ATHLETE – BUILDER – SOCCER – INDUCTED IN 2023
A tough defender for the Western Mustangs, Gary Miller was the team MVP in 1978 and was a first team Ontario university all-star in both 1977 and 1979. He was also named a second-team all-Canadian in 1979.
Miller’s distinguished career was recognized in 2004 when he was inducted into the Western Mustangs Hall of Fame.
As good as he was on the field, Miller made an even bigger impact off it.
Miller was named an assistant coach for the men’s national team in 1982. He would later lead Ontario’s U17 team to a gold medal at the 1992 Canadian championships and coached both the Canadian U17 and U20 teams.
Miller joined the Ontario Soccer Association (now Ontario Soccer) in 1983, holding many key positions over the years, including schools program coordinator (1983-85) technical director (1985-90), director of high performance (1992-94) and director of soccer operations (2015-20), where he oversaw player development and coaching education.
He left the provincial organization to become the high performance director at the Canadian Soccer Association from 1990-92.
Miller was the Director of Soccer Operations at the American Scholarship Assistance Program (1994-1997). He launched Bryst International Soccer Academy, the first private soccer academy in Canada, in 1997 and operated it with his wife Cindy until 2015.
Recognizing the need for a developmental path for Canadian players, Miller was a member of the technical advisory committee when the Ontario Soccer Association was laying the groundwork for the Ontario Player Development League, was an important contributor in the creation and launch of League1 Ontario and the Canadian Premier League.
The Ontario Player Development League champions for the U14 to U17 age groups are awarded Gary Miller Charity Shield. In 2022, Miller was honoured posthumously by Soccer Canada as the recipient of the inaugural Tony Waiters Coaching Excellence Award.