Sage benefits from Miller time

When Nate Miller became athletic director at Sage Hill School in 2001, CIF was an acronym that didn't mean much.

It certainly wasn't as important as another acronym such as, oh, GPA, to the students at the private school, many of whom had never played organized sports before.

"When we started, no one even knew what CIF was," Miller said. "We knew it was a thing we had to be a member of, and I certainly had an inkling of what playoffs meant and all that. But the kids, the first couple of years, they didn't even have that as a goal to shoot for. One team made it the first year, boys' soccer, and that was a big mystery."

Miller, 37, resigned as the Lightning's athletic director in July after a six-year run. He's not going anywhere — he said he resigned so he could spend more time concentrating on teaching math and coaching cross country and track and field at the school.

But in the time the Irvine resident was athletic director at the school on the hill in Newport Coast, he turned CIF from unknown to a reality.

Year after year, for almost every sport.

Boys' and girls' volleyball coach Dan Thomassen arrived at Sage Hill in 2003. Two years later, his girls' volleyball team won the CIF Southern Section Division IV-A title, one of two CIF titles Sage Hill won during Miller's tenure. The other was won by girls' tennis, a Division V crown, just two days later.

"He really cares about everything," said Thomassen, who teaches science at the school. "He has been as important to the success as any of the individual coaches, if not more so. He had things very well in order. He's a math guy, so he makes sure things add up. But, the main thing is he cares."

Miller wasn't at Thomassen's CIF title match in 2005. But he said he had a good reason — he was coaching at the CIF cross country finals instead.

"I was somewhat surprised that we had success as quickly as we did," Miller said. "Pretty remarkable. I think that had a lot to do with the coaches that we had and the kids that we had, just working really hard. Tennis had three years where it made the [CIF] semifinals before getting to the championship. [The players] saw what it took, I guess, to get to that championship level."