The ACHS girls lacrosse program has hired a new coach. Assistant coach Trish Miller was hired at the start of the 2024 season after winning Coach of the Year for 2023 at her previous high school in Utah.
Miller grew up on Long Island, New York with six brothers. Having so many siblings whose main sport was lacrosse allowed her to get exposed to the game at the age of five. Despite lacrosse being her primary sport, she was still able to participate in other activities and remains active to this day.
“In high school, I played soccer, ran cross country and winter track, and played lacrosse,” said Miller. “[Today], outside of sports, I love to ski, hike, and go to the beach.”
After graduating high school, Miller attended State University of New York (SUNY) Cortland and after that, was able to make the move to Park City, Utah to ski and teach.
“While I was out there I had the opportunity to coach a few youth teams and then start a high school program,” said Miller. “I loved having the opportunity to expose athletes to a sport that I grew up loving.”
In 2021 Miller’s girls lacrosse was named the 5A Academic All-State team, finished second in the region and made a semi-final appearance. In 2022 the team was the Region Champion and made their second state semi-final appearance. In 2023, Miller was named the Region Coach of the Year while her team finished 2nd in the region and made its third state semi-final appearance in three years.
After spending 7 years in Utah, Miller decided to return to the east coast and figured that she would give Virginia a try. Now, she is a middle school PE and Health teacher at Patrick Henry K-8 School.
“Thrilled to have Coach Miller join us,” said head girls lacrosse coach Greg Derogatis. “The fact that she was a head coach and can come to our program and give all that experience and knowledge that she has is what we’re looking for in any assistant coach and we’re really excited to have her.”
Miller is also looking forward to her first season at ACHS.
“I am excited to get to know the players and help them carve their futures both on and off of the field,” said Miller. “I am looking forward to contributing to the program and helping to take the program to the next level of play.”
