Unlike most players, his first instinct isn’t to shoot.It’s to pass.Tanner Meyer was born into a family of passers.His stats are indicative of his unselfish manner.The Liberty Christian senior recently concluded his career as the school’s all-time assists leader, having connected with teammates on 616 scoring plays.“I would definitely rather make a good pass than an amazing shot,” said Meyer.“I think that’s what a good floor leader does,” remarked Liberty Christian Coach Butch Clark. “They recognize on a particular night what you need from them. He did a real good job and played with confidence all year.”But confidence and certainty weren’t always Meyer’s strengths.When the school’s career scoring leader Caleb Fox graduated following Meyer’s sophomore season, he was forced into a leadership role. There was really no question — it was his role to assume.“I’m not really sure he was ready for that at the time,” said Clark. “Being a junior, he was the next guy up. He had some struggles with it initially.”Meyer and his coach didn’t see eye-to-eye at first and had to gain a better understanding of one another to work past the setbacks. Always eager to justify his mistakes, Meyer would often get an earful from his coach, who admits he can be very direct with players.“He got off to a bit of a rocky start,” recalled Clark. “We had a chat, and he kind of explained where he was at.”Meyer learned to trust his decision-making and would save the excuses for a later time, explaining after the game or at the next practice why he made a particular move.“There was a time when I would immediately tell coach during the game why I did something, but I learned to wait until he had cooled down, and that really helped our relationship,” said Meyer. “I liked the fact that coach never held a grudge either.”Meyer’s teammates trust in him was never an issue.It was himself that he had to learn to trust.Even his father, Chris, saw the potential.“Since I was about 12, my dad has told me, ‘Tanner, you’re a natural-born leader, whether you like it or not,’” said Meyer.Guiding his team to consecutive runner-up finishes in the Missouri Christian Schools Athletic Association state tournament, it’s a memory Meyer both covets and laments over.He continually replays the final possession of regulation of an overtime loss in this year’s championship, during which he missed a shot to win the game.Never mind that he scored 28 points and 11 assists.“I only missed one free-throw,” said Meyer. “I just keep thinking, ‘what if it went in… We win the game.’”But he hasn’t made a habit of holding onto mistakes.“He definitely matured into the floor leader that I wanted, and off the court I think he did a real good job with that too,” said  Clark.Meyer developed into both a facilitator and scorer for the Eagles, finishing third on the all-time scoring list with 1,432 points. He finished second behind Fox with 202 three-pointers.Meyer is also the school’s career leader in steals with 272 turnovers forced.And these feats were accomplished in far fewer games than his company, who spent their entire careers at Liberty Christian. On the contrary, Meyer didn’t become a varsity contributor until halfway through his freshman year, when he transferred from Montgomery County.He had originally attended Liberty Christian through sixth grade, but his family made the decision to move when his father began a church in Montgomery City.Near the end of the first semester of his freshman year, Meyer says he felt a prompting him to return to his roots.“I wasn’t getting the chance to play there, and it really bothered me, so when I got the opportunity to come back to LCA, I jumped all over it.”While he misses some aspects of public school, including past teammates and friends, Meyer has never felt more at home than he does at Liberty Christian.He says it’s worth the hour-long drive every day from his home in Wellsville, and he knew he had made the right decision recently when on senior night a few of the underclassmen expressed their appreciation toward him for his leadership.“A few of the guys broke and cried while telling me how much of an example I’ve been in their lives,” said Meyer. “It was really eye-opening.”The numbers will speak for themselves long into the future, but the best story can only be told by his teammates.“In our senior leadership class we always talk about leaving a legacy, and I’m happy I could leave that type of legacy,” said Meyer, who plans to pursue a degree in business management.MEYER LEAVES UNSELFISH LEGACYDerrick Forsythe photo.