Texan Mosaic

By Kendall Rainer

Wesley Miller brings a passion for track and field and an abundance of experience to his new role as an assistant track and field coach at South Plains College. 

Coach Miller spent three years as an associate head track coach at Louisiana Tech University, where he was in charge of all sprint and jump-based events. Prior to that, he spent five years as an assistant coach at Northwestern State University.

In 2016, Coach Miller had the opportunity to take an athlete to the United States Olympic Trials.

“That was an unforgettable experience for a very hardworking athlete and as a coach,” Coach Miller added.”The level of competition was amazing to experience as well, watching some of the best athletes in the world lay it all out to make the Olympic team.”

Coach Miller said he was attracted to SPC because of the level of success that the program has sustained and the support from the Athletic Department. He was also impressed by Erik Vance, head track and field coach at SPC.

“The people we met during the interview were so friendly,” Coach Miller continued. “It just felt like home for our family.”

Coach Miller grew up in San Antonio, Texas. He took classes at Texas A&M University, and later graduated from the University of Texas at San Antonio. 

After getting his Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology from UTSA, he took some graduate-level courses at Northwestern State. 

Coach Miller has been married for eight years and has two children, Adelyn, who is 8 years old, and Colton, who is almost 1 year old. 

Coach Miller also is interested in music. He enjoys playing the drums and has played in cover bands and at church. He also enjoys playing piano, guitar and writing music. 

In his free time, he said he enjoys the outdoors, going backpacking and playing golf.  

Coach Miller said he is looking to help the track team get back to the NJCAA Indoor and Outdoor National Championship in the 2020 season. He said he is excited to help develop sprinters, hurdlers, and relay teams. 

“It’s a very talented group, and I’m looking forward to a lot of hard work,” Coach Miller explained. “I would like to see success across all event areas and a strong showing at the national meet.”

Coach Miller said his favorite thing about coaching is to help athletes achieve their goals, both on and off the track. 

“I also enjoy getting to build relationships with the athletes,” Coach Miller continued. “I enjoy helping them to grow and develop as athletes.”

Coach Miller said he is very passionate about track and the competition involved in the sport. However, he also enjoys the details of the sport.

“I love the combination of individual performances leading to a team goal,” he explained.  

He added that he was very passionate about Kinesiology and studying human movement and the idea of continually pushing the limits of performance. 

“It’s a sport where success depends on the coach’s ability to manipulate the biomechanics, physiology, and psyche of each athlete to enhance performance,” Coach Miller said. “I love how that attention to detail can lead to the overall team’s success.” 

Coach Miller said, “The team is very deep with great athletes and potential, and our goal is to win a National Championship on the men and women’s side.”