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The family behind the herd

A little different.
A whole lot
of heart.

A family. A sketch. A belief that every child has something special to bring to the herd.

We’re Melisa and Jeremy Meccage. Zag’s world grew out of the things we care about most: our family, helping people grow, and the stories we share along the way.

Come see how it all began
The Meccage family together
Our herd. The heart of it all.

Meet the Meccages

Our first herd.
Our forever inspiration.

Four children, a bonus daughter-in-law, and plenty of stories still being written.

Our oldest, Bryce, is a professional baseball player in the Milwaukee Brewers organization, selected in the second round of the 2024 MLB Draft. His wife, Jaelyn, is an entrepreneur and a student at the University of Arizona.

Our twins, Cayden and Clara, are sophomores at The Pennington School and standout players in baseball and field hockey. Our youngest, Miah, is an eighth grader at Pennington and a standout field hockey player herself.

Sport is a big part of our family’s life. The lessons that stay with us reach much further: finding courage, caring for others, learning through setbacks, and discovering what makes each of us unique.

A moment from our family album · 2024One name called. A whole family cheering.Bryce’s name is called in the second round of the MLB Draft. One unforgettable moment in a much longer story of growing, learning, and believing.

The people behind the pages

Coaches. Parents.
Always learning.

Nearly 30 years helping people grow, on the field, around the world, and at home.

Melisa Meccage

Co-founder · Mom · Music maker

Melisa Meccage

Melisa brings a coach’s encouragement, a mother’s perspective, and a love of music to Zag’s world. Her musical background helped turn the earliest stories into songs, with our children lending their voices along the way.

More about Melisa

An All-American and Big Ten Player of the Year at the University of Iowa, Melisa went on to spend 20 years coaching Division I field hockey at Iowa, Virginia, and Princeton. At Princeton, she helped build a program that earned 11 Ivy League championships and a national championship.

A founder of Zag Sports, Inc. and LeadHer Sports, she connects athletic development, character, and experiences that help people see more possibilities in themselves.

Jeremy Meccage

Co-founder · Dad · Idea chaser

Jeremy Meccage

Jeremy brings an entrepreneurial spirit and years of coaching and international team travel to Zag. He loves finding new ways to turn meaningful lessons into experiences that families, classrooms, and teams can share.

More about Jeremy

A two-time Los Angeles Dodgers draft pick with an MBA from the University of Iowa, Jeremy spent 10 years coaching baseball at Princeton. That chapter included three Ivy League championships and coaching five future Major League players.

As a founder of Zag Sports, Inc., he has helped teams discover the world through sport and travel. Zag the Zonkey carries that same purpose into a younger generation’s everyday adventures.

The thread through everything we do

Help people discover
who they are—and what
they can bring to the world.

Through travel. Through sport. Through a story shared together.

A little look back

Every herd
starts somewhere.

2015

Before the books,
there was a sketch.

A simple drawing of a very different little animal sparked a question: could the lessons we had seen as coaches, parents, and travelers become stories for younger children?

Through Zag Sports, we had spent years alongside exceptional teams and coaches, seeing how new experiences could build character, connection, and confidence. Zag became a way to share that same spirit with children ages 3–9 and their families.

His message was there from the beginning: embrace what makes you different, care for others, keep trying, and recognize what you can contribute.

The original drawing that inspired Zag the Zonkey in 2015
The original Zag sketch. A small beginning with a big heart.
From the family archives
An early draft recording from the making of the original Zag the Zonkey anthem.

Finding our voice

A story to read.
A song to carry with you.

As we traveled, we noticed how often stories and songs belonged together. Music could carry a message long after the story ended.

Melisa put her musical background to work and invited our children to lend their voices. Our first book, Herdwork & Hoofs, and the original Zag anthem helped bring this little world to life.

This early recording is a small piece of that beginning: our family making something together, one idea and one song at a time.

Read our first story ↗Explore the song library ↗
2020

When the world paused,
our stories kept going.

Then travel stopped. With Zag Sports grounded by the pandemic, we poured our energy into more books, songs, and journals. We introduced subscriptions and developed a book-building project to help teams create together and raise funds.

There was plenty of learning along the way—and plenty of laughter, too. These posts are little time capsules from that chapter.

Behind the scenes · 2020A subscription launch.
A few extra takes.Our family’s book-subscription shoot, bloopers included.Watch the bloopers on Instagram ↗The music kept growing · 2020Meet Sami.
Hear a new song.A look back at the Sami the Spricket song release.See the original Instagram post ↗

When travel returned, we returned to sharing the globe with teams through Zag Sports. But Zag’s story kept growing.

2026 & beyond

Today’s Story Library Membership
and Story Studio.

The next chapter belongs to you.

New creative tools are helping us take that original vision further, with richer stories, music, and new ways to create together.

Our Story Library Membership brings together books, songs, and journals to enjoy as a family. Story Studio invites families, classrooms, and teams to develop their own book, song, animation, and journal concepts with Zag and his friends. Our fundraising experience brings that creativity to a shared cause.

Our hope is simple: to share messages that help children grow in character and confidence—and inspire them to share something of their own.

Create your own story ↗Explore Library Membership ↗
Zag, Zig, and their zebra friends make room for one another in a game
There’s room for your story in this herd.
Zag the Zonkey

From our herd to yours.

Melisa, Jeremy & the Meccage family