching job
Charleston softball coach Ryan Meyers has accepted the role as Alma seventh grade football coach in a step back to move forward in his career.
"I guess one of the biggest things was just a new start," Meyers said. "I've always wanted to move up in a way and I felt like Alma was a great place.
"It's still I think a small community, but with a big school type place atmosphere. I know a lot of people over there and I've always enjoyed my time visiting with people from Alma and just felt like it's a great fit for me in my job growth in wanting to be a better football coach, better teacher and just felt like it was a better opportunity for right now."
The Charleston softball team went 7-8 in 2022 in his last of four years as coach.
In addition to serving as the seventh grade coach, Meyers will also serve as the Alma Junior High defensive coordinator and says he will have some type of role assisting the high school varsity team on Friday nights.
Meyers said that he has "loved it here" at Charleston, describing it as "a great place, a great community and great people," but sees an appeal in moving to a new place after 12 years.
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He was originally hired at Charleston by current Alma athletic director Doug Loughridge and coached the Tigers offensive and defensive lines. During that period, Charleston won Arkansas Class 3A state championships in 2011, 2013 and 2014.
He was also an assistant girls basketball coach there from 2010-12 and an assistant boys basketball coach from 2013-18.
The Northside graduate played right offensive tackle for the Grizzlies, starting every game as a senior in 1995. That team went 5-5 during the regular season but reached the Arkansas Class 4A state championship after a memorable 34-31 double overtime win over Van Buren in the state semifinals.
Meyers then played offensive line at Arkansas Tech, where he earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics and a master's degree in college student personnel. As a senior, he started in the last three games, one of them being the only game that eventual 2000 NCAA Division II national champion Delta State lost that year.
The Wonder Boy was a football graduate assistant at ATU, before a multi-faceted tenure at Danville as a football assistant, boys and girls basketball assistant and as a softball assistant for two years and the coach for the other two of those four years.
You can follow Bryant Roche on Twitter @BRocheSports and you can email him at BRoche@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Fort Smith Times Record: Charleston softball's Ryan Meyers is Alma 7th grade football coach
