SOFTBALL: Miller: communication key to coaching philosophy
By PETER FRASSO
Sports Writer
Two players sat in Liz Miller's office early in the afternoon, discussing drills.
Miller's voice could be heard on the outside — very confident and direct, yet with a sincere quality nestled in the tone.
"Com-munication is the key," said Miller, outlining her philosophy on coaching today's athletes. "You have to be able to work with the athletes."
Miller, who has coached softball for 26 years and has been at Notre Dame for nine, finally got her 900th win last Saturday in the second game of a doubleheader vs. Pittsburgh. "When I think of 900 wins, I think two things," Miller said. "First is "Wow, that's a lot of years.' Second, I think of all of the changes that have occurred over that span. Staying in coaching is about changing your approach with regard to athletes."
After 26 years, 26 teams, over 1000 games and hundreds of athletes, there have been a lot of changes in women's athletics.
Miller grew up involved with many sports, but the ballpark was where she spent most of her time, watching her brothers and father play.
"I grew up at the baseball park," Miller said. "I never got to play, but I was always there. We were a baseball family."
After going to Western Michigan as a field hockey and volleyball star, eventually being named to the Western Michigan Athletic Hall of Fame and playing six summers on an American Softball Association travel team, she taught physical education and dabbled in coaching basketball, volleyball and track. She also began her softball coaching career in the summers.
After four years in the classroom, she was approached by Lake Michigan Community College in 1974. Only two years after Title IX had been passed, she was offered the position of women's athletics director, a position that, at the time, had not existed.
Her situation is different now.
"The challenge is patience. Sometimes you just want it to happen a lot faster," said Miller, regarding the development of women's athletics since she started. "If I had quit coaching 15 years ago, I would have read about all of the advancements that finally have come today in a newspaper and wished, `Hey, I wish I was still coaching.' I'm glad I'm still around to see it," she said.
Miller remembers when she first started coaching what the game was like.
"There used to be no expectations. Now there's pressure. Athletes today play for different reasons than they did twenty years ago."
Miller cites two reasons among others. Today's players can advance further into softball after college, either through the new pro league, or by playing for the national team. Four of this year's current squad have been selected to try out for Team USA.
Another reason is for the free education.
"A lot of the student athletes we have at Notre Dame could not have afforded to come without a scholarship," said Miller.
The players themselves are also different.
"Back then, when I played, we practiced maybe 10 hours a week. Now, we put in 30, 40 hours. Players are so specialized now. We could play three or four sports. Today, you have to choose only one," she said.
Between a strict training regimen, pushy parents and the growth in competitiveness, Miller fears some players lose sight of why they play.
"I'd like to believe that the majority of the athletes who are competing also do it for the love of the game," she said.
When starting the Lake Michigan women's athletic program completely from scratch, Miller coached volleyball, basketball and softball. She enjoyed success in all three, showing that coaching goes beyond strictly knowledge of a specific sport.
Years passed, and after building the softball team into a regional power, she became head athletic director, the first woman to hold that post in the state of Michigan. She eventually gave up the duties of basketball and volleyball to concentrate on softball. In 17 seasons, she compiled a .792 winning percentage, amassed 541 wins, and had ten national top 10 finishes.
After years of dominance at LMC, she was contacted by Notre Dame, with a softball program still in its infancy after only two years of existence.
"I remember sitting at the dinner table with my family, and I was telling them that I was thinking about the job offer from Notre Dame. My son, who was a junior in high school at the time, said to me, `What exactly would you be thinking about? There's nothing to think about.'"
While she has never won less that 30 games as Notre Dame's head coach, this year's team is 36-3, and ranked 11th in the country, the highest ever in the program's short history.
Miller attributes her success to several things.
"Recruiting is key — being able to get players who have the ability to learn, whoever the coaching staff is," she said.
Miller recruits a special type of person for Notre Dame.
"They're not going to succeed if they come to Notre Dame only wanting to be a great softball player. You have to want to be a great player, a great student and a great person," said Miller. "Another key is surrounding myself with people who are also very good at what they do. That is what I would attribute our success to, what a great job our assistant coaches do."
Success is not black and white all the time though. "It's not about wins and losses, it's about the process. When I know there's a particular player that has worked and worked to be successful at a certain thing, and you see them succeed; when that moment happens, that's what brings the satisfaction."
And after all of her success, what would she say to a prospective coach?
"Do it for the right reasons. Do it because you love to work with athletes. And remember — communication is the key."
All Sports Stories for Thursday, April 19, 2001
