Miller’s time in goal benefits PDS boys’ lacrosse

Late starter helps Panthers advance in Prep Bs

By: Justin Feil
   It didn’t take much to convince Kenny Miller to come out for the Princeton Day School boys’ lacrosse team. All head coach, and assistant football coach, Peter Higgins had to do was ask.
   "I knew him then as my football coach," said Miller, a senior at PDS. "He asked me what I was doing in the spring and I said, ‘Nothing.’"
   Miller was out for the lacrosse team that spring as a sophomore. The next task was finding a position he could play. And when they tried to figure where to play him, he quickly limited his choices.
   "They asked me what I wanted to play," Miller said. "And I told them anywhere I didn’t have to run. Since I was young, I always cramped up when I run a lot. My dad loves running. He’s like a cross country star. I’m quite the opposite."
   Miller is a goalie, and in just over two years, he’s become quite a good one for the Panthers. He stopped 14 shots in a 12-4 win over Dwight-Englewood in the first round of the Prep B state tournament Monday. With the win, the Panthers play at top-seeded Montclair Kimberley 4:15 p.m. Monday.
   "He’s been solid," Higgins said. "It’s only his first year starting. He just picked up a stick two years ago. We had (Alex) Stanko last year, and he did really well playing a lot of JV. He’s gotten a lot better and he’s been a solid, solid part of the team."
   Working with Jud Henderson, a former goalie for PDS, for the past two seasons has helped Miller become a solid stopper for the Panthers. Henderson missed Miller’s sophomore season, but he’s been a big help in getting Miller ready to play varsity this year.
   "Every which way he’s given me tips," Miller said. "He’s been one of the biggest influences on my goalie career. Every game, he talks to me about what I can do better, or gives me tips. He’s a great guy."
   But Henderson credits Miller’s improvement to his work ethic more than his own coaching. Miller, a Pennington resident, has continued to play football, but has blossomed enough to consider walking on as a lacrosse goalie at Rutgers next fall.
   "I came back and Kenny was still a little rough around the edges," Henderson said. "His appeal to lacrosse originally was as a pretty tough guy. He was happy to know there was a spring contact sport. That’s what originally drew him.
   "He’s gotten a lot better through a lot of hard work and dedication. He plays through the winter. If you look at a goalie as one-dimensional, just in stopping the ball, he’s as good as anybody. And he’s playing against a lot of guys who have been playing since they’ve been kids."
   Stopping the ball was the first thing with which Miller felt comfortable. Henderson says that goes back to his tough-guy image.
   "I think he always had the ability," Henderson said. "With a lacrosse goalie you have to not worry about the fact that (stopping the ball with your body) hurts a lot. It didn’t concern him from Day One. It was pretty clear from early on that he was going to be good at stopping the ball. He just had to work on clearing, and catching and passing. He’s really worked hard."
   "Clearing for me is one of the hardest things still," Miller said. "It took some effort to get in front of the ball in the beginning but with work and practice, I got that down."
   Miller continues to work extra on his stickwork, the area that’s hardest to master due to his late start in the sport. He participates in line drills that are intended for everyone but goalies to improve his stick skills. That hard work has paid off in his first full season of varsity after seeing spot duty behind Stanko last season.
   "I felt I was ready," said Miller, who made four saves in a 16-7 loss to WW-P North on Wednesday. "I’m a senior and I felt I was a leader on the team. I went down to Florida and stayed at the All-Star Sports Resort (with PDS for spring break) and I felt that got me ready. Plus, I did play in the winter. I felt pretty prepared to move it up.
   "I’m pleased with my season so far. When I first picked up a stick again in Decemeber, I was a bit shaky. After going through spring training, my expectations increased. I’ve been pretty pleased."
   The Panthers needed every one of his 10 saves in a 4-3 win over Notre Dame on Saturday. His 14 saves Monday gave him a second straight game in which he’s allowed four goals or less, and this one helped the Panthers reach the Prep B semifinals.
   "It was a good game for everyone," Miller said. "Our offense did their job and put the ball in the net. And our defense did their job of preventing fast breaks."
   "The kids came out (Monday) and played a good four quarters," Higgins said. "If we looked at both games, they’d look the same. We just executed better on offense today."
   Higgins is feeling confident that PDS can continue its improvement. Besides Miller’s consistent play, he noted the improvement of Jared Mckrancy and the Panther defense.
   "We knew that we had to get better defensively from last year to stay in a lot of games," said Higgins, whose squad has lost three one-goal games. "The offense is just a matter of getting some confidence. And the defense has been there."
   And Kenny Miller is there as a last line of defense. It’s a relatively late addition that Higgins is happy to have asked about three years ago.
   "If I see a kid who might have the nerve to step back there, I’ll ask," Higgins said. "I’ve got a great goalie coach in Jud Henderson. He brings a lot of pride and tradition. He does a great job. I just have to find a guy who he can work with.
   "I thought that Kenny would be a good stopper. I didn’t think he’d come along this fast. The kid is a hard worker though, so I knew he’d try."
   All he had to do was ask.