SECAUCUS, N.J. - He was known the world over as the assistant coach of the U.S. national team, the bald-headed man with the moustache often standing or sitting to the right of Bruce Arena.
But to those who knew Glenn "Mooch" Myernick, he was much, much more. He was a husband, father, brother, son, player, coach, teacher and friend. And that was the Mooch who was celebrated in a private ceremony Saturday night at the Crowne Plaza Meadowlands Hotel.
Myernick died Oct. 9, never regaining consciousness four days after suffering a heart attack. His death, at the age of 51, shocked the U.S. soccer community and reverberated throughout the world. A letter written by FIFA president Joseph "Sepp" Blatter to U.S. Soccer President Sunil Gulati, offering his heartfelt condolences was on display in the packed ballroom. It stood beside a "wall of fame" consisting of several of Myernick's jerseys and an array of personal photos from different stages of his life.
But this was not a memorial service, it was a celebration. "As my friend Mooch would say, 'we're not here for a long time, we're here for a good time,'" said Ben Grossman, the former Colorado Rapids public relations director.
And that's what Myernick's friends and family did in the three-hour ceremony. Among those in attendance were soccer dignitaries such as MLS Commissioner Don Garber, Arena, D.C. United President Kevin Payne, Chivas USA coach Bob Bradley, U.S. under-20 national team coach Thomas Rongen and U.S. national team players past and present, including Marcelo Balboa, Mike Burns, Jeff Agoos, Frankie Hejduk, Ben Olsen, Chris Albright and Chris Wingert, who played under Myernick with the U-23 team.
"Mooch was the top person in the profession in this country," Arena said. "Not many people knew that because he was a pretty reserved guy in the right way. He was always about the team and about making the team better and the game better."
Arena said he's still struggling with Myernick's death a month and a half later. He was given a picture that Myernick cherished, a gift from his wife Nancy and now a gift for Arena.
It was a picture of young African boys who were kicking around a soccer ball on a dirt-strewn field. Myernick loved the picture because of the expressions of unabashed joy from the boys, even though their parents were stricken with AIDS.
"I want you to have this picture to remember Mooch and your time together," Nancy wrote in a card to Arena. "The picture says it all, what soccer is all about and what it meant to Mooch. Whenever you get discouraged or frustrated with your players or the politics of the game, just look at the picture and the simple joy the game can bring."
But Myernick was more than a coach, he was a grammar school friend who'd go home for lunch at recess and then take over the pick-up game in the schoolyard. He was one of many growing up in Lawrence Township to have a nickname, but there was only one Mooch.
"Some were as simple as Murph or Zim and we also had people with names like Goose and Gunner and Tozzie and Mooner," said Steve Groeger, the superintendent of recreation in Lawrence Township, who announced the fields of Village Park have been renamed the Moochie Myernick Training Facility. "I'm going to bet there's a lot of people who grew up in Lawrence who don't know what the real names were."
One childhood friend who couldn't make it was Charlie Inverso, who was coaching the Mercer County Community College team in the national championship game in Tyler, Tex. But he did relay a message read by Tim Murphy, who knew Myernick for 45 years.
"Thursday, in the quarterfinal with the score tied, our opponents hit the post from three yards out with three seconds left," Inverso wrote. "Yesterday, strangely similar in the semifinal with the score tied with three seconds left, the opponents missed a rebound shot from two yards away. Thanks Mooch, I know you were there to kick both of them away."
Myernick would play for legendary Manny Schellscheidt on the U-18 New Jersey State Select team as a 15-year-old. Schellscheidt remembers the trip to Germany in 1971, when the team played 17 games in 28 days, mostly because the home team would provide free dinner in the clubhouse afterward.
"The only time Mooch had me worried was when he told me he was off to coaching school, because I was afraid they would screw him up," Schellscheidt said. "Thank God they didn't succeed. He was still the same old guy we always knew."
From there, Myernick played for Jim Lennox at Hartwick College, where he helped the Hawks advance to the NCAA final four and won the Hermann Trophy, given annually to the best college player in the country.
He'd play eight years in the NASL, winning the Rookie of the Year award in 1977 as a Dallas Tornado defender and playing against the likes of Pele, Giorgio Chinaglia, Franz Beckenbauer and Rodney Marsh. He also earned 10 caps with the U.S. national team, competing in Olympic qualifying in 1976.
"He was fantastic player," said Jeff Tipping, a former Hartwick teammate. "I didn't think Americans could play like that and he was simply in a different class."
Myernick's coaching career started with the Hartwick junior varsity team and he'd go on to coach the Rapids from 1997-2000. The Rapids struggled his final season and Myernick took the losses to heart, causing him to lose sleep. Myernick was a true outdoorsman; he loved to hike and camp. But Myernick was in the middle of a tough season and couldn't get away.
But his wife Nancy came to the rescue.
"I had his flannel shirt and jeans laid out for him," she said. "We camped out in the backyard and he slept all night."
Above all else, his friends and family said Saturday, Myernick was a family man, who loved his wife and children, daughter Kelly and son Travis, more than anything else.
"He taught me that none of his passion was worth anything alone," said Kelly Myernick, who joked that, like her father, she didn't have a real job - she's a professional ballet dancer. "Sharing your passion with the people in your life is what gives it value and beauty. He was so generous with his experiences."
And so were his friends and family Saturday night.
Dylan Butler is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
