A bench for Coach Meg: honoring Otter Tri Team head coach Meg Stolt

For nine years, the Nogueira-Mago family's weekends have followed the same rhythm. First the pool. Then the bike. Then the run. And at every step there was Coach Meg.

Bellaire residents Marjorie Nogueira and Alonso Mago have three daughters, Monica (15), Melanie (13) and Marjorie (9). All three learned to swim, bike and run with Margaret "Coach Meg" Stolt, head coach of the Otter Tri Team. When Coach Meg passed away on May 3, 2026, at the age of 58, Marjorie wanted a lasting place where families could still feel her there. She started the fund for a memorial bench beside the pool where Coach Meg spent so many years.

"Coach Meg was more than a triathlon coach to our three daughters. She taught them patience, independence, encouragement and perseverance. With a bench overlooking the pool, we want to honor her legacy." Marjorie Nogueira

What Coach Meg taught them

Patience. Triathlon is three sports, and young athletes learn them one skill at a time: clipping on a helmet, checking the brakes, pinning on a race number. Coach Meg never rushed a kid who wasn't ready. She waited, explained, and waited some more, and then she let them go.

Independence. On race day, parents stay behind the fence. Kids set up their own transition

area, find their own bike and run their own race. Coach Meg spent her whole season getting them ready for that moment, so that when it came they didn't need her standing next to them.

Encouragement. Coach Meg could be loud, and her athletes will tell you so. What they remember most is that she was loudest at the finish line. Whether a kid came in first or last, she was waiting for them.

Perseverance. Coach Meg didn't just preach it. She lived it. She was a triathlete herself, with finishes at the Waco 70.3, the Houston Half Marathon and the Jack and Jill Downhill Marathon, and she volunteered at Ironman events, the Boston Marathon and the 1996 Olympics. When she told a tired kid to keep going, they knew she had been there too.

Who Coach Meg was

Coach Meg was an endurance coach and a lifelong champion of community fitness. She owned and operated MSJ Athletics and managed the Otter Tri Team, the youth triathlon program that trains at the Bellaire Family Aquatic Center. She also taught weight training and conditioning at Houston Community College and co-coached the cross-country team at St. Mark's Episcopal School.

She held a bachelor's degree in physical education and a master's degree in sports health science, and she kept adding to them. Strength and conditioning, youth coaching, endurance, nutrition: if a certification would make her a better coach, she was working on it.

Off the deck she loved her four cats, a good cup of coffee and long walks on the beach collecting sea glass. On the deck, what she loved most was watching a kid who didn't think they could finish cross the line.

The bench

The bench sits in Zindler Park, between the Bellaire Family Aquatic Center and City Hall, steps from the pool where Coach Meg coached for years. Its bronze plaque reads:

"Work hard. Dream big. Never give up." Coach Meg Stolt, Otter Tri Team Head Coach, 1967–2026

Patrons for Bellaire Parks is partnering with the City of Bellaire to buy and install the bench, as we do with park projects across the city. The goal is $7,000, and $3,000 has been raised so far.

"I invite all families touched by Coach Meg and other members of our community to contribute to the fundraiser," Marjorie said.

How you can help

• Donate any amount at stolt.cbo.io. Patrons for Bellaire Parks is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and contributions are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.

• Pass it on. Send this to an Otter Tri family, a swim parent or anyone who ever heard her call out "one more lap."

Memorial bench inauguration and picnic

Sunday, September 27, 2026, 5 to 6 pm

Zindler Park, at Coach Meg's bench between the pool and City Hall

All athletes, families and coaches who knew Coach Meg are invited to a picnic to dedicate her bench and honor her memory and legacy. Please join us.

Patrons for Bellaire Parks partners with the City of Bellaire to raise funds for park projects. Learn more at www.bellaireparks.org.