Matt Miller--Head Master, Scholar, Educator and Squash Coach (1969 – 2016)
by Ferez Nallaseth, PhD

photo nola.com

August 28, 2016 - I went looking for Dr. Matt Miller – and found this in The Times-Picayune of New Orleans (link below)! Matt was a Scholar, Head Master, Educator and most of all for the Squash Community, Head Squash Coach at Lawrenceville School. With three National Championship, multiple Mid Atlantic Squash Association (MASA) and Mid-Atlantic Prep League (MAPL) titles he was by far the most successful Squash Coach at Lawrenceville! Matt was vibrant, spontaneous and a Coach who spurred on his team and gained their loyalty in innumerable ways.  When Matt moved down geographically to New Orleans but up academically and administratively, I followed him as the Boy’s Squash Coach at Lawrenceville. Over the years we had played league matches in which I found Matt to be a tough but fair competitor.

Matt was an exceptionally good citizen in the Princeton-Lawrenceville-New Brunswick Squash Community. For example he generously arranged a match between, Lawrenceville School’s renowned Squash Team and our nascent Squash Club at Rutgers University.  I was the Head Squash Coach at Rutgers at the time. Professors, Charles Heckscher, Jeff McMahan, David Finegold, Alumni Michael Bain, Basit ‘Sunny’ Muzaffar and several students including Mohsin Khalfans and I were trying to draw Rutgers into the Collegiate Squash Program (2004 to 2007). Although Lawrenceville blanked us they were perfectly gracious – reflecting Matt’s leadership!

Another clear index of leadership and Coaching are the strong and enthusiastic words from those who were led – and long after it is useful to express them!  Thomas Mattsson was Co-Captain of the Lawrenceville Squash Team Coached by Matt as well as by me. Along with others who had been coached by Matt, he had nothing but good things to say about Coach Miller! And so Coach Miller’s three National Championships did not come at the expense of his concerns as a Teacher for his students.

Coach Matt Miller will be missed! I am sure that I speak for all in the in the World of Squash, in belatedly extending our deepest condolences to his wife Mia, daughter Sophie and son Grayson.


Matt Miller - Obituary in The Times Picayune