Vaqueros tab Miller as new women’s hoops coach
GLENDALE — Whether playing, coaching or recruiting, Carrie Miller hasn’t lost her fervor for basketball.
She’s worked for several different programs as an assistant coach at various levels, helping mold players to play to their potential. After years of being an assistant, Miller wanted to take her teaching skills to the next level.
Miller will now have that opportunity after recently being named the new Glendale Community College women’s basketball coach in late-June. Miller, 29, replaces Monica Hang, who left the Vaqueros after five seasons to take the same position at L.A. Valley College.
“I love the game and have always had a passion for it,” said Miller, a Littlerock High graduate who spent last season as a recruiting and scouting coordinator for the Antelope Valley College women’s program. “It’s helped me so much and now I have an opportunity to give back and show how they can excel.
“I saw the opening at GCC. I saw the opportunity to finally have my own program and I had hoped for it for awhile.”
Miller will be the third coach at Glendale since 1996. After graduating from Littlerock in the Antelope Valley in 1998, Miller moved on to play power forward and center at Antelope Valley College for two seasons before transferring to Adams State College in Colorado.
Miller then entered the coaching ranks in 2002 as an assistant at Adams. She then became an assistant at Antelope Valley for the 2003-04 season before spending the 2004-05 season as head coach at Rosamond High. Miller then came back to Antelope Valley for the 2005-06 season before holding the same title at Santa Barbara City College from 2006-08.
“I like the college level a bit more than the high school level,” said Miller, who will take over a Vaquero program that went 14-14 and 5-7 in the competitive Western State Conference last season and will look to qualify for the Southern California Regionals for the first time since 2003. “Because it’s so late in the recruiting stage, I’ll be looking for anybody who can play.
“I want to get the players and develop them. Next season, I’ll begin recruiting right away. When I was at Antelope Valley, we used to play in Glendale college’s tournament. I want to build a winning tradition and something that the women can be proud of and they can move on from that experience.”
Glendale college women’s Athletic Director Terry Coblentz said Miller’s coaching background proved to be a main factor in the hiring process.
“Her background as a player and coach certainly opened the door,” Coblentz said. “She’s got that enthusiasm on and off the court and she’s very engaging.
“She wanted to get going right away and she’s excited. It’s a win-win situation for everybody involved.”
