Jun. 11—CANNON FALLS — Moving between the mound and second base at John Burch Park, Keith Meyers offered advice to his pitchers and assisted with drills during one of the final practices ahead of the state tournament.
For the past three decades and then some, the baseball diamond has been home for Meyers, the Cannon Falls pitching/outfield coach, both as a player, a coach and a dad.
Meyers, a Cannon Falls graduate, was one of the Bombers’ top pitchers during their first state trip in 1997 and was on the coaching staff for the program’s other three state tournament appearances, in 2012, 2023 and now 2026. His oldest son, Jack, was on the 2023 team, while his youngest son, Tyler, is a junior infielder/third baseman/pitcher on this year’s team.
“Sharing it on the field is sometimes surreal,” Meyers said of coaching his kids.
Cannon Falls (20-6) drew the No. 4 seed in the Class 2A tournament and will meet No. 5 Winona Cotter in the state quarterfinals at 6 p.m. today at Dick Putz Field in St. Cloud.
Thinking back on the 1997 season, Meyers said the section tournament sticks out to him. A couple of his teammates were dealing with injuries and he was unable to pitch one game due to arm soreness.
“Another one of my teammates stepped up and threw a great game and got us further down the road in that region tournament, so that we could have an opportunity to get to state,” Meyers said. “Obviously, the state tournament was fun. It was our first time being there as a school, and that was special.”
The Bombers finished in third place that season.
“There are guys that I still touch base with and hang out with today,” Meyers said. “(The fact) that we have that memory to share is pretty special.”
After high school, Meyers played college baseball at Minnesota State University, Mankato. He has been an assistant for the Bombers for nearly 15 years, reuniting with longtime Hall of Fame head coach Bucky Lindow. Lindow, who has been coaching on and off for 39 years, was an assistant to Dennis Flom when Meyers and Cannon Falls went to state for the first time in 1997, before taking the head job later on.
There is no shortage of family connections when it comes to the Bombers’ state baseball appearances. Like Meyers, Lindow coached his sons. The oldest, Braxton Lindow, was a senior on the 2012 state team.
Meyers and his wife also have one daughter, their oldest. He has coached all three kids in various sports at the youth and varsity levels as they grew up, including Tyler and the current Cannon Falls juniors in youth baseball from age 9 through 14. His daughter’s boyfriend was also on the 2023 state team with Jack.
“I remember telling my wife early, if we’re playing sports for college scholarships, we’re playing it for the wrong reasons, so it was always really an emphasis on those learning moments, those lessons from sports that we can get in life,” Meyers said. “That’s probably the most rewarding thing for me, is really just seeing them grow into people and make their own decisions and try to mentor them through that as best I can.”
Tyler remembers watching his dad play amateur ball for the Cannon Falls Bears and tagging along to varsity practices.
“He’s been my coach forever,” said Tyler, who picked up two wins on the mound on June 4 to help lift Cannon Falls to the Section 2-2A title over Le Sueur-Henderson 6-3 and 9-1. “He’s pretty much taught me everything I know about baseball. … (Jack and I) do a lot of things together. We play video games together, baseball in the backyard.”
Tyler has also learned plenty from his dad off the field.
“Do things even when they’re hard,” Tyler said. “Always do your best, and encourage the person next to you, and just be a leader, someone (to) look up to, just be nice to everyone.”
In addition to his sons, Keith also coaches his nephew, Grady Meyers, a senior outfielder for the Bombers.
“He’s just a really good mentor for me,” Grady said. “He is my godfather, he’s my uncle, he’s my mentor in church, and so I think the bond that we have, he just knows how to coach me. He can feel what I’m feeling, and I think that helps us work together and get the best for both of us.”
Grady said being coached by his uncle and playing with his cousins, Jack and Tyler, has been “a surreal feeling” and a rare opportunity that not everyone gets.
“I’m really close with them,” Grady said. “Our grandma has a daycare, so we always went there when we were kids and spent all the summers together, and so I have a really tight bond with those two guys, and being able to play with them is really cool.”
So, what have all four Cannon Falls state tournament teams had in common?
“Good pitching,” Lindow said. “When Keith and his teammates were playing, he was very good. We had pitching depth, two, three guys that could really go.”
With three returning pitchers, Lindow and his coaching staff knew this team had much potential and that they could build around their veterans on the mound. Lindow credits this group for its toughness, battling through multiple injuries.
“They’ve lived up to every possible thing that we could ask for,” Lindow said.
Keith added that a constant for Cannon Falls baseball over the past 30 years has been Lindow.
“The program Bucky runs is, we’re not just here to coach baseball, we’re here to coach boys into being men,” Keith said. “Sometimes those lessons are easy, and sometimes they’re a little more difficult that you have to help (them) work through.”
Tyler was a part of the 2023 state team as their eighth-grade manager.
“It just looked fun, they were out there smiling, having fun every play,” Tyler said, recalling what he saw during the 2023 state run. “Off the field, too, in the hotel, they were just having fun.”
Tyler, Grady and the rest of their teammates get to experience that excitement firsthand this week.
“I remember they’re just a fun team to watch,” Grady said. “They kind of remind me of our team this year, just with the way they were bonded together and the camaraderie they had. I think we have that again this year, and I think that’s a key piece of our success.”
