Meints Chosen as Assistant Coach for the 69th Annual Nebraska Shrine Bowl

BANCROFT, Neb. — The Nebraska Shrine Bowl Board of Directors is proud to announce the coaching staffs for the 69th Annual Nebraska Shrine Bowl, which will be played on Saturday, June 5, 2027, at Cope Stadium on the campus of the University of Nebraska at Kearney.
The Nebraska Shrine Bowl is Nebraska’s premier high school all-star football game, bringing together the state’s outstanding graduating seniors for one final opportunity to represent their schools and communities while supporting the mission of Shriners Children’s. Since 1959, the game has raised millions of dollars to provide life-changing specialty medical care for children with orthopedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries, cleft lip and palate, and other complex medical needs, regardless of a family’s ability to pay or insurance status.
The coaching staffs represent schools from every corner of Nebraska and bring together decades of coaching experience, championship success, and a shared commitment to developing student-athletes. Among the assistant coaches chosen for the South team is Gabe Meints, a native of Tecumseh.
Meints served as the Head Football Coach at Syracuse High School for the 2025-2026 school year. “I am very honored to be selected as an Assistant Coach in next year’s Shrine Bowl. I am looking forward to being a part of such a special event and its rich history and meeting other great coaches from across Nebraska and learning from them,” said Meints. “I am uncertain of what role I will be playing as an assistant right now, but I will help out wherever I can to the best of my ability.”
The players for the Shrine Bowl will not be decided until later on, presumably after everyone’s season wraps up, as that is where the focus for all of these coaches is right now, getting their teams ready to compete this season. “Then, we will focus on our own teams and compete for the next several weeks. Once the season comes to a close, we will work on the selection process of the players. As a staff, we will then talk about what type of Offense and Defense we will be running,” Meints said.
According to Meints, the coaching staff will meet at some point in the near future so they can get to know each other better.
“It is going to be an exciting time getting to know all the players, and as a coaching staff, working with them on the Offensive and Defensive schemes that we will be running. It will take some time teaching these concepts to these players as they may not be used to the particular Offense or Defense that we will be running,” said Meints. “That is where my job as an assistant will be crucial, coaching up these players to different ways of doing things than they have been used to for the past 4 years. It will take a lot of hours of preparation and hard work, but again, I am excited for this opportunity to coach these young men, as for many of them, it will be their last time on the football field.”
Meints has never visited a Shriners Hospital, so this will be a special moment to witness these young men sharing their time with children who are going through some difficult situations in their lives. “It will be a rewarding experience to be a part of something special in sharing our love of football with others and hopefully be a glimmer of hope in healing for these children.”
In a synopsis of the Syracuse Rockets football season during the 2025-2026 school year, Head Coach Meints said the Rockets had a great season, led by a good core of senior leaders. “We have another good group of players coming back to hopefully continue that success, both on the field as well as in the classroom. We have had a decent summer in the weightroom and during some team camps getting better and preparing for the season,” said Meints. “Our focus this year is to do the little things right, limit mistakes, and communicate. We have a pretty solid Offensive and Defensive Line and some good quality, skilled players who know the game of football. We are finishing up our summer Team camp and looking forward to getting Fall camp started and competing.”