As the girls cross country season continues, the team is focusing on preparing for upcoming tournaments in many ways. At the forefront of it all is Coach Brian Miller, who has been the girls cross country coach for the past 16 seasons.
Coach Miller is always looking out for his runners and has always been an integral part of the team.
“This is my third year having Miller as a coach, and in that time I've always been able to rely on him,” junior Leila Fowler said. “He cheers me on no matter how my race went or the time I ran, and he's always coming up with the best ways I can improve my performances.”
Miller tries his hardest to make girls cross country a fun sport for his runners.
“He's also catered an amazing experience throughout cross country season by giving us so many opportunities,” Fowler said.
Over the course of this season, Coach Miller has helped each and every player improve their individual skills. Whether it be on or off the course, his runners say he is always helping them in any and every way he can to achieve their goals.
“We set goals and design workouts that will help us achieve those goals,” Miller said. “After each race, we look for what went well and try to improve what we could have done better.”
As the season progresses, the more important races like sectional, regionals and the state tournament are getting closer and closer. Coach Miller and his runners are doing their best to get ready for them in many ways.
“We are preparing for our biggest meets by focusing on our daily process,” Miller said. “That is, we show up every day, give our best effort and be positive to others on the team.”
One of the most important aspects of the cross country team is to build a strong, encouraging relationship between the coaches and the runners.
“He also constantly reminds our team to not let our goals be our expectation, that just because we didn't reach our goal on time doesn't mean we had a bad race, which has really helped us a lot this season,” Fowler said.
Even though he hopes that the team does well in these important tournaments, he hopes most of all to see his runners improve.
“My favorite part is watching our athletes grow from a beginner with very little experience to a varsity runner who is a leader on the team,” Miller said.
The girls on the cross country team say that the impact that Coach Miller has had on them is nothing short of tremendous. Over the past 16 seasons, Coach Miller has continuously been supportive of his runners and has helped them improve their skills and abilities in every way possible.