Hutto ISD announced April 30 the hiring of Steven Van Meter as the district's first athletics director and new varsity football coach. Van Meter comes to Hutto from Friendswood, Texas, where he served as the school district's athletics director and football coach for 20 years before retiring in 2012. As head coach at Friendswood High School, Van Meter led the football team to 15 trips to the state playoffs and compiled 148 wins.
But the coach, who has more than 30 years of experience in education, said he missed working with athletes and decided to apply for the Hutto position when it became available this spring.
What is your past experience in sports?
I played all sports growing up. I played football, basketball, baseball, ran track, played golf. I've been an avid racquetball player since the early [1980s]. I have too many hobbies, to be quite honest.
Why did you come out of retirement to coach?
I retired at 56, but I wanted to do something different. I'd been at Friendswood for a long time, and I started a quarterback academy. But I missed the arena so bad—I just missed being around the kids, in the coach's office, all aspects [of coaching]. I thought I might try to get back in it, and the Hutto situation [was] perfect for me.
What drew you to Hutto?
Friendswood was a small town when I grew up there, and it still has a small-town atmosphere. It has a single high school, and Hutto had a lot of similarities. Once I interviewed and was offered the job and talked to the superintendent and principals and everyone, I felt like they had a commitment to winning and being very successful in all programs. It melded with what I believe in.
What are your goals for the athletics department in the upcoming year?
No. 1, I want us to grow our numbers in all of our sports. I want us to be very competitive in all [University Interscholastic League] sports. We feel like we've hired good coaches—the ones that we needed to hire—and I think there are some well-qualified coaches here on staff who stayed. So that's the direction we want to head.
What will your primary duties be in Hutto?
They've never had an athletic director here in Hutto, it's been male and female coordinators, so my duty is to meld the two programs. [I will also] oversee middle school and high school athletics, to run the best athletic program we can run and be as competitive as we can be.
What is the Hutto athletics program's biggest strength?
Its greatest strength is its kids. So far, I've just been tremendously impressed with the work ethic and sense of camaraderie. I think the community supports the programs. I think the parents support the programs. And that will make a smooth transition for me coming in here.
What will be your biggest challenge in stepping into the role of AD and head coach?
I think [my biggest challenge will be] getting everyone to be under one umbrella, not a boys program or a girls program but a Hutto ISD program. I know it's going to be different for some coaches who haven't had that kind of mentality. I just want them to understand that we're all in this together, and we're all one big coaching staff.
What are your goals for yourself as a coach?
I want to give my enthusiasm and competitiveness to my coaching staff and to the kids. I think that's one of my greatest attributes, that I am competitive and I feel like I have a vision for what we need to do in our football program and the direction we need to go.
Steven Van Meter
- Grew up in Friendswood, Texas (located southeast of Houston)
- Has been married to high school sweetheart Lisa for 33 years
- The couple has three sons and a granddaughter
- Has a total of 30 years of coaching and teaching experience
- Avid racquetball fan
