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.
