‘Win 4 Weasel’ keeps spirit of JC Meardon alive at Iowa City High

IOWA CITY - Buy a shirt and give a kid a jersey.

That was motivation for Jackson Meyer when he helped create the Win 4 Weasel project in honor of his best friend and fellow soccer player, JC Meardon.

Meardon, 16, died July 12 at University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics after being struck by a minivan around 10:30 p.m. the previous day while he walked with two friends on Dane Road just south of the Highway 218 overpass.

Win 4 Weasel - 'weasel” is the nickname given to JC as a child by his father, because he was mischievous - was launched three months ago and benefits the J.C. Meardon Soccer Foundation, started by Meardon's family to raise money for soccer scholarships and to upgrade soccer facilities at City High School in Iowa City.

Meyer, 16, and Meardon played on the same club soccer team for seven seasons and went to City High together. Through the Win 4 Weasel website - win4weasel.org - T-shirts and wristbands are sold with the money earmarked for soccer scholarships to benefit players in need of financial assistance.

To date, about $4,000 has been raised by Win 4 Weasel, helping bring the Foundation total to about $20,000.

'One way you can remember him, he just loved to play soccer with all his friends,” Meyer said. 'I figured keeping JC alive and remembering JC will let everyone else experience what he loved about soccer.”

Karen Meyer, Jackson's mother, said she expects Win 4 Weasel to be a part of her son's life forever.

'It's the memory of JC and making sure kids are out playing the sport that they love to play and benefiting from the brotherhood,” she said.

Soccer club scholarships have yet to be awarded, but Karen Meyer said helping young people play soccer is a perfect tribute to Meardon, who had a history of helping kids get access to soccer in a different way.

'JC had this real sort of affection for a lot of the kids in the community who maybe didn't have rides to practice and he made sure they did,” she said. 'If somebody said, ‘Can you give me a ride?' or whatever, Jackson and JC were really big about that.”

Jackson Meyer said the City High community has been supportive of the Win 4 Weasel efforts, even selling shirts to people he doesn't know. The City High student section wore the T-shirts during its senior night football game and in the homecoming parade as well.

The shirts and wristbands are yellow - Meardon's favorite color - with writing in blue and red to represent City High and the Iowa Soccer Club, for which Meardon played. The T-shirts sell for $20 and the wristbands - that read #12 forever, in honor of JC's jersey number - are 10 for $15.

Jackson Meyer said he hopes the merchandise helps the community remember JC and serves as a sign to his family that Meardon is loved.

Jose Fajardo, the boys soccer coach at City High, said he hopes the community steps up in a big way to support the J.C. Meardon Soccer Foundation, which is registered as a non-profit through the Iowa Secretary of State's Office.

'Some of us lost a teammate, some of us have lost a player. Some of us have lost a classmate,” Fajardo said. 'We all need to think about this as a tragedy, and it is, but we need to see now about how to celebrate his life.”

Fajardo, who serves on the foundation's board of directors, said he hopes to build a Meardon Memorial Garden around a soccer field where the community can take time to celebrate JC with laughs and smiles.

'We need to act. We need to do something and to keep his memory alive and to keep him around us. We need to support that foundation,” Fajardo said.

Donations to the foundation can be made through the Win 4 Weasel website or by sending contributions to Hills Bank, 1401 S. Gilbert St., Iowa City, IA 52240.

Other members of the foundation's board of directors are Meardon's parents, Chuck and Kristi Meardon, as well as Karen Meyer and Jon Cook, Meardon's Iowa Soccer Club coach.

Jackson Meyer is also dreaming bigger. He said he hopes to one day plan an annual soccer tournament in Meardon's name.

His mother concurs.

'You're going to hear a lot from Win 4 Weasel,” said Karen Meyer.