Michael Miller poses for pictures on the new Willis Jepson Middle School basketball court at a dedication honoring him and naming the court in his honor. The former teacher and coach began his 36-year career at the Vacaville campus in 1974. (Rick Roach/RRoach@TheReporter.com)
Standing in the middle of Richard Wright Gymnasium at Jepson Middle School, Michael J. Miller, when prompted, pulled back the circular silk coverlet over the school's mascot, an image of a snarling jaguar, to reveal something the school's retired boys basketball coach had never dreamed of seeing: his name on the hardwood.No surprise, he seemed at a loss for words, but it did not matter, because so many others -- including some of the 150 people, family members seated on the court, former students and school staff in the bleachers -- spoke for him. They touched on a life well lived, one affecting so many young lives in nearly 40 years as a Jepson teacher, coach and athletic director, his financial sacrifices and his personal qualities,
Former student and basketball player Rhett Clark, (left) greets Michael Miller prior to the Willis Jepson Middle School basketball court dedication honoring Miller Tuesday. (Rick Roach/RRoach@TheReporter.com)
such as patience, respect for others and devotion.The Michael J. Miller Court dedication came more than a year after the idea was hatched by the current Jepson Athletic Director Chris Marino and others. Principal Kelley Birch forwarded a proposal to Vacaville Unified School District Superintendent John Niederkorn, who, in turn, in accord with district policy, sent it to the Governing Board of Trustees for approval. Miller had not seen his painted name until Tuesday's brief ceremony.
In her opening remarks, Birch said, "Mike could always be counted on" to teach and coach not only basketball fundamentals but also the basics of football and cross country.
Additionally, there were times, many of them by all accounts, when Miller,
today a Rancho Murieta resident, quietly paid for needy student's athletic shoes, Birch said. She also noted the number of former Miller students who pursued careers as professional athletes or who returned to the Elder Street middle school to teach and coach.Niederkorn noted the particular challenges of teaching excitable middle school students, preteens who "push the limits," and the role of middle school coaches, sometimes the only person a student will listen to.
They have "a greater role" as advisers, he said, adding, "Athletics are such an important part of middle school," and half the students in the district, at some point, came in contact with Miller during his 36-year tenure, 29 of those years as the eighth-grade boys basketball coach.
"That's a great career and a legacy," Niederkorn said.
Randy Henry, the district's chief human resources officer, taught physical education with Miller and coached Jepson ninth-grade boys basketball before ninth-grade classes were merged with Vacaville High in the early 1990s.
"We had some good years," recalled Henry, adding that the players Miller sent forward were fundamentally ready to play at the high-school level.
Miller's son, Graig, noted that his father coached athletes who played in the NFL, Major League Baseball and Division I college basketball, and some who have coached at the college level. As the Jepson's boys basketball coach, his father amassed a 275-85 win/loss record.
"He bought shoes for players who couldn't afford them, and apologized when a player couldn't get into a game," he said.
But more than anything, while his father excelled as a coach, he managed to excel at something even greater -- "By being an amazing dad," said Graig Miller, a high school business teacher in the Sacramento area, choking up briefly as he spoke.
After the ceremony, as Michael Miller posed for photos with well-wishers, his wife, Annie, said, "To do this, it's really humbling and exciting at the same time. I'm really pleased. I'm so grateful."
Former Jepson basketball player Rhett Clark, 38, of Vacaville, called Miller "a great coach."
Follow Staff Writer Richard Bammer at Twitter.com/REBammer.
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