THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, November 17, 1994 TAG: 9411170583
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAUL WHITE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Long : 104 lines
Several years ago, when Kim Miller was bouncing around from parent to parent, neighbor to neighbor and foster home to foster home, she would lay in bed and ask her best friend - at times her only friend - for a special favor.
``God,'' Miller would say, ``I just want something to make me happy.
``It took Him awhile,'' Miller said with a laugh. ``But I guess He gave me field hockey.''
Miller, in turn, has given field hockey a new definition for the term ``pure goal-scorer.'' Blessed with uncanny speed, toughness and an intense desire to succeed, the 5-0, 108-pound Cox junior has shattered the Virginia High School League record for career goals with 91. Forty-four of those goals have come this season, leaving her two short of 10th place on the national all-time list for goals in a season.
Those goals could come as soon as today, when the five-time Group AAA state champion Falcons open defense of their title in first-round action against Albemarle at 1 p.m. at Oakton High in Vienna.
In short, a player who hated the sport five years ago has exceeded all expectations - except her own.
``I'm happy about what I've done, but I know I can do better,'' she said. ``I always tell people I haven't reached my standard yet. I'll let you know when I do.''
Despite her incredible production, no one, including Miller, suggests she's the star of the team. The Falcons are loaded with stars, and Kirsty Hale, who scores almost as often as Miller, is probably the team's most complete player.
Still, Cox coach Nancy Fowlkes, who has coached quite a few thoroughbreds in her time, said she's never seen anyone quite like Miller.
``She's got an amazing combination of athletic ability and determination,'' Fowlkes said. ``She takes her responsibilities as a goal-scorer more seriously than anyone I've ever coached.''
Chief among Miller's assets is her speed.
``She has tremendous acceleration,'' Fowlkes said. ``If she gets in front of you, it's over. You actually have to see it to believe it.''
According to Miller, her speed comes naturally.
``When you have two older brothers'' - Jimmy and Bryan, a former state wrestling champion at Kempsville - ``you're always running to get away from them,'' Miller said. ``I've always been constantly running somewhere.''
Being on the move hasn't always been fun, though. Miller's parents, a Vietnam war veteran and his Vietnamese wife, divorced when Miller was in second grade, sending her on a painful odyssey of living with each parent through custody battles, staying with neighbors and moving into foster homes. Cox is Miller's eighth school.
Sports served as a welcome escape. Growing up, Miller always dreamed of competing in the Olympics. Running, of course, had always come naturally. Field hockey, however, was definitely an acquired taste.
``I hated it,'' Miller said of her first experiences with the sport. ``Can't use both sides of the stick, can't do this, can't do that. . . . I'm like `What is this?' ''
Miller could relate to the running part of the game, though. So that's all Miller did throughout her seventh-grade year on the Virginia Beach Junior High team.
The following year, however, was particularly difficult for Miller at home. Field hockey suddenly became a useful outlet.
``I had a lot of anger back then,'' Miller said. ``You couldn't really get it out in gymnastics or running. But a hockey stick? A ball? Yeah, that was nice.''
Miller began honing her deadly shot by whacking 40-yard shots at a bucket against a fence outside her home, until neighbors began popping their heads out of windows and complaining.
By her freshman year, Miller was ready to take area field hockey by storm. She started out on the First Colonial junior varsity team. But two weeks and a bunch of goals later, Patriots' coach Traci McGrath brought Miller up with the big girls.
Her first game was against Cox.
``I remember they only had about 12 players, and we had about 30,'' Miller said. ``I said, `Hey, we can take these guys.' Then Meredith Blackman, who was our captain, said, `They may be small, but they can really tear it up.' ''
The Falcons did indeed tear First Colonial up - in that game, and in the district, regional and state tournament finals.
Miller said she was looking forward to taking another crack at Cox the following year. That summer, however, Miller's residence was redistricted into the Cox zone.
``I was really tired of moving,'' she said. ``I finally felt secure at F.C. But I'd heard good things about coach Fowlkes.''
And since the transfer, Miller has been nothing but good for the Falcons. Last season, she scored 30 goals and added seven assists in helping Cox to yet another state title. And this season, Miller has been even better.
More important to Miller, however, is the sense of family she now enjoys. She looks forward to going home these days to Raynor and Beverly Parker, the family she's been with for three years.
And through team dinners and the communication on the field that is one of the Falcons' trademarks, Miller now counts her teammates and Fowlkes in her extended family.
``The Parkers, Cox, we're all like one big Brady Bunch,'' Miller said. ``You hear people say `I want a new car.' I don't need that. I'm happy, and that's all I've ever really wanted.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by TAMARA VONINSKI
Cox junior Kim Miller set a Virginia High School League record with
91 career goals.
by CNB