During the past 11 football seasons, the players on the Scotts Valley High School football team have been treated to a fountain of experience from their defensive coordinator, Jeff Metter.
Metter, a 51-year-old father of two and executive for Crystal Springs Water, started his tenure with head coach Louie Walters at the inception of Scotts Valley High School. Since then, he’s helped build the program into what it is today, a perennial powerhouse that has won four Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League championships.
Metter played high school football at Hillsdale High in San Mateo, where he graduated in 1977 and made the All-Mercury News team at defensive back. He then starred at linebacker in college for University of Southern California and Eastern Washington University.
Metter, an undrafted free agent in the National Football League, spent time in training camps for the San Francisco 49ers, the New York Jets and the Dallas Cowboys.
I caught up with him recently for some informative Q&A.
Nathan Beck: What got you into coaching at Scotts Valley?
Jeff Metter: Louie and I coached together under Doug Morris for San Lorenzo Valley back in 1994. My nephew, Jimmy (James) Markley, was playing for the Cougars, and he asked if I would volunteer to coach. Louie and I hooked up as coaches again doing the Alumni Games back in the 1990s. Louie would coach the offense, and I coached the defense. We had a lot of fun doing the Alumni Games.
NB: Is that what led you to full-time coaching?
JM: I was building our house at the time and doing all the general contracting for the place, and after Jimmy graduated, I went on a hiatus from coaching. When I finished the house and had a little more free time, Louie called and asked if I would coach with him at the new Scotts Valley High School. The rest has been history.
NB: What was your experience in the NFL like?
JM: The NFL was a fun but trying time, I bounced from team to team and never made an active roster, but I got a lot of experience. It was tough. I was the last man cut each season. (Editor’s note: The NFL had 45-man rosters at the time. That number has grown to 52).
NB: The business side of the NFL is pretty cutthroat. What was the experience like?
JM: It was good. I learned a lot and made some good friends. It really helped me understand the game better, playing at that level.
