Field hockey's coaches and players should all be thanking their lucky stars that Kathy Miller forced her daughter Claire to give field hockey a shot in the 7th grade.
Junior midfielder Claire Miller was rather reluctant to give the sport a try.
"My older sister played and my mom wanted me to play too," Miller says. "But my sister was good and I didn't want to try and fill her shoes."
Miller has more than filled those shoes and is now blazing trails of her own as a speedy starting midfielder.
Miller was involved in many sports in middle school and high school, most notably swimming —her first love.
However, over time, field hockey became her number one priority. She excelled at the sport, and became a standout at Scarsdale High School in Scarsdale, N.Y.
She was heavily recruited. Miller's first trip was to the Virginia. Her second was to Princeton. Needless to say, all other recruiting trips were canceled after her time here. In fact, Miller still cites being recruited to play field hockey at Princeton as her greatest accomplishment to date. This is quite a statement from a player who was third in the nation with 15 assists last season and has been selected to both the under-21 and under-23 National teams.
Miller, an English major, is still undecided about her future plans. Law school is a possibility, she says.
"My focus right now is on this [Princeton] team," Miller says when asked about the possibility of playing for the U.S. National Team.
Miller clearly has the talent level, grit, and determination to make it to that level. In fact, head coach Beth Bozman calls Miller the best overall player on the Princeton squad. Miller does not believe such statements, but a strong argument can be made that they are true.
"She is a complete player – great stickwork, speed, and intelligence on the field," Bozman says.
However, when asked what she would consider her greatest skill, Miller mentions her passing.
"I get a bigger kick out of assists than scoring goals," Miller says.
This love of passing was evident last seasons when Miller finished the season third in the nation in assists. She averaged .75 assists per game — good for second in the country.
Miller has never minded not being directly in the limelight.
"In all the sports I have played, I was never the one who scored the goals," she says.
She was thrust into that role her freshman year on the squad however. She played attack and scored nine goals, good for third on the team. She was also named Ivy League rookie of the year.
Miller enjoys her defensive responsibilities as a midfielder. She is involved in almost every play, either serving as a catalyst for the offense or as the first line of defense. She has also accepted the responsibility of being an upperclassman.
She also welcomes the challenge that being constantly involved in the game carries.
She understands that she cannot be perfect, and tries to do her best without trying to be perfect.
"An athlete's biggest fear is plateauing, burning out," Miller says.
Miller has improved every year that she has been at Princeton, and shows no signs of reaching her peak anytime soon.
Miller's first priority is to improve her game in any way she can to help the team win.
Her main goal here at Princeton is to win a national championship. According to Miller, the team has a good chance to do that.
"This team is playing better field hockey than last year's team, even if the records don't reflect that," Miller says.
"It is just going to take a lot of hard work and perseverance."
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