Commentary on Bill Miles: How He Taught the Game

Bill Miles and friends watching the NXN Nationals.  Bill's the one with the
beard. Will Leer isn't the only Minnesota guy with facial hair.
Photo supplied by Lance Elliott(last guy on the right)

In 1972 when I moved to Minnesota I was immediately impressed by the running scene.  The comprehensiveness of the community from High School to Masters.  On the High School scene I noted twins from Cretin High School, sort of that time's Hasz twins, but these were guys.  The Roth twins were as successful as Megan and Bethany.  Their coach was a young guy named Bill Miles.

Today Bill Miles retired from coaching at Wayzata High School.  He gathered his team together and told them of his decision.  One of the coaches who was at the NXN Nationals said that Bill was "emotional" about the success of the team, their runner-up finish.  The thought crept into my head: "Is this it?"  Was the 2014 season Miles' swan song? Was he merely waiting until after NXN to tell them the news?

This week I saw the tweet from Wayzata telling the team to come to a meeting today.  I had called Gopher coach Steve Plasencia earlier in the day and when he returned my call he said: "Is it about Bill Miles?"  It wasn't, but my intuition was right for once.  The news had seeped out after Bill told the team.  News travels fast in the social media age. I started to think: What a legacy.  What a commitment to the kids.  To the sport.

The things that came to mind weren't how many championships won or successes, but rather how many lives he has touched.  How many kids who he's helped discover themselves, their talents, their dreams, their path in life.  Coincidentally I happened to be talking with Stillwater's Scott Christensen at this year's MSHSL XC Championships at St. Olaf.  He was talking to Connor Olson's father.  The pair were talking "shop."  Scott said that he hoped that nobody thought that the rivalry between Wayzata and Stillwater was something personal or heated. He relished having the challenge of competing against strong opposition.  It wasn't so much about who won, he said, but rather that they made each other better.

Christensen said he was glad the teams in Minnesota had each other to measure themselves against.  To push each other to new heights.  Wayzata, Stillwater, Edina, Hopkins.  They all wanted to win, but, more importantly, they all helped get the best out of each other.  In today's celebrity culture, it's easy to forget the lessons one learns from sports. As Cannon Falls', now the University of Minnesota Duluth's, Emi Trost had said after winning the MSHSL Class A girls' title last year: "Ten years from now nobody is going to remember who won.  What's important are the relationships, the friendships we've made."

Miles said the same thing in another way at the 2014 MSHSL track championships.  He'd overheard Hopkins' Joe Klecker talking to Chaska's Joey Duerr after the 3200.  Joe was telling Joey, who had been fighting to stay upright down the final straightaway:  "I didn't want to pass you because you looked so bad,"  Miles said Klecker told Duerr.  Not that Joe was worried Joey would run into him, but rather he was concerned with his rival and friend's physical condition.

The next day Klecker would end up splayed out on the track, giving every last ounce of what he had trying to get to the finish first in a battle with Stillwater's Eli Krahn and Richfield's Obsa Ali in the 1600.  These were guys who pushed themselves to the limits, but also had an unspoken bond that went beyond the playing field.  Miles was proud of that character in the athletes he coached and coached against.

Sportswriter Grantland Rice said it best years ago:  “For when the One Great Scorer comes to mark against your name.  He writes - not that you won or lost -But HOW you played the Game."  Bill Miles has played it well.
By Jim Ferstle