By Gail Wood
It’s another blustery fall afternoon and rain is just beginning to fall.
But that doesn’t matter. Jerry Miller, whether it’s raining or the sun is shining, is at his station, doing what he’s done since 1992. He’s coaching the boys cross country team at Capital High School, going over the day’s workout. It’s a familiar scene, but it’s not drudgery for Miller.
Miller hasn’t lost his passion for coaching. And that’s what makes Miller, who retired from teaching 13 years ago and has coached for over 40 years, so unique. He still cares.
“I enjoy working with the kids,” Miller said. “I enjoy coaching.”
That passion, that drive to get the most out of his kids, hasn’t gone unnoticed. Miller was inducted this year into the WIAA’s Hall of Fame as a cross country coach. It’s a tribute to the success the Capital Cougars have had under Miller – 26 of his teams have gone on to the state meet. And it’s a tribute to his longtime commitment.
Miller has pulled in some pretty talented kids over the years including Ben Koss, Graydon Manning, Jordan Swarthout, Alec Temple and Anna Blue. Miller, who ran cross country and track at Ashland College in Ohio, has a knack for pushing all the right buttons. He inspires.
“He knows how to get what he needs out of kids,” said Kevin Wright, who has worked alongside Miller for 20+ years as Capital’s girls cross country and track coach. “He knows how to get them to really step up and believe in themselves – to have that quest for the next level. That’s where he’s probably been the most successful.”
Miller moved to Olympia in 1979 and coached cross country and track at Jefferson Middle School for 13 years. He became Capital’s head cross country coach for the boys and girls in 1992 after being an assistant for a year. In 1997, his boys cross country team won a state title and finished second in 1996.
Somehow, Miller has always been able to balance hard work with having fun.
“I think we have a lot of fun,” Miller said. “We work hard, but we also have a lot of fun. We find that we’re not having a whole lot of fun if we’re not being successful. They feed off each other.”
At the team’s banquet at the end of the season, the seniors gave their coach a collection of his jokes.
“He’s cracking jokes all the time,” said Beau Crabill, a junior and one of the team’s top runners. “He’s always in a light mood. He makes it fun.”
The mood changes right before a race.
“He definitely helped me become a better runner,” Crabill said. “He also helped me become a better person.”
Miller’s commitment doesn’t end when the season ends. It didn’t end this year after Capital placed second at the 3A Narrows League championship meet and placed 15th at the state meet. Now, during the off season, he opens a portable at school and kids start showing up to run and stretch. He’s there three days a week.
“Miller gets them together and makes sure they’re doing productive things and not being screwballs,” Wright said. “And look at all the stuff he’s still doing in the community.”
Miller is the race director of the Lakefair races in July and also volunteers hours of his time to running.
“Someone who doesn’t care doesn’t do that,” said Wright, who is also on the Lakefair race board.
“I think it gives him a sense of purpose and it’s something he’s good at,” Wright said. “It’s a way for him to give back to the community. I’d say that he loves the kids, but I’d say it goes beyond that.”
Miller is a double burner. He coaches cross country in the fall and track in the spring. That’s a lot of afternoons and a lot of Saturdays. He struggled to explain the “why” to his commitment to coaching
“It’s like the Geico commercial,” Miller said with a chuckle. “It’s what you do. It’s what I do. It’s hard to explain. I never started out wanting to be in the Hall of Fame. I just started out because I enjoyed what I was doing. It’s nice to have that honor. But it’s nice even without it.”
Miller isn’t a rah, rah, yell the kids to victory, kind of coach.
“I’m a quieter coach,” Miller admitted. “I like to look at it like John Wayne. You don’t have to say much, but when you finally do say something people listen.”
Every year, Miller, who taught social studies at the middle school, likes to think of his team as a family. They’re a hodgepodge that becomes close because of their common goal.
“Really, we’re kind of a microcosm of society,” Miller said. “We’re a whole bunch of different people with different backgrounds coming together to create a common goal. I look at the state championship team and the differences they had. A lot of the great teams I’ve had put their differences aside.”
Miller has a reputation of getting the most out of his runners. And it’s not just the fastest one. Three years ago as a freshman, Ian Glebe was one of the slowest runners on the team. Now, as a senior he’s dropped his 5K time over 10 minutes from his freshman year to become the seventh fastest runner on the team.
“I noticed him because he had this intense look on his face at a race,” Miller said. “Once he lost his shoe and he kept racing. I went back with him later to find it. That showed his commitment.”
And just as so many other runners have done under Miller, Glebe improved.
