Glory Days with Three-Sport Lake Forest High School Coach Tom Myers

In November 1992, football coach Tom Myers took his unbeaten Scouts to a state quarterfinal playoff game in Wheaton.

With his vaunted wishbone attack featuring speedy backs Jason Klapper, Kevin Comstock and Josh Lerner, the Scouts had run off 11 wins in a row.

“We had a stable of running backs,” Myers recalled. “It was a lot of fun. The players made it fun.”

Quarterback Lerner recalled Myers letting him run the show in those days.

“As the quarterback, I was given the ability to audible to any play in our playbook,” Lerner said. “Coach Myers had enough confidence in me, and was secure enough with his style to allow this. Looking back, this played a huge part in my growth as a quarterback and as a football player.”

Of course, Myers has many memories from running the wishbone at Lake Forest. He also took a few years to coach one of Lake Forest’s best boys basketball teams. But he clearly stayed the longest coaching his favorite sport — baseball.

“Nothing matches baseball,” Myers said. “It has everything.”

Best of Both Worlds

So in a perfect world, Myers would like to see a baseball playoff between some of the better teams he coached. There was that 1990 club featuring pitcher Alan Benes, who would go on to win 29 games in the Major Leagues. Mike Stamison was another stellar player from that club, which won 27 games.

Of course, there was the Scouts team that won 29 games in 2003 that included his son, Travis. Coupled with slugger Kevin Konsler, the Scouts finished third in the state.

“When I think about all of the coaches I had growing up, Coach Myers is at the top of the list,” Konsler said.

Also in this mythical playoff series, Myers would like to see the 2004 team with Roddy Workman and J.D. Mynhier, along with the team of his other son, Britt, which had power hitter Ian Goldberg and Andy Johnson.

“They lost in the supersectional,” Myers said. “I think we tied for the most homers in school history and also had the most stolen bases.”

Myers Finds His Niche

The year was 1969. Albion College in Michigan won eight straight football games during its unbeaten season. Helping with that mission was safety Tom Myers, who set a school record with nine interceptions.

So after his college graduation, the former Lake Forest three-sport athlete headed to the Naval Reserve. He spent two years in Guam. But he was not to make the military a career.

He wanted to teach and coach back at his high school.

“My football coach at Albion thought I should be in education,” Myers said.

So he worked at the and did some substitute teaching. He also was a paid assistant football and baseball coach.

Baseball: Myers first took over the head baseball job in 1978, after a six-year stint by Ronald Moreland.

“When we had some power, we turned it loose,” Myers said. “If we had speed, we ran. I really wanted us to make the plays and be consistent defensively.”

Outside of the brilliant 1990 team, most of this team’s success came when his own children joined up.

“I always thought we could play with the best teams,” he said.

Konsler has moved on to coaching baseball. He won’t forget Myers soon.

“He wasn’t just a football and baseball coach to me,” he said. “He was a true role model who set a great example for his students and players. I learned so many different life lessons from playing for him.”

Football: George Barry coached football for 21 years at Lake Forest. Myers took his wishbone offense and during his first season in 1987, his team went 11-1.

“I knew the basics of football,” he said. “I had a good enough resume. I had been the sophomore coach.”

That first season saw the Scouts run through an undefeated conference season.

“We expanded the wishbone offense,” he said. “We had a little more passing. It was a true triple-read offense like I saw at Oklahoma and Alabama. I felt it gave us the best opportunity to win.”

The wishbone helped level the playing field with the bigger NSC schools like Stevenson and Libertyville.

Lerner retains great memories of his head coach 19 years ago.

“I have a lot of respect for coach Myers,” Lerner said. “When we were in high school he was such a great role model for us and we knew it. We knew he didn’t drink and we knew he lived his life in a way that our parents hoped we would live ours. His leadership style was to set an example for us to live up to.”

Basketball: Myers did not have a long stint as basketball coach. But there was that one special season in 1987. There was Rob Pelinka on that squad. Billy Douglass was another talented player. The Scouts went 22-4.

“The players kept on getting better,” he said. “We had a great season, but the state didn’t do us a favor by putting us in the tough regional.”

Yes, Myers put in some serious time coaching three sports at .

“I was lucky,” he said. “I think I was good enough for the most part and did better than an adequate job. It certainly was a busy time.”