Thirty Years, 400 Wins, One Coach

Diane Miller, the head field hockey coach at Lake Braddock Secondary School since 1981, just wanted to play Farmville on Facebook. She didn't want to reconnect with old friends, or get on a social network with colleagues, or write on anyone's wall. She just wanted to play her game in peace. So her son and daughter set up an account for her with no information other than her name. There must be a million Diane Millers out there, right?

One day and about 50 friend requests from former players later, it's safe to say this Diane Miller cannot remain anonymous, no matter how hard she tries. That's what happens when you're a caring, dedicated coach, teacher and mother, not to mention a member of the 400-win club.

"I don't know how they found me on there," Miller insisted. "It was kind of neat. I think a lot of them had a good time, and to me if they can look back and say, 'I remember when,' I feel like in a way I've done my job."

After doing that job with an unparalleled degree of success for 30 years, Miller, affectionately referred to as "O" in reference to her maiden name of Ostergren, will retire at the end of this season.

"This has been a great experience," Miller said. "When I listen to coaches at other schools, I really have to consider myself very fortunate for the atmosphere I've been in here with the administrators and kids and parents."

The administrators, parents and, most of all, players, have been just as fortunate. When Miller took over in 1981, the Bruins' field hockey program was in hibernation. They hadn't experienced any real success, and few girls came out for the team. Miller took matters into her own hands by pinpointing and recruiting athletes she saw around school. She would tell them she had some extra kilts and was wondering if they wanted to play field hockey.

"They were like, 'What's that?' Those first couple years I was thinking, 'What am I doing?'," Miller said.

She ended up turning the Bruins into a powerhouse. Through the 2009 season, Miller had 421 career wins. She guided Lake Braddock to 20 district championships and seven regional titles. With the Bruins sitting at 10-1 this season as of Monday, numbers 21 and eight, respectively, look like distinct possibilities this year.

The right formula for success

Miller herself was a star in both field hockey and softball at Edison High School, before moving on to play field hockey at James Madison University. She began teaching at Lake Braddock in 1980, and actually held the head coaching position with the softball team first. When the field hockey coach unexpectedly left the team the following year, Miller took the reins.

From day one at the helm, Miller blended her laid-back demeanor with a touch of tough love and an emphasis on fundamentals and basic skills to formulate a coaching style all her own.

"I come out here and I have fun, I laugh, I cut on the kids," Miller said. "I'm not a drill-drill-drill-oriented coach. I love it and I'm serious when I have to be, but I just like to have fun too."

"She's intense for sure, but she reaches out to all the girls and creates relationships with them," said Amy Haak, who, in addition to playing for Miller from 1996-98, will take over for her next season. "We work hard, but we also know that it's a game and we play around and we joke around. I think a lot of girls come out and use it as a stress-reliever."

That casual atmosphere drew criticism from colleagues and even some parents over the years, but Miller continued to let her personality drive Lake Braddock field hockey. Head out to a practice, and you might see Miller jokingly chide one player while instructing another. You might see her play a practical joke on a group of girls, then set up a new play off a penalty corner. You might even get to see her apply a fresh layer of paint to the boundary lines. But one thing you're guaranteed to see is smiles. And if you check out a game, odds are you'll see the Bruins win, too.

"It's just the atmosphere and her sarcastic comments, it makes it so much fun to be out here and be part of this team," said senior forward Allie Froede, who's headed to Miami University in Oxford, Ohio next fall, where she'll play field hockey. "People have fun [on this team], and they want to work hard while they're here. I think the whole atmosphere [has contributed to her success]."

Instead of the traditional measuring sticks for success like wins and championships, Miller focuses on the connections she makes with her players, and takes greater joy in seeing them move on to play field hockey at the next level. In addition to Froede, seniors Brittany Hopkins and Melanie Broadner have received scholarships to William and Mary and Lehigh, respectively, three more are currently in the college ranks, and numerous others went before them. All credit Miller as instrumental in their growth as players.

"She makes you want to do well, and makes you want to take the team as far as you can," Hopkins said.

Added Froede, "It's a team sport and I want to play hard for my teammates, but I want to play well for her. I want to win for her."

With all the wins fresh in their minds, it's not surprising to hear her current players talk about the level of effort Miller inspires. But even players from seasons past who have left Lake Braddock far behind in the rear-view mirror fondly remember their days with her.

"She's one of the only coaches I ever had that constantly inspired us to play hard," said Lindsay Jones, who played for Miller from 2001-03. "There's something about the way she motivates her players. I played sports my whole life and she's the best coach I ever had."

Over all the wins, Miller has been the one constant. She's been through three athletic directors and countless players, but she has always been the stabilizing force behind one of the Northern Region's most dominant programs.

"She created an environment where winning is expected rather than something you reach for," said Casey Quigley, Jones' teammate at Lake Braddock. "It comes back to the balance. She has a laid-back attitude, but if you mess up, she's on your behind about the way she expects things to be done."

"[The players] all become really close, really friendly. We worked really well as a team, and had great chemistry, " Quigley said.

Like most traits of Bruin field hockey under Miller, the chemistry was no accident.

An experiment at the beach

In the summer of 1991, Miller had been on the job for 10 years and was comfortable with the way the team was run. Little did she know everything was about to fundamentally change.

A group of players came to her with an idea for a new offseason training program.

"They said, 'We want to go to the beach for a week to train.'" When Miller asked what beach they meant, they told her they wanted to go to the Outer Banks in North Carolina. Miller liked the idea, and got the thumbs-up from the administration. At the time, she figured it would be something they did that particular season, and that would be the end of it.

"Long story short, I thought it was just going to be a one-year thing," Miller said. "We still are doing that trip 19 years later."

It may be a trip to the beach, but it's no walk in the park for the players. According to Hopkins, they ran about 50 miles this year, an average of 10 per day. But even with all the intense training, each girl include the trips to the Outer Banks among their favorite memories with Miller.

"It's a great bonding trip," Haak said. "The girls get sidetracked with everything else in life, and when we go there it's just us. We work hard, we train hard, but we have a blast. I remember loving every minute of it."

"The running is worth it, as much as I hate running, because you just have such a good time as a team," Hopkins said.

Once all the running for the day is done, the fun truly begins. The moms travel to North Carolina along with their daughters and the coaches; the dads went the first three years, as well, before the ladies decided they needed a week without them. Each trip has a theme with games based on that subject. Think of it as an overnight field hockey camp, combined with an amateur improv theater. This year, the theme was Amazing Race, and Miller once again put her stamp on the trip.

"We had to put pedometers on our head and shake until we got a certain number," Hopkins said. "It's the silly things like that that bring our teams together."

Well that, and trips to the trainer's room.

"There were serious neck massages the next day," Froede said, laughing.

Chemistry doesn't come easy, unless Miller runs the lab. And the trips to the beach were just as special for her as they were for the players.

"All those memories at the beach are pretty high up there," Miller said. "This summer was my last time and the kids don't think I have any feelings but I have to admit I got pretty teary-eyed that last day."

View from the opposite sideline

Miller's players swear that playing for her is a thrill. Coaching against her is not. Just ask Starr Karl, who currently coaches at Westfield but was the longtime coach at Centreville until 2002.

"Her record speaks for itself," Karl said. "She has over 400 wins, so she has to be doing something right. She has always gotten the best out of her athletes, and they always wanted to win for her."

As the two elite coaches in the region, Miller and Karl developed a sort of rivalry. In field hockey, coaches are allowed to go up to the 50-yard-line, but can't cross to the other team's side.

"When we would play against each other, she'd be down at the 25 to be as far away from me as possible," Karl said. "Neither of us can figure it out. We kind of had a love-hate relationship."

Of course, the former has won out. The two coaches developed a close friendship over the years. Karl has said that Lake Braddock is losing a great coach, a mother figure and a teacher with Miller's departure. Once she does leave, Karl wants to ensure her legacy lives on.

"I'll be the first to nominate her for the Virginia High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame," Karl said. "And it would be cool if they named the field after her."

"Diane Miller Field" certainly has a ring to it, but there are still plenty of games to play before that happens. Karl hopes one of those games features her on the opposite sideline.

"I think it would be really fun if we met up in the regionals for one last hurrah," Karl said.

But would Miller go to the 50-yard-line?

"It just makes me laugh to think about it," Karl said.

Tough to say goodbye

So what about Farmville, the game on Facebook?

"I never figured it out," Miller said.

Clearly, it's one of the few things she hasn't been able to pin down in the last 30 years. One thing she does know is that her time leading the Bruins is coming to an end.

"When you've done the same thing for so long, it's hard to comprehend it isn't going to be there in a few months," Miller said. "I try not to think about it."

But even as she tries to make herself believe this season is the same as any of the first 29, she knows that it isn't. Whether she can get her hands on that elusive state title or not, she feels her experiences have made her a champion.

"Would I like to win a state championship? Heck yeah. But someone asked me once if I'd feel like I didn't succeed if I didn't win a state championship," Miller said. "I feel like I've coached so many kids over the years that have had a positive experience, and that's more important to me than winning a state championship."

"It's going to be hard to walk away from this," Miller said.

She may not want to admit it, but it's going to be just as hard for the school, the parents and, most of all, the players, to see her walk away.