Celebrating Women in Sport and Physical Activity - Profiles
Jill Meerman, '88 - 2015 Honoree
Jill Meerman has worked as a teacher, coach, athletic director and USA Basketball committee member. She's also a mother.
In each of those roles, Meerman said she's relied on four tenets she learned by playing sports: balance, patience, leadership and drive.
"Those are the four ways sports helped prepare me for life," said Meerman, who teaches health and physical education at Decatur (Ind.) Middle School.
Meerman graduated from Grand Valley in 1988 and played four years of varsity basketball and one year of softball for the Lakers.
She came from an athletic family with parents who were very supportive. "They traveled to all of our away games, to Michigan Tech, Northern, all of them," Meerman said.
She remains in the Laker record books among the all-time three-point percentage leaders, but it was more than a solid shot that Meerman brought to the court. "Coach [Pat] Baker put me in at point guard, and leadership is a vital aspect to that position," Meerman said. "I tried to lead by example and work ethic."
After graduating from Grand Valley, Meerman worked as a high school teacher, coach and athletic director. Teaching at the middle school affords more time with her family, and Meerman said she couldn't imagine another role.
"Our school is on the south side of Indianapolis and we serve students who are on the lower end of the socioeconomic scale," she said. "It's sometimes challenging, because there is not a lot of parent involvement. I would rather work here, the students need you more."
While coaching, Meerman worked with USA Basketball. For 12 years, she served as a member and chair of the Youth and Development Committee, which selects top high school juniors and seniors for summer camp. "It's the first step toward possibly becoming an Olympian," she said.
She also organized the Under-15 World Championships in Colorado Springs, a tournament with basketball players from nine countries.
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