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A mentor for his players and assistant coaches. A champion under the bright stadium lights, and away from the spotlight. A key figure in one of Orange County football’s biggest rivalries of the 1990s.
The fond memories of former Esperanza football coach Gary Meek flowed eagerly from colleagues and family members Thursday after his death at age 76.
Meek, a CIF-SS Hall of Fame coach, died while in hospice care at a skilled nursing facility in Yorba Linda, his wife Sharon and son Jeoff said.
“He fought hard,” Sharon said of her husband of 56 years, who had faced many medical challenges the past several years.
At Esperanza, Meek expanded on a foundation laid by coach Pete Yoder to lead the Aztecs to two CIF championships, six league titles and 15 playoff appearance in 17 seasons.
Meek compiled a record of 144-50-5, and had only one losing season.
He highlighted his tenure by guiding Esperanza to three consecutive section finals from 1990-1992.
The Aztecs beat St. Paul 25-7 in the Division 3 final in 1990 to finish 14-0.
Esperanza faced off against Los Alamitos and Coach John Barnes in the finals the next two years, falling to 8-0 and tying 14-14.
“Great rivalry,” Orange County football historian Dennis Bateman said of Esperanza and Los Alamitos, who later competed against each other in the Sunset League.
During Meek’s tenure, he teamed with assistant coach Bill Pendleton among others to mold a physical team known for its outstanding linemen. Future NFL players Travis Kirschke and Brenden Stai were standouts under Meek.
“Esperanza was known for strong, physical play,” Jeoff Meek said. “He just led by example.”
While Meek coached plenty of standouts, it was his interaction with all his players that left a lasting impression.
“His character (stood out),” Yorba Linda football coach Jeff Bailey said. “He treated everyone the same.”
“I pattern a lot of things I do as a head coach after him,” Bailey added.
Bailey served as an assistant to Meek for about a decade. He became one of the several assistant coaches under Meek to become a successful head coach.
Meek’s coaching tree includes Pendleton, who guided the Aztecs to a Division 1 runner-up in 2005, Rancho Alamitos’ Mike Enright and Corona Centennial’s Matt Logan.
“He was a very successful coach and had a lot of impact on a huge number of young men and guys who he coached with,” said Pendleton, who spent 35 years with Meek. “He was a better man than he was a coach. He always had the interests of the players at heart.”
Sharon Meek remembered her husband once fired an assistant coach because he felt the players weren’t being treated with the level of respect that he wanted.
“He just cared about everybody,” she said. “He never turned anyone away (who wanted to play).”
Meek resigned as Esperanza’s coach after the 2002 season and became one of the school’s athletic directors.
His football journey began at Santa Ana Valley, where he played under legendary coach Dick Hill. Meek went on to play linebacker at Santa Ana College and San Diego State.
Meek served as an assistant at Mater Dei before arriving at Esperanza.
His coaching mentors were Hill, San Diego State’s Claude Gilbert and Don Coryell, and Yoder, Jeoff and Sharon Meek said.
Meek is survived his wife Sharon, children Jeoff, Melissa and Kristy and six grandchildren.
A memorial service will be planned, Sharon said.
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