New Canaan Rams Varsity Coordinator Mary Miller looks suspiciously over her clipboard as two freshmen hoping to make the football team walk toward the field during their spring practices.
"Did the nurse clear you to play?" she asks one. "You get all your permission forms in?" she checks with the other. Another player calls over to her asking if there are any extra mouth guards around.
"How can you come to play football without a mouth guard?" she calls back shaking her head, but she can't help but smile.
For seven seasons Miller has transcended the traditional "team mom" role becoming the Varsity Coordinator for the football team. Head Coach Lou Marinelli, only half-jokingly, calls her the "director of football operations." Miller's dedication to the team has endured even though the youngest child of this mother of two graduated from New Canaan in 2008.
Whether it is keeping player attendance, handing out equipment, or making sure the kids are focused on practice or a game, Miller is an essential part of the team. There is no doubting what she means to the kids either. Among her most cherished possessions is a necklace made out of New Canaan's four state championship rings that was given to her by the players.
"I don't know how we could run the program we run without her," Coach Marinelli said. "How often do you find someone like her that has a passion for football and keeps us all organized and on schedule? She's a gem. I can't even begin to explain how valuable she is to us."
On Sunday, June 13, New Canaan High School held its annual Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation's Race for Research. The football team has been closely involved with 5k run/walk for years, raising more than $10,000.
The event is now more important than ever to Miller as her sister was recently diagnosed with the incurable blood disease. At Sunday's race Miller was given the "Spirit of Hope Award" for her involvement in the foundation. Miller, however, is content to continue to shine the praise onto the players.
"They really, really care," she said. "And the parents encourage them to really care. They do such a great job."
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