The previous story on my Top 10 list from the school year was
originally posted on June 3, and today’s entry – which is No. 6 – was posted
four days later. With the No. 7 story, about a special unexpected moment from
the adapted softball state tournament, the reporting, writing and online
posting all happened on the same day.
Today’s story, about one of the many people who work
largely behind the scenes to make MSHSL events happen at a high level that is nearly
unmatched around the nation, came together at a slower pace. I knew for more
than a year that Hal Miller would be working as a state tennis tournament
manager for the final time this spring. I interviewed Hal during a lengthy
phone call a few days before the tournament began, shot photos of him during
the event, and as I had promised him, I walked out of the tennis center
alongside him as he exited for the final time as a tournament manager.
Hal Miller is
filled with gratitude. As he manages an MSHSL state tennis tournament this week
for the 64th and final time before stepping away, he is grateful for all
the friends he has made and all the fun he has had. And everyone who knows Hal
Miller is beyond grateful to call him a friend.
That group
numbers in the hundreds, if not thousands, because Hal, 74, has had a positive
impact on more lives than can be counted. Every fall, he has guided either the
Class A or Class 2A girls state tennis tournament, and in the spring he has
done the same for the boys. He has been doing so for 33 years, missing only two
tournaments that were canceled due to Covid-19.
“There
certainly will be sadness at the finality of it,” Miller said before the boys
state tournament began its Tuesday-through-Friday run. He is spending his final
week on the job managing the Class A site at the InnerCity Tennis center in
south Minneapolis.
“Certainly
I’ll miss the people, I’ll miss the challenge, I’ll miss being involved,” he
said. “The excitement that comes from watching kids compete and play and their
sportsmanship. I’ve made some great, great friends, not just with coaches, but
with parents who come back and visit and say hello. It’s been not even a labor
of love, it’s been an experience of love and appreciation. I think the world of
the high school league and its people and its mission.”
It's a little
odd that a person who is so strongly linked with high school tennis in Minnesota
never played competitive tennis, either in high school or college. Miller
played football, basketball and baseball during high school in Alexandria,
played football for one year at St. Cloud State and was a batting-practice
catcher and manager for the St. Cloud State baseball team. Being part of a team
has been important to him throughout his life.
After college
he was hired to teach in Willmar in the late 1970s. The high school had an
opening for a girls tennis coach and Miller was asked if he was interested. He
took the job despite having little knowledge of the sport.
“I knew two
things; how to keep score and how to buy tennis balls,” he said with his
familiar laugh. “I went to camps and clinics and I had so many good mentors.
That first team won 14 matches and went to the section finals. It wasn’t
because of me, they were well-taught before me. They almost took me to the
state tournament. I got hooked on it because of those kids.”
That’s been
the tent pole of Miller’s educational and coaching career ever since: the kids.
During team play at state tournaments, he is well-known for conducting
pre-match meetings with both teams that are filled with a mixture of
congratulations, sportsmanship, camaraderie, and gratefulness. He puts a smile
on everyone’s face.
In recent
days, sorting through boxes at his home in the small town of Raymond, he
discovered a letter from 1990. Dorothy McIntyre, then a member of the MSHSL
staff and a pioneer in Minnesota girls sports, had written to Miller with an
offer to become a state tennis manager.
“That was a
jog back in history,” he said.
He credits
McIntyre not only for her outstanding work on behalf of Minnesota high school
kids, but for being a mentor to him. She is one of many people Hal has been
thinking about during his final week as a tournament manager.
Litchfield
tennis coach Greg Matthews was one of the first established coaches who helped
Miller understand the keys to building a successful program.
“I watched the
program Bernie Rolle created at St. Cloud Apollo, and Bill Ritchie and Jerry
Sales from Tech,” Hal said. “I remember talking to Ted Greer (Edina) about ways
to get our team to the next level and play in the state tennis tournament. He
gave me terrific advice, which elevated us to make nine team tournaments. John
Eberhardt, Dave Edwards, Les Zellman, Jeff Demary, Dave Stearns, Rich
Strokirch, Steve Paulson, Perry Forester, Bruce Thompson, Lisa Salo, Mike
Cartwright, Paul Bates, Ted Warner, Tara Reichmann.
“Loren Holter
from our program, Cheryl King and Dallas Hagen and Crookston coach Mike
Geoffrey were just some of the many coaches and friendships I cherished and
learned from. They were friends with a great passion for the game and I
learned so much from each one of them. These coaches never punched a time clock,
they simply worked until the job was done and they were more than willing to
help a player from another program to reach their full potential.”
Hal coached
the Willmar girls tennis team for 28 years and the boys for 22 (four as an
assistant, 18 as head coach).
He likes to
tell stories about growing up in Alexandria, including tales of his time with
friends at playgrounds, ball fields or gyms.
“We learned to
play each game the right way, respect our opponents and enjoy the game itself
from coaches and teachers. I took those lessons to heart when I took over the
girls tennis program. I went to clinics, talked to successful coaches and asked
a lot of questions. I also watched other programs outside of tennis and
observed how they built and developed their programs.”
Once he became
involved in state tournaments, Miller suggested changes to make the experience
even better for the teams and players. He pushed to allow alternates to play
exhibition matches at state on courts that would otherwise be empty, which has
become the norm. He also urged the MSHSL to have matches in each class at a
single site; the format used to call for teams that lost in the state
quarterfinals to move to an alternate site for consolation matches.
When told that
using one site would mean longer days for himself and other tournament staff,
Hal didn’t hesitate.
“I said, ‘I
don’t care. It’s not about me.’ It’s about the kids, coaches and parents. It’s
their magic carpet ride.”
When he was
hired at Willmar, the young man was informed that he was in a special spot.
“They told me
the day I signed my contract, ‘This is a place you can spend your entire
career. It’s a place where you can stay and be happy.’ ”
That played
out. Even in retirement from teaching, Miller remains a fixture in the
community. He works as a public-address announcer at Willmar High School
events, volunteers with school and civic groups, and stays active and involved.
Everyone knows Hal.
His honors are
many, and he is grateful for all of them. He was named the Class 2A girls
tennis coach of the year in 2003, was inducted into the Willmar Cardinal Pride
Hall of Fame in 2011, received the Distinguished Service Award from the
National Federation of State High School Associations in 2015 and was inducted
into the MSHSL Hall of Fame that same year.
“I benefitted
from some really good kids,” he said, as always turning the focus away from
himself. “I started some kids really young in summer programs. The kids that
were on the team took part and helped build the program, because they loved
it.”
Longtime
tennis coaches Steve Haug of Alexandria and Rick Engelstad of Pine City have
worked alongside Miller in managing state tournaments for years, relationships
that Hal called “exceptional and what a joy.” Tournament managers are involved
in event preparation, site setup and they spend each tournament day greeting
players, coaches, families and fans, all while doing everything possible to
ensure a high-level, fair competitive experience.
Miller said,
“For all these years, the first question I’ve asked is how do we make this
better? That’s been the case since the very first day with Dorothy. The goal is
to have a first-class tournament and have fun doing it. We want to create
memories that will last a lifetime, for players, coaches, parents and people
who come. That hasn’t changed.”
--MSHSL
media specialist John Millea has been the leading voice of Minnesota high
school activities for decades. Follow him on Twitter @MSHSLjohn and listen to
"Preps Today with John Millea” wherever you get podcasts. Contact John
at jmillea@mshsl.org
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