School had just let out when physical education and health teacher Vincent Miller quickly made his way to Pier 40 to coach practice for the Chipmunks, Stuyvesant’s girls’ varsity softball team. It was 34 degrees and drizzling outside, but Miller was unfazed. He pulled his blue Stuyvesant baseball hat over his ears and rushed to the field. Neither rain nor cold could stop him from coaching the Chipmunks’ practice.

Miller grew up in Marine Park, Brooklyn, and played high school baseball and basketball at St. Edmund’s Preparatory School. He went on to play Division II baseball at Queens College. “I was always into sports,” Miller said. “My love for them helped me want to project what I learned to other people.” According to Miller, his college pitching coach inspired him to become a coach himself. “I saw how hard he worked,” said Miller, who has been teaching at Stuyvesant for only two years. “He wasn’t based on winning and he just wanted to teach the kids.”

Last year, Miller was asked to be an assistant coach of the boys’ varsity baseball team, the Hitmen, along with head coach John Carlesi and assistant coach Matt Hahn. The coaches felt that he brought a different perspective to the team. “He was the calm one, and Coach Hahn and I were the pressure guys,” Carlesi said. “It was good cop, bad cop and he was the good cop.”

“I enjoyed working with the players, and I learned a lot from the two other coaches,” Miller said. After a year of assistant coaching, he was ready to take on the job of head coach.

This year, Miller was head coach of the girls’ junior varsity volleyball team, the Roonies, and led them to a 5-0 season, the best record in their division. He is currently coaching the Chipmunks, who have gotten off to a good start with a 2-1 record, placing them third in their division. After placing last with a 4-12 record last year, Miller is doing his best to get the team back on track. “I have some very dedicated girls,” he said. “They show a lot of heart and determination.”

Players on his team appreciate Miller in return. “I like that he pays attention to what goes on in games and tries to work on it in practices,” sophomore and pitcher Alexandra Albright said. “He pays attention to what individual players need to work on.”

“He gives us useful exercises to improve our skills,” senior and outfielder Melissa Lok said.

In addition to his ability to coach the team, the Chipmunks value his understanding personality as well. “He knows how to coach, so we have more respect for him,” Lok said.

“He understands that we are students and we have work, so he’s not really harsh if we can’t come to something,” Albright said.

Whether he is in the gym teaching soccer or gymnastics, or on the field hitting ground balls and pop flies, Miller has a positive attitude. He believes that nothing comes easily and that one must work hard in order to accomplish a goal.

“You can’t just put on a glove and go out on the field and play well,” Miller said. “You have to have dedication to improve your skills.”