Photo Courtesy of Tribune News Service
AN UPRIGHT YOUNG MAN—Chula Vista Mater Dei High School alum Jason Myers kicked a record five field goals in the Seattle Seahawks’ 29-13 Super Bowl victory.
By Emiliano Gonzalez Ruiz
Twenty-six yards.
That was all that stood between Chula Vista’s Jason Myers and Super Bowl immortality.
The Seattle Seahawks steely place kicker stood over the ball trying to push out all the distractions. Getting to this moment was epic, but he did not have time to consider that now. There was a football to put through the uprights.
Born and raised in Chula Vista, Myers was a child who thrived in many sports, said his father Donny Myers.
“He played soccer, baseball, basketball,” he said. “He was very good at all three sports. But in football, really good.”
At Mater Dei Catholic High School Myers was a star midfielder known more for soccer than football, recalled soccer coach Jorge Zavala.
“Jason was the anchor to the team,” said Zavala. “Not only to the defensive side of soccer, but to the team.”
Football coach John Joyner agreed.
“Jason was a more talented soccer player,” he said. “When I first met him, he was a good kicker, but he was more of a soccer player. By the time he was a senior, you could see the talent in both football and soccer.”
Myers played four years of varsity soccer and football. He led his soccer team to a Division III State Championship. He was Metro-Mesa League football Kicker of the Year as a senior.
“He was the best kicker in San Diego (County),” Joyner said.
Myers played Division I football at Marist University in Poughkeepsie, New York. During his years with the Red Foxes he made 24 of 38 field goal attempts and punted during his junior and senior years. He holds the Marist U record for a 49-yard field goal.
“From a high school coach perspective, you can only really project to the next level,” Joyner said. “We knew he would be a great college kicker.”
After college, Myers returned to Chula Vista with no offers to play football professionally. He went to work at Prime Sports, a shop on Bay Blvd co-owned by his father.
“I actually sat down with him and said, hey, you got two years to chase your dream,” said his father Donny Myers. “You live at home. Don’t worry about bills. Chase your dream until you’re 25.”
Myers started to train with former NFL kicker Michael Husted, said his father.
“He got a job working valet at night and started working out with Husted,” said Donny Myers.
Zavala said he ran into Myers at the shop and encouraged him to keep training.
“I said, Jason, why don’t you stop by school, stay fit, help me out with soccer,” said Zavala. “Maybe somebody calls and you’ll still be in shape.”
Myers accepted the offer. Soon after he called Zavala with good news.
“(Jason said) ‘Hey coach, I got a call from an Arena football team.’” Zavala recalled “And he took off from there.”
Donny Myers said it was a bumpy experience.
“San Jose SaberCats asked him to come up for training camp,” Donny said. “He went up there (for about) four weeks. He thought he had made the team.”
Just before the season started, however, Jason Myers received disappointing news.
“They told him they had a kicker coming in on Friday,” Donny Myers said. “So he drove all the way home. He was bummed.”
Myers’ efforts were not vain. Husted invited him to a free agent combine in Mobile, Alabama, where he caught the attention of the Jacksonville Jaguars. He eventually took veteran kicker Josh Scobee’s job.
“He beat out a veteran,” Joyner said. “And that’s when (we knew) he’d made it.”
Myers kicked for the Jaguars through 2017 but was released and picked up by the Seattle Seahawks for the 2018 preseason. That did not work out, but the New York Jets signed him to a one-year contract.
Myers found another gear and was brilliant in the Big Apple. He hit 33 of 36 field goal attempts and earned a Pro Bowl selection. He returned to Seattle in 2019 with the kicker’s job secured and a four-year contract.
“Whether it was the Arena League, whether it was the NFL, he wanted to keep kicking,” said Joyner. “He had that work ethic. He had that determination. He is a great underdog story because he never gave up.”
It all led to football’s biggest stage. With a global television audience of 1 billion watching and history within his reach, Myers lined up for his fifth field goal of the night and drilled the 26-yarder, setting a Super Bowl record for the most field goals in a single game.
For his family, the moment represented years of hard work and faith.
“It was very surreal,” said Donny Myers. “I still get kind of emotional about it. We were all very overwhelmed. It was cool. Very cool.”
For Jason, it was the result of a journey built on patience and resilience.
“Just trusting the process, a lot of hard work, taking advantage of opportunities and never giving up,” he said.
Myers ended the season converting 41 of 48 field goal attempts and 48 of 48 extra point attempts, breaking the NFL record for total points scored in a single season previously held by San Diego Charger LaDainian Tomlinson.
“He’s just a South Bay Chula Vista kid,” said his father. “Not the biggest, not the strongest, but if you want something, you can go for it, and I always felt that’s Jason.”
