Myers family finds home in Auburn
By Jack Smith
Auburntigers.com
The yellow stopwatch always dangling from the neck of Auburn softball Coach Clint Myers just might be the perfect metaphor for his thoughts on fatherhood.
Time. Myers says it's the most valuable gift a dad can share with his children. He would know. His father died when he was a senior in high school. Perhaps that's one reason that even while building a legendary coaching career, Myers always made time for his two sons, Casey and Corey.
It may have been on dusty ball fields or long bus rides, but the Myers boys always jumped at the chance to tag along with their dad. They learned their dad's way of life early, too. When Clint and his wife, Katie, left the hospital after Corey was born, they made a detour on the way home.
"The locker room was the first place I went after the hospital so I could show off my brand new son," Clint remembers.
When Casey was stuck in school as the oldest of the two, Corey would often go to work with his dad.
"It was a lot better than pre-school," Clint says.
Corey says almost all of his childhood memories with his father revolve around sports.
"I spent more time on a bus traveling with the team than I remember being in school," Corey said.
The girls in the dugout called him "Coach Junior" and gave him his own stopwatch, memories Corey cherishes to this day. Clint remembers those days as the best of times, too.
"The quality of time I had with the boys growing up was really good because I was their baseball coach as they were growing up all the way through high school," Clint says.
Baseball and softball were such a dominant part of their lives, Katie once tried to ban the topics from discussion at the dinner table.
"Katie finally said, `we're not going to talk about baseball. This is a non-sports dinner.' So we sat there in silence for 15 minutes because none of us knew what to say."
She finally lifted the ban after the awkward silence.
"So we started talking ball again...pro ball, college ball, high school ball. There was always ball talk at the dinner table." The importance of spending time with his children, learned from his dad, is a lesson Corey tries to remember every day as a father to his own children.
"I try to cherish as much time as I have with them," he says.
Another lesson Corey says he learned from his dad is to remember how much his wife has to sacrifice so he can do what he loves.
"He acknowledges my mom constantly. I know how much time it takes to be good at what we do. I know how much stress and pressure it puts on a family."
While nobody is more competitive than his dad, Corey says it's the head coach who sometimes tells him when it's time to go home.
"The dad shows up when he says, `hey, you need to go home and spend some time with your family. We'll pick up the slack.'"
Clint says all young fathers eventually learn to make every minute as a parent count.
"One of the things I learned a long time ago is that as your kids get older, you lose the quantity of time you get to spend with them," Clint said. "You have to make the quality of time that much more special."
That's why Clint came to Auburn for the twilight years of his career. The opportunity offered a chance for him to spend more time with his boys and the rest of his family.
"The first question I asked (Auburn Athletics Director) Jay Jacobs was if I came could my sons come with me," Myers said. "I told him if they couldn't then I wasn't interested. Jay said it would be no problem. Jay kept telling me about the Auburn family, and I kept telling him about the Myers family."
It turned out to be an ideal match. Casey became the hitting coach, Corey took on the pitching staff and assistant Scott Woodard, who Myers claims as a third son, came on board as well.
"It's really a blessing, and we're having a lot of fun," Clint said. "We work well together. Sometimes we argue and disagree, then we walk outside the office, pick up the wives and the kids and go have a great time."
When it's time to get down to business on the field, Myers is open to suggestions when his sons want to argue a point, but he doesn't hesitate to pull rank when needed. He doesn't have to remind them he's got two titles that give him the authority.
"One title says head coach, and the other title says `Dad.'"
Corey says working every day with his dad has been everything he hoped it would be.
"It's been a dream come true. It's fun to sit and watch him and learn from him because to us, he's one of the best there's ever been."
As for Clint, he's happy to be at Auburn. But he's even happier that his family is here, too.
"We appreciate what everybody at Auburn has done for me and my family."
And all he wants for Father's Day is the one thing most every dad wants. Time with those he loves the most.
"Being able to say I'm the dad of my two sons gives me great pride," he said. "It will give me a lot of joy just to be able to spend time with them."
By Jack Smith
Auburntigers.com
The yellow stopwatch always dangling from the neck of Auburn softball Coach Clint Myers just might be the perfect metaphor for his thoughts on fatherhood.
Time. Myers says it's the most valuable gift a dad can share with his children. He would know. His father died when he was a senior in high school. Perhaps that's one reason that even while building a legendary coaching career, Myers always made time for his two sons, Casey and Corey.
It may have been on dusty ball fields or long bus rides, but the Myers boys always jumped at the chance to tag along with their dad. They learned their dad's way of life early, too. When Clint and his wife, Katie, left the hospital after Corey was born, they made a detour on the way home.
"The locker room was the first place I went after the hospital so I could show off my brand new son," Clint remembers.
When Casey was stuck in school as the oldest of the two, Corey would often go to work with his dad.
"It was a lot better than pre-school," Clint says.
Corey says almost all of his childhood memories with his father revolve around sports.
"I spent more time on a bus traveling with the team than I remember being in school," Corey said.
The girls in the dugout called him "Coach Junior" and gave him his own stopwatch, memories Corey cherishes to this day. Clint remembers those days as the best of times, too.
"The quality of time I had with the boys growing up was really good because I was their baseball coach as they were growing up all the way through high school," Clint says.
Baseball and softball were such a dominant part of their lives, Katie once tried to ban the topics from discussion at the dinner table.
"Katie finally said, `we're not going to talk about baseball. This is a non-sports dinner.' So we sat there in silence for 15 minutes because none of us knew what to say."
She finally lifted the ban after the awkward silence.
"So we started talking ball again...pro ball, college ball, high school ball. There was always ball talk at the dinner table." The importance of spending time with his children, learned from his dad, is a lesson Corey tries to remember every day as a father to his own children.
"I try to cherish as much time as I have with them," he says.
Another lesson Corey says he learned from his dad is to remember how much his wife has to sacrifice so he can do what he loves.
"He acknowledges my mom constantly. I know how much time it takes to be good at what we do. I know how much stress and pressure it puts on a family."
While nobody is more competitive than his dad, Corey says it's the head coach who sometimes tells him when it's time to go home.
"The dad shows up when he says, `hey, you need to go home and spend some time with your family. We'll pick up the slack.'"
Clint says all young fathers eventually learn to make every minute as a parent count.
"One of the things I learned a long time ago is that as your kids get older, you lose the quantity of time you get to spend with them," Clint said. "You have to make the quality of time that much more special."
That's why Clint came to Auburn for the twilight years of his career. The opportunity offered a chance for him to spend more time with his boys and the rest of his family.
"The first question I asked (Auburn Athletics Director) Jay Jacobs was if I came could my sons come with me," Myers said. "I told him if they couldn't then I wasn't interested. Jay said it would be no problem. Jay kept telling me about the Auburn family, and I kept telling him about the Myers family."
It turned out to be an ideal match. Casey became the hitting coach, Corey took on the pitching staff and assistant Scott Woodard, who Myers claims as a third son, came on board as well.
"It's really a blessing, and we're having a lot of fun," Clint said. "We work well together. Sometimes we argue and disagree, then we walk outside the office, pick up the wives and the kids and go have a great time."
When it's time to get down to business on the field, Myers is open to suggestions when his sons want to argue a point, but he doesn't hesitate to pull rank when needed. He doesn't have to remind them he's got two titles that give him the authority.
"One title says head coach, and the other title says `Dad.'"
Corey says working every day with his dad has been everything he hoped it would be.
"It's been a dream come true. It's fun to sit and watch him and learn from him because to us, he's one of the best there's ever been."
As for Clint, he's happy to be at Auburn. But he's even happier that his family is here, too.
"We appreciate what everybody at Auburn has done for me and my family."
And all he wants for Father's Day is the one thing most every dad wants. Time with those he loves the most.
"Being able to say I'm the dad of my two sons gives me great pride," he said. "It will give me a lot of joy just to be able to spend time with them."
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