Josh began playing soccer at the age of 5, following in his older brother, Jeremy, footsteps. As with most brothers, Jeremy and Josh played totally different games. Jeremy played with patience, power and quickness. He quietly and effectively did his job of destroying the opponent’s attack and he was content to stay back and let others score. Not Josh. Josh was the red haired terror. With a look of determination etched on his five-year old face, Josh played every position on the field—all at the same time. Patience was not his hallmark and if his team lost a game, he pouted to the point that he was going to trip over his bottom lip because it was stuck out so far.
Josh continued playing for the New Braunfels Youth Soccer Association program for the next few years, moving from the recreational level to the competitive level with the NBYSA Blast, the SAYSO International FC and the GRYSA Panthers, but by the time he was 12, he realized that he needed a greater challenge and he found it when he tried out for and started playing for the Lions FC where he stayed for the next six years. Over the next few years, Josh gained some patience and on the soccer field, he learned that positional play is important and it was ok to work with others. As a result, he became what he was destined to become: a born, if not reluctant, leader on the field. As he gained more experience, he became a presence that no one could fail to notice. Smooth and clean, he would strip opponents of the ball and calmly distribute a pinpoint pass to one of his teammates. His speed was deceptive, much to the chagrin of his opponents and he earned the respect of his teammates, his coaches and those he played against.
Because his brother, Jeremy, had played for Canyon High School, Josh decided he would too. So during his freshman and sophomore years, he split his time between his mother and father and, since his mom lived in the Comal ISD, he was able to follow his brother again. He spent his first year on the JV but was promoted to the Cougar Varsity when it made the playoffs. It was due to these abilities that, in December of 2001, he was tapped to be a support runner when the Olympic Torch came to San Antonio where he ran three legs of the torch relay, the last of which he ran with David Robinson of the San Antonio Spurs. During his sophomore year, he quickly made the starting line up and he quickly became a leader on the team due to his high level of play. He played as a center back and was a main factor for Canyon’s run to the playoffs again.
But during the summer before his junior year, Josh’s mother moved and he left Canyon for New Braunfels High School. He had friends at both schools so the move was not a big deal for him and he slid comfortably into a starting Varsity center back position at his new school. So for the next two years, Josh continued playing for the Lions FC and the New Braunfels Unicorns, again making the high school playoffs both of the years he was there and helping to become a Regional Finalist his senior year. As he did with Canyon HS, he also became a critical part of his team. Josh was a charismatic natural leader, albeit a reluctant one. His teammates always looked to him on every team he played with, even in his formative years. Quietly intense, he instinctively knew how to bring the best out of every player he played with. Even his opponents acknowledged his abilities and many of them befriended him through the years.
In 2005, at the end of his junior year, Josh and his 88 Lions Div. 1 team spent part of the summer travelling to England to participate in an international tournament. And it was on this trip that Josh’s mischievous side resurfaced. When he was younger, he pulled a few bone-headed stunts such as the time he and some friends accidentally burned an abandoned out-building down by throwing firecrackers inside or the time he got in trouble at school when he was almost arrested for revving his engine in the parking lot after he was told to stop by the security officer. But it was in London where he tried to pull off his most spectacular stunt when he and one of his teammates decided to break curfew. They figured that if they by tied their bed sheets together and threw them out their third floor window, they could slide down them and escape into the city to enjoy the nightlife. Unfortunately for them, their nefarious plans literally fell short when Josh was discovered dangling twenty feet over the sidewalk hanging on for dear life due to a slight miscalculation. Needless to say, neither his coaches nor the hotel management were amused.
After high school, Joshua had a number of offers to play at a collegiate level but he decided that it was time to focus on his future. He enrolled in classes at Texas State University pursuing a Manufacturing Engineering degree. Of course, he didn’t quit playing and amateur and intramural soccer became his soccer outlet where he played again with his brother, some old teammates from his two high schools and club, some new friends and he just played for the fun of it.
Joshua also had a very strong work ethic and he learned early to pay his own way. He started working part-time when he was 15 and he was never out of a job for more than a week. As a waiter at the Adobe Cafe and later Los Cucos, Josh was always in demand. In fact, he had entire groups of women who would come into Los Cucos during lunch and refuse to be seated until one of his tables were empty. They tipped well and if they came in with their husbands, they would always slip him something extra after the bill was paid. Sometimes it was their daughter’s phone number. Josh was a sweetheart.
August 1, 2009 started as a quiet Saturday morning but the stillness was shattered when two Comal County Deputies showed up to the house to inform his mother that Josh had been killed in a single car crash. At approximately 5 a.m. while on the way home from one of his friend’s house, Joshua lost control of his new car that his father had sold him and fatally crashed into a tree less than a mile from home.
At the funeral, over 800 of his friends and relatives from all over the San Antonio metropolitan area poured into Zoellers Funeral home. In fact, there were so many that the funeral home had to send dozens away to the church hall where the reception was to be held because every square foot of space at Zoellers was occupied, even the broom closets.
Josh had an aura around him and if you look up the word charisma, you’ll find his name listed first. Like any boy, he had his faults, but for the most part, he was a happy and carefree man-child. For him the future was bright and he always had a smile for everyone he met. He loved his mother—he told her every day and he idolized his older brother. And he loved his friends—there was nothing he wouldn’t do for them if it were in his power. Because Joshua had already expressed a wish to be cremated at his death, his mother made the agonizing decision to donate his remains. However, less than a week after the funeral, a letter for Joshua arrived in the mail from the Organ and Tissue Center of Central Texas thanking him for being a life donor. Josh had made the decision the month before he passed and hadn’t told his mother. Since then, 115 people have received Josh’s gift of life and we encourage everyone to consider becoming an organ and tissue donor. For more information click on the following link: http://inyourhands.org/tissue/
Because Joshua was a giver and not a taker, we decided to give something back to the soccer community that gave Joshua so much joy in his life so we started up the Josh Meurin Soccer Scholarship Memorial Fund to give scholarships to players from the two high schools he played for as well as the club he dedicated his teenage years to. To date we have given over $27,000 to 28 recipients over the past 9 years and we want to continue awarding scholarships in the years to come. We really appreciate all the support that we have received over the years and we hope that we will continue to receive this support in the years to come.
We are a 501 (c) (3) designated charitable non-profit.
