Athletic officials at Washington-Lee sent a press release last week with an all-too-typical headline: Generals have a vacancy for a girls varsity basketball coaching position.
The brief tidbit highlights a general problem within the girls basketball program — it can’t keep its coaches.
After George Porcha ignited Washington-Lee’s resurgence in the once-struggling sport before moving on to coaching stints at T.C. Williams and Virginia Tech, Washington-Lee simply hasn’t had any stability.
And Michelle Miller’s inevitable off-season departure now leaves the program in another state of transition. In the coming winter season, the Generals will introduce its sixth head coaches in five seasons. And despite titled formalities, it could be arguably considered the seventh in six seasons.
With Miller’s job commitment as the chief operating officer of Internet domain company Name.com, the former University of Maryland guard, was commuting on an almost game-by-game basis from Denver to Arlington. And in those games she missed — which included a landmark 20-point victory at home against Falls Church when the team snapped its 36-game losing streak — assistant Angie Kelly took over the head coaching duties.
So Miller, in a late-March meeting with first-year student activities director Carol Calloway decided to resign. According to Calloway, Miller wanted to make sure the program continued building momentum from a six win year, but felt like it was the “right time to step down.”
“I don’t know that I would attribute [coaches leaving] to anything,” Calloway said. “I’m so thankful that Michelle was able to stick it out for the second year even with the conflict with her job.”
Miller, who was credited with taking the team to the region tournament after going 0-22 in 2006-2007, did not answer a multiple calls made to her cell phone. The announcement for the vacancy was sent on April 3.
“We hope to have some quality candidates here shortly and be able to make a decision by the end of the school year,” Calloway said on Monday.
In her first full season since taking over for Karen Taylor, Calloway, however, has to hire yet another coach. Just this spring she made new hires in softball and girls soccer.
Kelly, a former Virginia Tech standout forward, expressed desire in the job last season, though no candidates have filed a formal application as of late Monday.
“Ideally, we’d like to make it as soon as possible to get someone in place,” said assistant director of student activities Justin Bolfek. “We’ve got a lot of time between now and November, but I don’t think [Calloway] will want to sit on it. I think she’s going to try and get it done sooner rather than later so we can have somebody in place.”
The girls head coaching job is also open at West Potomac after Pete Stephan resigned. But for now, Washington-Lee athletic officials are hoping that with a new coach can continue the momentum built in last season’s Northern Region berth.
“I think [Miller] took [the program] to another level and I’m looking forward to seeing what the next coach can take it to,” Calloway said.